Hours Logs
Homeschoolers in Missouri must offer one thousand hours of instruction.
At least six-hundred hours of which must be in reading, language arts, math, social studies, science, or academic courses that are related to these subject areas.
All instruction is consonant with the student’s age and ability.
At least four hundred of the six hundred hours shall occur at the regular home school location.
Students over age sixteen do not have to comply with these requirements. They must remain in home school until either age 17 or until graduation, but they do not have certain subject and hours requirements after age sixteen.
Missouri law states, “The production of a daily log by a parent, guardian, or other person having control or custody of a child showing that a home school has a course of instruction that satisfies the requirements of this section and section 167.031 or, in the case of a pupil sixteen years of age or older who attended a metropolitan school district the previous year, a written statement that the pupil is attending home school in compliance with section 167.031 shall be a defense to any prosecution under section 167.031 and to any charge or action for educational neglect brought under chapter 210. Home school education enforcement and records pursuant to this section, and sections 210.167 and 211.031, shall be subject to review only by the local prosecuting attorney.” Missouri Homeschool Alliance recommends that homeschool parents, therefore, keep a written or digital log of hours of instruction.
The board and directors of Missouri Homeschool Alliance are not lawyers, and information on this website should not be construed to be legal advice. Please consult the Home School Legal Defense Association or your personal attorney if you need more assistance.
Required Records
Missouri Homeschoolers are required to keep the following three records:
A plan book, diary, or other written record of subjects taught and activities engaged in.
Your plan book needs to say what subject(s) you taught and what you did on any given date.
For example:
March 10, 2023
MATH - Lesson 100
SCIENCE - Atoms and Elements
READING - “Charolotte’s Web”
Home schoolers need to keep samples of the academic work in the five required subjects. While our law does not specify exactly how many samples to keep, many people choose to keep at lease one or two samples from each of the five subjects each month. These pieces of work could be:
Worksheets or notebook pages
Photos or videos of work or activities
Reading lists or library receipts (for reading)
2. A portfolio of samples of the child’s academic work.
3. A record of evaluations of the child’s academic progress
Missouri homeschoolers are to maintain a record of evaluations of academic progress. This can be done often or as little as once a year. These evaluations do need to show progressive growth in the academic subjects.
Types of evaluations
Tests and quizzes from your curriculum or that the parent has made
A report card or high school transcript
A written paper detailing how the child has achieved growth in a subject
Standardized tests.
