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Puerto Rico homeschool requirements

Last verified: 2026-10-30Paperwork: MinimalNotice to the government/school: not required
Guidance only, not legal advice. Homeschool rules change and vary by state. Always verify with your state's official source (linked on each guide) before you rely on anything here.

Overview

In the Puerto Rico laws and DEPR circulars we reviewed, there is no requirement for homeschools to register, be approved, take periodic tests or be monitored. The Departamento de Educación de Puerto Rico (DEPR) has a written procedure for families who withdraw a child from a DEPR public school to homeschool, and a re-entry procedure (portfolio, book list and placement tests) for homeschooled children who later enroll in a DEPR school.

Legal pathway: Homeschooling ("educación en el hogar") is recognized by law as a parent's educational option: Ley 33-2017, Art. 2 (18 L.P.R.A. § 2322) calls the choice of a licensed public or private school, or an unlicensed option such as homeschooling, a fundamental right of parents. Ley 85-2018, Art. 1.04 (3 L.P.R.A. § 9801c) exempts students in an alternative primary and secondary education program from compulsory public-school attendance.

Notification and registration

No statute we found requires notice to the government to homeschool. If your child is enrolled in a DEPR public school, DEPR Carta Circular 10-2020-2021 sets out the withdrawal steps: notify the school in person, request the withdrawal ("baja"), sign the official enrollment-movement report (Informe Oficial de Movimiento de Matrícula) and sign DEPR's "Compromiso y certificación de educar al menor en modalidad de enseñanza en el hogar (Homeschooling)" (Anejo 1). In that form the parent accepts responsibility for the educational philosophy, methods, materials and evaluations. The school gives you an official transcript.

WhatWhen
Withdrawal from a DEPR public school (only if enrolled)Before homeschooling starts. DEPR codes the withdrawal B13 during the school year or V14 in the summer (CC 10-2020-2021).
Re-entry to a DEPR school (only if you return)Apply through the school; DEPR refers homeschooled students to its Unidad de Estudios de Equivalencia y Homeschooling (UEEH).

Who may teach: No parent or teacher qualification requirement for homeschools was found in the statutes or DEPR circulars reviewed.

Ages: School attendance is compulsory from age 5 through 18 (Ley 85-2018, Art. 1.04), with an exception for students in an alternative education program. Separately, Ley 230-1942, Art. 21 (29 L.P.R.A. § 450) requires parents of a child under 16 to see that the child receives instruction in a public or private school and attends regularly while public schools are open.

Required subjects

  • No subject list for homeschools in the statutes reviewed: We found no Puerto Rico statute or DEPR circular that lists required homeschool subjects. In practice, DEPR's re-entry placement tests cover the five basic subjects ("cinco materias básicas") of its curriculum: Español, Inglés, Matemáticas, Ciencias and Estudios Sociales. Planning around those five keeps the option of returning to a DEPR school open.

How our subjects line up

MathematicsRelated

Not mandated for homeschools, but Matemáticas is one of the five basic subjects DEPR tests when a homeschooled child enrolls in its schools.

English Language Arts (Reading & Writing)Related

Language arts in English maps to Inglés, one of DEPR's five basic subjects. In Puerto Rico, Spanish language arts (Español) is a separate basic subject; see the Spanish note below.

ScienceRelated

Not mandated for homeschools, but Ciencias is one of the five basic subjects DEPR tests on re-entry.

History & Social StudiesRelated

Maps to Estudios Sociales, one of DEPR's five basic subjects. Our plans add Puerto Rico history and geography as a recommended (not legally required) focus.

Spanish (world language)Related

Español is one of DEPR's five basic subjects, and DEPR schools teach it as the first-language arts subject. Our Spanish course is a world-language track (beginner to intermediate); for a Spanish-speaking child in Puerto Rico, add grade-level Spanish language arts (reading, writing and grammar in Spanish) so they are ready for DEPR's Español placement test.

English as a Second LanguageRelated

Supports Inglés, one of DEPR's five basic subjects, for children whose first language is Spanish. Use it alongside, or as a bridge into, grade-level English language arts.

Instruction time: Ley 230-1942, Art. 21 (29 L.P.R.A. § 450) requires a child under 16 to receive instruction and attend regularly during the period each year that the public schools are open, on the customary days and hours. Ley 85-2018, Art. 11.01(d) describes public-school students' right to 180 days of contact a year. No separate homeschool day or hour count is set.

Testing and assessment

No testing requirement for homeschoolers was found. Testing applies only if the child later enrolls in a DEPR public school.

  • Re-entry (CC 10-2020-2021): DEPR enrolls the student provisionally for one month and gives diagnostic tests in the five basic subjects. Grades 1-5 must pass 4 of the 5 tests with at least 70%; grades 6-12 must pass all 5 with at least 70%.
  • Students coming from schools in the United States or other countries must also earn one Spanish credit for each school year they study in Puerto Rico (CC 10-2020-2021).
  • Children with disabilities placed by their parents in homeschooling may qualify for DEPR equitable special education services under IDEA (CC 7-2024-2025 for school year 2025-2026).

Record-keeping

No homeschool record-keeping is required by statute. If you may ever enroll your child in a DEPR school, keep the records DEPR asks for at re-entry.

  • A list of the books used for each grade and year, with the topics covered in each subject (CC 10-2020-2021).
  • A portfolio for each subject showing the student's work (CC 10-2020-2021).
  • The transcript of the last grade passed in a school, school enrollment details, a 2x2 photo and the birth certificate (CC 10-2020-2021).
  • Ley 230-1942, Art. 22 (29 L.P.R.A. § 451) makes school attendance records open to inspection by officials enforcing that law, so a simple attendance log is sensible.

Puerto Rico homeschool checklist

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Guidance only. Last verified 2026-10-30. Verify each step with the official sources below.

Notes and limits of this guide

  • Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, not a state; its homeschool rules come from Puerto Rico law and DEPR policy, not from U.S. state statutes.
  • Ley 85-2018 (the Education Reform Act) governs the public system; its bilingual-education right (Art. 9.01(e)) and 180-day calendar apply to public-school students and are not homeschool mandates.
  • HSLDA's Puerto Rico summary marks state-mandated subjects as "yes" without naming a statute; we found no statute listing homeschool subjects, so this guide does not treat any subject as legally required.
  • Carta Circular 10-2020-2021 appears in DEPR's December 2024 list of circulars in force (transition report). DEPR can replace it at any time; confirm the current re-entry rules with your school or the UEEH before you rely on them.
  • Reading Ley 230-1942, Art. 21 as requiring instruction on the public-school calendar is HSLDA's interpretation of the statute's wording; no court decision applying it to homeschools was found.
  • The list of the five basic subjects comes from DEPR's curriculum; CC 10-2020-2021 refers to the "cinco materias básicas" without listing them.

Official sources

Last verified 2026-10-30. Always check these pages for the current rules.

Build a Puerto Rico-aligned curriculum plan

MathematicsEnglish Language Arts (Reading & Writing)ScienceHistory & Social StudiesSpanish (world language)English as a Second Language