A parent or guardian who wants to home school his child must have a high school diploma or the equivalent. A General Educational Development (GED) diploma and an adult high school diploma are considered the equivalent of a high school diploma in North Carolina.
The Notice of Intent to Operate a Home School Form must be submitted to the DNPE. There are two forms available depending on which home school route you intend to take. One form is for parents and guardians who plan to home school their child instead of sending him to traditional school. The other form is for parents and guardians who only want to home school their child during summer months and plan to send them to a traditional school after the summer.
The home school must be operated on a regular schedule. The home school year should last for nine calendar months, the same as a traditional school. The child in the home school can take vacations or have holidays off just as a child who attends a traditional school would. For example, children in traditional schools in North Carolina get time off for Spring Break and holidays such as Thanksgiving and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Parents and guardians who plan to home school their children must give children nationally standardized achievement tests at the end of the home school year. These tests are necessary to make sure that the student is performing at grade level in subjects like English and math.