Homeschool Tracker & Planner › Homeschool requirements by state › Pennsylvania
Homeschool record-keeping
Attendance log: Yes, keep an attendance record
Portfolio: Yes, a portfolio or work samples
180 days or 900 hours (elementary) / 990 hours (secondary) of instruction (24 P.S. 13-1327.1).
File an annual affidavit, keep a portfolio with a contemporaneous log of reading materials by title and samples of writings, worksheets, workbooks and creative materials, plus test results in grades 3, 5 and 8, and submit an evaluator's certification by June 30.
Whatever Pennsylvania asks for, a daily log covers it: the date, which student, minutes or hours of instruction, the subjects touched, and a line of notes. Add a photo of one piece of work a week and you also have a portfolio. Keep the log all year and the end-of-year form is a matter of copying totals.
Keep Pennsylvania records in the app
Homeschool Tracker & Planner has the Pennsylvania rules built in, logs a school day in a few taps, and exports the attendance and hours PDF with a signature line. Free for the first 14 entries.
How many days or hours of homeschool does Pennsylvania require?
180 days or 900 hours (elementary) / 990 hours (secondary) of instruction (24 P.S. 13-1327.1).
Do I have to keep attendance records to homeschool in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania requires attendance records. Most families keep one regardless: it is the fastest way to answer a district question, it feeds the year-end paperwork, and it settles any later dispute about days of instruction. A log with the date, hours and subjects for each school day is enough.
What do I file to homeschool in Pennsylvania?
File an annual affidavit, keep a portfolio with a contemporaneous log of reading materials by title and samples of writings, worksheets, workbooks and creative materials, plus test results in grades 3, 5 and 8, and submit an evaluator's certification by June 30.
What is the easiest way to keep the records?
Homeschool Tracker & Planner for iPhone logs each school day in a few taps (student, minutes, subject, notes and a photo of the work), tracks days and hours against the Pennsylvania target, and exports an attendance and hours PDF with a parent certification line, plus a portfolio PDF. Records stay on the phone; no account is needed.
https://www.pa.gov/content/dam/copapwp-pagov/en/education/documents/instruction/home-education-and-private-tutoring/home%20education%20and%20private%20tutoring%20guide.pdf
Verified against the official source, September 13, 2026.