The Delaware Department of Education’s (DDOE) Nonpublic School support section is your central source for information about nonpublic homeschools and private schools in the State of Delaware.
The option to homeschool or attend private school in Delaware provides the parents and/or guardians of school-age children alternatives to public schools.
There are over 2,000 nonpublic schools in the State of Delaware.
Annual Reporting Date
For those with an open/active homeschool or private school.
Please note, the Nonpublic School Application will be closed from August 1st through August 11th in order to roll the application to the new school year. You will be unable to access the system to make changes, updates, or report enrollment until August 12th.
Monday, June 3, 2024 – Wednesday, July 31, 2024
Monday, August 12, 2024 – Monday, September 29, 2024*
*The required date for completion of enrollment for nonpublic schools has changed from no later than October 5th of each year to no later than September 30th of each year. This was a legislative change that was approved by the General Assembly in June 2023.
Explanation of Schools and Services
The responsibility of the Nonpublic School support team is to register nonpublic schools in the State of Delaware, enroll students into registered Delaware nonpublic schools, and collect annual reporting.
Nonpublic Schools (NPS) in Delaware include homeschools and private schools. There are two main types of homeschool; single-family and multi-family.
- SINGLE-FAMILY HOMESCHOOL means the education of one’s own child(ren) primarily by the parent(s) or legal guardian(s) of such child(ren) mainly in their own residence.
- MULTI-FAMILY HOMESCHOOLS means the education of children, primarily by the parents(s) or legal guardian(s) of such children mainly in one or several residences, or other facilities, when such children are not all related to each other as brother or sister. A person shall act as a liaison to the Department of Education for reporting enrollment and attendance information for all families involved.
- PRIVATE SCHOOLS means a school having any or all of grades kindergarten through twelve, operating under a board of trustees and maintaining a faculty and plant which are properly supervised.
In order to have an open nonpublic school, you must register with the DDOE. To remain open, a nonpublic school must report annual enrollment and attendance.
The DDOE does not provide, endorse, accredit, approve or monitor curriculum for any nonpublic school (private or homeschool), or validate any type of credential provided by those schools. Students and parents/guardians must investigate the school themselves and ask if they are accredited. Students and parents/guardians may wish to contact a college, university, training program, licensing entities, or employer to determine if they will accept the diploma from the nonpublic school.
What does this mean for you?
- The DDOE does not provide or recommend a curriculum.
- The DDOE does not keep any student records. We recommend you keep an academic portfolio for your student that includes information such as grades, attendance, test scores, etc.
- The DDOE cannot ensure that your student’s next step will acknowledge records and/or diploma information from your NPS. We recommend you contact a college, university, training program, licensing entities, or employer to determine if they will accept the diploma from the nonpublic school.
