Homeschooling in Northwest Territories

Yes. The Education Act recognizes home schooling, and the Home Schooling Regulations set out how it works. ECE describes it as a partnership: you take the lead on your child's education, and your local school supports and monitors the program.

The NWT term is home schooling, and a registered home-schooled child is still connected to a local school, which is why the process runs through principals and local education bodies rather than a territorial registry.

• Contact a local school. Register with a school in the education district where you live. If you live outside any district, register with a school in the nearest district.
• Do it before you start. ECE says families register before home schooling begins. Registration is renewed each school year.
• Check local deadlines and forms. Districts set their own procedures. For example, Yellowknife Education District No. 1 asks for registrations by 15 September with its annual record form. Ask your school or district for its forms and date.
• Leaving a school mid-year. Talk to the principal and complete the home schooling registration before you stop sending your child, so they aren't treated as absent.

Under the regulations, the parent has primary responsibility for providing the home schooling program and for making sure it meets the curriculum standards set by the Minister. You choose how to teach and which resources to use; the principal's job is not to judge your teaching methods.

The NWT is moving to a renewed JK–12 curriculum based on British Columbia's, adapted with northern content, in stages between 2023 and 2028. Ask your school which curriculum documents apply to your child's grade this year.

You and the principal (or a designate) agree how your child's progress will be assessed. The principal monitors progress and gives you feedback during the year.

The regulations also describe the parent sharing samples of the child's work with the principal and discussing progress with them, twice a year. Districts often use a single annual record form that brings together your plan, progress discussions and a year-end report.

If the principal has ongoing concerns, they can recommend that the superintendent review the program. Keeping a plan, work samples and brief notes on progress makes these conversations straightforward.

An NWT secondary school diploma is earned through high school credits. New graduation requirements under the renewed curriculum began with students entering Grade 10 in 2024–25; students already in Grades 11 or 12 that year stayed on their original requirements. The changes include moving to four-credit courses and replacing diploma exams with literacy and numeracy assessments.

Home-schooled teens who want a diploma usually need to earn credits through a school or approved course. Talk to your registering school well before Grade 10 about which courses can be taken for credit and how assessments will work.

ECE says registered families can receive some financial support towards the cost of materials and resources. The amount depends on whether your child is home schooled full time or part time and which community you live in. Ask your registering school or district how to claim and which costs are eligible.

Your registering school is also your first source of support, from curriculum documents to advice on assessment.

You can home school a child with special needs. Talk with the principal about your child's existing support plan and what help the school can offer while your child is registered for home schooling.

For contact with other families, ask your district about local home schooling groups, and look at Canada-wide organizations such as HSLDA Canada.