Homeschooling in Nova Scotia

Yes. Home schooling is recognized in Nova Scotia's Education Act (sections 83–84) and in the education regulations (sections 31–34), which the registration form asks every parent to read before signing.

Nova Scotia uses the term home schooling. Unlike most provinces, registration is handled centrally by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development rather than by a local school board or regional centre for education.

You do not need teaching qualifications, and you do not have to follow the Nova Scotia public school curriculum.

• Download the current form. The Department posts a new Registration Form for Home Schooling each school year (the 2026–27 version is current). Use one form per child.
• Include a birth certificate copy the first time you register, for a child entering Grade Primary or new to the Nova Scotia system.
• Submit it by mail to Regional Education Services in Halifax, or through the Department's secure online form. You can also phone the Department's toll-free line to have a form mailed to you.
• Leaving a school. The form asks about your child's most recent school. Registering with the Department is what makes the arrangement official, so send the form before or as you withdraw, and let the school know your plans.

The registration form for a school year must be received by September 20. You register again every year you continue.

To home school in Grade Primary, your child must turn 5 on or before December 31 of that school year.

If you stop home schooling – for example because your child is enrolling in school or you are moving out of the province – you are expected to tell the Department.

Nova Scotia does not set a required curriculum for home schoolers. The program of study can be a commercial curriculum, correspondence courses, or something you design yourself.

Because there is no provincial package, you choose and pay for your own materials. Many families still use the public school curriculum outcomes as a checklist so their child can move into school smoothly later.

Each June, you send the Department a report on your child's progress over the year, by mail or the secure online form. The Department receives the report as part of its role in certifying registration.

Standardized testing is not part of the normal process. The rules do give the Minister a way to seek further evidence of progress, including an independent assessment, but this is not routine.

Keep a simple record – samples of work, a reading list, notes on topics covered – so the June report is quick to write and you have evidence if you ever need it.

The Nova Scotia High School Graduation Diploma is earned through public school credits; the standard program needs at least 18 credits, including at least five at Grade 12.

If a home-schooled teen moves into a public school, the regional centre for education decides their grade placement and whether any senior high credits are granted for work done at home. Ask about this well before Grade 10.

Adults (18 or older and not enrolled in school) can work toward the Nova Scotia High School Graduation Diploma for Adults, which requires 12 credits at Grade 11 or 12. Universities and colleges set their own admission rules for home-schooled applicants.

There is no home schooling funding in Nova Scotia, and the Department and regional centres for education do not provide a program of study or materials.

If your child has additional needs, the program you design should take them into account. School-based supports are tied to enrolment, so ask your regional centre for education what (if anything) is available before withdrawing a child who receives support.

For community and advice, many families connect through local home education groups and co-ops and through HSLDA Canada. The Department's home schooling pages are the place to check forms and deadlines.