Homeschooling in Prince Edward Island

Yes. PEI's Education Act (2016) and its Home Education Regulations allow parents to provide a home education program instead of sending their child to school. A child in a home education program under the Act is not subject to the compulsory attendance rules.

The regulations expect parents to make a good-faith effort to give their child the opportunity to gain knowledge and skills. Beyond that, the Island's rules are among the lightest in Canada: the notice is the main legal requirement.

Until 2015, PEI parents had to prepare a home education plan and have it approved by a certified teacher. The province dropped the teacher-approval requirement in 2015, partly in response to a request from the Island's Amish community.

When the new Education Act and regulations took effect in 2016, the notice form was simplified and parents no longer had to describe their home education program to the government.

Since then, there has been public discussion about how little oversight PEI has, but no new reporting requirement has been confirmed in our research.

• Complete the Notice of Intention to Home School for each child. It is available from the provincial government's website, in English and French.
• Send it to the Department of Education and Early Years before the school year starts. If you decide to home educate partway through a year, file the notice before withdrawing your child.
• Tell your child's school that you are withdrawing them, so attendance records match your notice.
• Repeat each year. The notice covers one school year.

PEI does not set a required curriculum for home education and does not approve plans. You choose your own approach, materials and schedule.

If you want to use the provincial curriculum, the Department can provide materials; there is no fee if you are not using provincial curriculum resources, and a small per-child fee if you are.

There is no provincial testing, home visit or progress report requirement for home-educated children in PEI.

Even so, keeping a simple portfolio – work samples, a reading list, notes on what you covered each term – is wise. It helps if your child later enrols in school and the school needs to decide on grade placement.

Home-educated students do not receive a PEI high school diploma unless they enter the public school system and complete the required credits.

If your child moves into a public school, the school authority decides their grade level. Home-educated students may be able to take individual courses from an education authority, but this has to be arranged in advance – contact the Department well before the school year you are planning for.

Colleges and universities set their own admission requirements for home-educated applicants.

There is no home education funding in PEI.

If your child has additional needs, the program you provide should meet them. School-based supports are tied to enrolment, so ask the Department what, if anything, continues before you withdraw.

For questions about the notice, contact the Department's home education contact listed on the government's form page. For community and advice, families connect through local home education groups and co-ops, and through HSLDA Canada.