


All children residing in Québec, within the meaning of the Regulation respecting the definition of resident in Québec (CQLR, c. I-13.1, r. 4), must attend school:
Yes. The Education Act stipulates that children who receive appropriate homeschooling are exempt from compulsory school attendance, provided that certain conditions are met, mainly those concerning the provision of a written notice of homeschooling, the child’s learning project and the monitoring of the child’s progress during the implementation of the learning project.
Yes. Any child subject to compulsory school attendance can, in principle, be exempted for homeschooling.
At the request of the parents of a child with a disability, social maladjustment or learning difficulty, the Minister may fully or partially exempt the child from the requirements concerning the content of the learning project.
Parents must send a written notice to the Minister and to the relevant school board by July 1 of each year.
Parents must send the Minister a document describing their child’s learning project by September 30 of each year.
Parents must begin implementing the child’s learning project by September 30 of each year.
Parents must send the Minister a written status report on the implementation of the learning project between the third and fifth month after the implementation starts. For example, for a learning project starting on September 30, the status report must be submitted between December 1 and February 28.
Parents must also prepare a written mid-term report on the child’s progress and submit it to the Minister between the third and fifth month after beginning the implementation of the learning project. For example, if the learning project was implemented on September 30, the report on the child’s progress must be submitted between December 1 and February 28.
Provided the parents meet the applicable deadlines, they may send the status report and the mid-term report on their child’s progress at the same time in a single document.
The parents and the child must attend a monitoring meeting during the implementation of the child’s learning project.
Parents must send the Minister a written completion report on their child’s progress by June 15 after the beginning of the implementation of the learning project.
If the child stops attending an educational institution during the school year, the parents must send a written notice to this effect to the Minister and the relevant school board no later than 10 days following the date on which attendance ceases. For example, if the child stops attending school on September 15, the parents must send the notice by September 25.
If the child stops attending an educational institution during a school year, the parents must, within 30 days following the date on which attendance ceases:
Parents must send the Minister a written status report on the implementation of the learning project three to five months after the implementation starts. If a child stops attending school between January 1 and March 31, the parents must submit the status report by June 15 following the start of the implementation. If the child stops attending school after March 31, the status report is optional. For example, if attendance ceases on September 15 and implementation of the learning project begins on October 15, the parents must submit the status report between January 15 and March 15.
Parents must send the Minister a written mid-term report on their child’s progress three to five months after they begin implementing the learning project. If the child stops attending school after December 31, the mid-term progress report is optional. For example, if attendance ceases on September 15 and the parents begin implementing the learning project on October 15, they must submit the report on the child’s progress between January 15 and March 15.
Provided parents meet the applicable deadlines, they may send the status report and the mid-term report on the child’s progress at the same time in a single document.
The parents and the child must attend a monitoring meeting during the implementation of the child’s learning project.
Parents must prepare a written completion report on their child’s progress by June 15 following the start of project implementation.
Yes. Parents can be accompanied at the meeting by a person of their choice. The child must attend the monitoring meeting.
The Ministère’s staff will communicate in French during all homeschooling monitoring meetings. In accordance with the Ministère’s linguistic policy, department personnel may switch to another language during the conversation at the request of an individual attending the meeting.
Parents can use the Homeschooling Form to send notice of their decision to homeschool their children.
Yes. Parents must notify their school board by July 1 if they decide to homeschool their child at the start of the school year, or within 10 days if the child stops attending an educational institution during the school year. Parents must send a copy of the notification to their school board whether or not they intend to request support from the school board.
A representative of the Minister will acknowledge receipt of the notice in writing within 15 days of receipt. The Ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur is responsible for monitoring homeschooling. Its representatives will contact the parents to determine the monitoring procedure.
The child’s learning project is submitted in writing to the Minister and implemented by the child’s parents.
The learning project must:
If this second option is chosen, content to achieve the objectives included in the program of each subject must be taught to allow progress in learning equivalent to that applicable per cycle at school.
The learning project must include the following elements:
Parents can contact the Direction de l’enseignement à la maison to request assistance in developing their child’s learning project.
Parents can also obtain help from resources in their community, such as groups and organizations that offer support for families who have opted for homeschooling.
Parents must monitor their child’s progress during the learning project using one or more of the following evaluation methods:
Taking the ministerial examinations is not compulsory for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years. However, the school board must organize and hold free sessions to allow homeschooled children to sit for ministerial examinations. Starting in the 2020-2021 school year, school boards must also allow homeschooled children to participate in preparation activities for ministerial examinations.
Starting in the 2020-2021 school year, the Ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur will provide parents with preparation documents for ministerial examinations.
Starting in the 2021-2022 school year, in addition to the methods chosen by parents to evaluate their child's progress, the child must also take examinations set by the Minister. Ministerial examinations must be taken, at the latest, at the end of implementation of the learning project. The content taught as part of the learning project must cover the objectives targeted by the program being evaluated. In addition, the official schedule for ministerial examinations must be respected.
The Minister may exempt a child from taking an examination referred to in the first paragraph if the child is unable to attend the examination session due to an illness or another exceptional circumstance. Children who are unable to participate in a given examination session must take the examination as part of another session.
No. Evaluation methods are not limited to those normally used in schools.
Each year, parents must submit two written reports providing information about their child’s learning progress and the evaluations conducted to assess it. If applicable, the portfolio must be sent with the completion report.
Parents must send the Minister a written status report on the implementation of the learning project between the third and fifth month after the start of implementation. For example, for a learning project that was implemented beginning on September 30, the status report must be submitted between December 1 and February 28.
If the child stops attending school between January 1 and March 31, the parents must submit the status report by the June 15 following the start of the implementation of the learning project. If the child stops attending school after March 31, the status report is optional.
The status report and the mid-term report may be sent at the same time in a single document or separately at different times.
The parents must send the mid-term report to the Minister between the third and fifth month after the start of implementation of the learning project. For example, for a learning project beginning on September 30, the child’s mid-term report must be submitted between December 1 and February 28.
When a child stops attending an educational institution after December 31, the submission of the mid-term report is optional.
The mid-term report and the status report may be sent at the same time in a single document or separately at different times.
Parents can submit the status report and the mid-term report using the secure site for homeschool providers .
Parents can also send the reports directly to the resource person responsible for monitoring the family’s homeschooling.
Documents can also be sent by email , by fax to 514-787-3583 or by regular mail to the following address: Direction de l’enseignement à la maison, Ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur, 600 rue Fullum, 8e étage, Montréal (Québec) H2K 4L1.
The status report is a short account of the implementation of the learning project. It provides a snapshot of the learning activities carried out for each subject and the approximate amount of time that was allotted to them (length, frequency or an example of a typical day). If applicable, it also mentions any changes that may have been made to the learning project.
The mid-term report is a document in which the parents indicate the level of their child’s learning progress in each subject, as well as the evaluations carried out to measure this progress.
Yes. At the parents’ request, their school board will provide free access to textbooks for children who are being homeschooled. These textbooks are the same as those provided to children attending school.
The learning project must indicate that these textbooks are required to teach a given program of study or subject. When parents request access to textbooks, they must send a copy of their child’s learning project to their school board. Parents can contact their school board for information about the procedures that apply to their situation. The Direction de l’enseignement à la maison does not send copies of learning projects to school boards.
The school board will determine the conditions in which it will provide access to textbooks.
Yes. At the parents’ request, their school board will provide free access to instructional materials for children who are being homeschooled. These instructional materials are the same as those provided to children attending school.
The learning project must indicate that these instructional materials are required to teach a given program of study or subject. When parents request access to instructional materials, they must send a copy of their child’s learning project to the school board. Parents can contact their school board for information about the procedures that apply to their situation. The Direction de l’enseignement à la maison does not send copies of learning projects to school boards.
The school board will determine the conditions in which it will provide access to these instructional materials, which must be available and already provided free of charge to students attending schools under the school board’s jurisdiction. The student has the right to free access to instructional materials but “the right of free use does not extend to documents in which students write, draw or cut out, nor to material for personal use” (Bill 12). Exercise books, for example, are not covered by the right of free use.
Yes. At the parents’ request, their school board will provide free access to the following services for children who are being homeschooled:
These services are accessible subject to their availability and the child’s needs. When parents request access to professional services, they must send a copy of their child’s learning project to the school board. Parents can contact their school board to obtain information on the procedure that applies to their situation. The Direction de l’enseignement à la maison does not send copies of learning projects to school boards.
Yes. Their school board will provide free access to the following resources for children who are being homeschooled:
The school board will provide access to these services subject to their availability and the conditions it has established. Parents do not have to send their school board a copy of the learning project when they request access to school facilities.
To request support for their child, parents must contact the relevant school board, meaning the school board that has jurisdiction over the territory in which the child resides (Education Act, s. 204).
A child who has been declared eligible for instruction in English is entitled, should the parents wish to avail themselves of it, to the support services of the relevant French-language or English-language school board.
A child who has not been declared eligible for instruction in English can benefit from the support services of the French-language school board that has jurisdiction.
To find the school board that has jurisdiction for their area, parents can consult the list of school boards on the Ministère’s website. Parents can also use the online tool to search by postal code (in French only).
Yes. The school board must take the necessary measures to provide homeschooled children with free access to school board and ministerial examinations. Parents should contact their school board for more information.
In addition, the school board must take the necessary measures to provide homeschooled children with free access to ministerial examinations in order for them to obtain the credits required for the issue of a diploma recognized by the Minister without having taken the corresponding course at an educational institution. Parents should contact their school board for more information and be aware of the educational and organizational requirements that apply in their child's situation.
Parents must develop implement a learning project that leads to the recognition of the credits required by the Direction de la sanction des études.
Parents must take the necessary steps with their relevant school board to register their child for the ministerial examinations. Parents must also make arrangements for the evaluation of results and the recognition of all the subject courses leading to the Secondary School Diploma.
Each situation must be considered based on its own merits when determining if a child is subject to compulsory school attendance and when determining the monitoring that will be provided by the Direction de l’enseignement à la maison.
Parent can contact the Direction de l’enseignement à la maison to obtain information about their obligations under the Homeschooling Regulation.
This page in French only
This section is in French only.
For more information, please refer to the Ministère's linguistic policy.