My Learning Source New Mexico › Homeschooling in New Mexico › New Mexico Homeschool Options — Home School Law, the PED Notification, Diplomas and the HSE, Where New Mexico Stands on School Choice, NMAA Activities, Dual Credit and the Lottery Scholarship

New Mexico Homeschool Options — Home School Law, the PED Notification, Diplomas and the HSE, Where New Mexico Stands on School Choice, NMAA Activities, Dual Credit and the Lottery Scholarship

In New Mexico, a home school is a parent's home study program that teaches at least reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies and science (NMSA § 22-1-2), and it is one of the legal ways to meet the compulsory attendance law, which runs until at least age 18 (§ 22-12A-4). The home school law, § 22-1-2.1, asks three things: notify the Public Education Department (PED) within 30 days of starting and by August 1 every year after, keep immunization records or a waiver, and have instruction given by someone with at least a high school diploma or its equivalent. PED doesn't approve curricula, and home school students don't have to take annual standardized tests. New Mexico has no education savings account, voucher or state tax-credit scholarship, and no state program pays homeschool costs. On November 4, 2026, Governor Lujan Grisham announced that New Mexico will opt into the new federal scholarship tax credit; PED is still setting up the process for scholarship-granting organizations. What the law gives home-schooled students: up to three district activities under NMAA rules, district classes, dual credit college courses, admission to state universities without an equivalency credential for students with qualifying test scores, and the Legislative Lottery Scholarship.

Overseen by	The New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) receives home school notifications and, by law, enforces the requirements for home schools; on finding a home school out of compliance, it may order the student to attend a public or private school (NMSA § 22-2-2(H)). The school district does not approve or supervise a home school.
Start and renew: the notification	Notify PED within 30 days of establishing the home school, then on or before August 1 of each later year (§ 22-1-2.1(A)) — online through PED's Home School System (the online period opens June 1) or on PED's paper form. Print or save the Parent Notification Report as your proof; it carries a 5-digit notification number for each child for each school year.
Instruction required	A home study program providing a basic academic program including reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies and science, given by a person with at least a high school diploma or its equivalent. The operator must be the parent or legal guardian. PED answers the hours question with the public school minimum in § 22-2-8.1 (1,140 instructional hours a year; 550 for half-day kindergarten).
Testing and records	No annual standardized testing is required. Keep immunization records or a waiver (§ 22-1-2.1(B)). Other records — notifications, hours, materials, portfolios — aren't legally required, but PED encourages them for students who later transfer or go to college.
Diplomas	A parent-made diploma, or one from a correspondence course, private online school or purchased program, is not recognized by the state. State-recognized routes are a high school equivalency credential (GED, HiSET or NEDP; from age 16 with a parent's permission) or finishing at a public or non-public school. New Mexico's public colleges and universities may not require an equivalency credential from a home school graduate with qualifying test scores (§§ 21-1-1, 21-1-1.1).
Homeschool funding	None. New Mexico has no ESA, voucher or state tax-credit scholarship. College aid is the exception: home school graduates can qualify for the Legislative Lottery Scholarship (§ 21-21N-2) if they were registered with PED.
School choice status	As of November 2026: public charter schools, two statewide online public charter schools and open enrollment among public schools; no private school choice program. ESA and tax-credit scholarship bills in 2025 (SB 286, HB 324, HB 387, HB 388) and 2026 (HB 193, HB 240) died. The Governor announced the federal scholarship tax credit opt-in on November 4, 2026; New Mexico was not on the IRS list as of its October 22, 2026 update.

Homeschooling in New Mexico: the basics

The law: NMSA § 22-1-2 defines a home school as "the operation by the parent of a school-age person of a home study program of instruction that provides a basic academic educational program, including reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies and science." The requirements are in § 22-1-2.1 (Laws 1985, last amended 2014), and the compulsory attendance law, § 22-12A-4, lists home school alongside public school, private school and state institutions.
Who must attend: a school-age person is at least five years old before 12:01 a.m. on September 1 of the school year, has no high school diploma or equivalent, and hasn't reached their twenty-second birthday on the first day of the school year (§ 22-1-2). A school-age person must attend public school, private school, home school or a state institution until at least age 18, unless they have graduated, received a high school equivalency credential or withdrawn on a hardship waiver. Between 16 and 18, a parent may give written, signed permission to leave school in case of hardship approved by the local superintendent or private school (§ 22-12A-4(A)). PED notes that nothing in statute keeps a parent from teaching a child before age five.
Who may operate a home school: PED says the operator must be the student's parent or legal guardian. A parent or guardian may hire someone else to teach a particular subject, but stays responsible for the law — the notification, immunization records and making sure whoever teaches has at least a high school diploma or high school equivalency credential.
The notification: file PED's home school registration form within 30 days of establishing the home school, then on or before August 1 of each later year (§ 22-1-2.1(A)). Most families use PED's online Home School System, where the notification period opens June 1 each year; print or save the Home School – Parent Notification Report, which has a 5-digit notification number unique to each child for each school year. The system also lets you renew each year, update your address and "unnotify" a student who graduates, moves or transfers to a school.
Paper option: you can instead mail PED's Notification of a Home School form to the New Mexico Public Education Department, Attention: Home School Notification, 300 Don Gaspar Avenue, Santa Fe, NM 87501. Write the school year you are notifying for, and send it certified mail, return receipt requested, or by another tracked method for proof; PED staff enter it into the online system. The form asks for the school district where the students live, the parents' legal names, the home address and each child's name, date of birth, gender, grade and ethnicity, and you sign that the person providing instruction has at least a high school diploma or its equivalent.
Subjects: instruction in at least reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies and science. PED does not approve curricula for home school families, and you choose and buy your own materials — PED doesn't provide books, materials or computers to home schools. PED suggests the New Mexico content standards may help you decide what to teach.
Hours: the home school law itself sets no hours. When PED's FAQ answers "For how many hours must I home school my students each year?", it quotes the public school minimum in § 22-2-8.1 — 1,140 instructional hours a year, exclusive of lunch, or 550 for half-day kindergarten — and PED's notification form lists that minimum among parents' responsibilities.
Immunizations: keep records of your child's immunizations or a waiver of that requirement (§ 22-1-2.1(B)). The Department of Health waiver request form is posted with PED's home school forms. PED's notification form doesn't ask you to send them.
Enforcement: PED, not the school district, is charged with enforcing the home school requirements. If PED finds a home school isn't in compliance with the law, it may order that the student attend a public school or a private school (§ 22-2-2(H)).
Other legal routes: a private school under New Mexico law is a school, other than a home school, that offers on-site programs of instruction and isn't run by a local school board (§ 22-1-2). State accreditation is optional for private schools; since July 2024, non-public schools that want it apply under 6.19.4 NMAC. Each private school must have an attendance policy that follows public school law as closely as practicable (§ 22-12A-4(E)).
Online and charter schools are public schools: a charter school is a public school, and the law makes it a "non-home-based public school" (§§ 22-1-2, 22-8B-4). PED says students in New Mexico's online public schools are not home school students and do not register as home schoolers. If your child attends an out-of-state online school, PED says the law is unclear, but in general you are a home school operator who has hired that organization to teach — so file the notification.

Records, testing and going back to school

Testing: home school students in New Mexico are not required to take annual standardized tests. If you want your children tested, PED says standardized testing is available to home school children and suggests searching for home school assessments online.

Records: records beyond immunizations aren't a legal requirement, but PED encourages home school operators to keep thorough, accurate records of their notifications, instructional hours and educational materials, and portfolios of student work. These help a student who transfers to a school or goes on to college or training. Keep your yearly Parent Notification Reports, too — they are your proof that you notified PED.

Returning to public school: anyone entitled to a free public education may enroll or re-enroll in a public school at any time (§ 22-1-4(C)). When a student transfers from a home school, the local school board's rules must place the student at a grade level appropriate to the student's age or to the student's score on a student achievement test given under the state assessment system (§ 22-1-4(D)). PED says elementary and middle school students will likely be placed with students their age, and that placing high school students is more complicated — ask your district what rules it uses.

Credits on transfer: acceptance of credits earned through home study is decided by the local school board's policy, or a charter school's governing council, so a student may have to show competency another way, such as standard assessments. PED lists helpful records: a transcript of completed courses, a list of materials used, the lessons covered, test scores and a portfolio of work, including exams.

Student ID: PED's home school system can hold your child's state student ID (STARS, now called Nova). Families can opt out of having one assigned, but a home school student needs this ID to take dual credit college classes; PED's home school administrator can find an existing ID or create a new one.

Diplomas, the HSE and college

Diplomas the state recognizes: PED lists two routes — transfer back to a public or non-public school for the school year before graduation and complete the state's requirements for a New Mexico diploma of excellence, or, starting at age 16, take a high school equivalency exam with the parent's or guardian's permission.

Diplomas the state doesn't recognize: a diploma created by the parent or legal guardian, or graduation through a correspondence course, a private online school, a distance learning school or a home school program the parent buys. PED warns that a college may not recognize these, so call the admissions offices of the colleges your student is considering to learn what documentation they want.

High school equivalency (HSE): the Higher Education Department (HED) offers three pathways — the GED test, the HiSET exam and the National External Diploma Program (NEDP) — and the credential looks the same whichever you choose. You can earn one if you aren't enrolled or required to be enrolled in high school and don't already have a diploma or HSE; 16- and 17-year-olds need a parent or legal guardian to submit HED's Underage Permission Form.

The tests: the GED has four subject tests and you need 145 or higher on each; eligible New Mexico test-takers can take GED Ready practice tests and official GED tests at no cost through the state subsidy after scoring 145 or higher on the GED Ready test for that subject. The HiSET has five subject tests; you need at least 8 of 20 on each, at least 2 of 6 on the essay and a combined 45. NEDP is a remote, competency-based program; its credential is called a New Mexico Adult High School Diploma, but HED says it is not a New Mexico high school diploma.

Transcripts: home school students aren't legally required to have a transcript, but PED says one helps when a student transfers into a school or applies to college. PED suggests listing course titles, credits per course, the textbooks or programs used, how much of the material was covered, overall and assignment grades, and samples of writing — plus a written explanation of your own graduation requirements if you aren't following New Mexico's.

Admission to New Mexico's public colleges: by law, the boards of state universities, colleges and community colleges may not require a student who completed a home-based program and has qualifying test scores to get or show a high school equivalency credential, and they must evaluate home school applicants fairly and without discrimination (§§ 21-1-1(B), 21-1-1.1). The University of New Mexico, for example, decides home school admission on a GED or HiSET score or a transcript; a transcript applicant needs 4 years of English, 4 of math, 3 of lab science, 3 of social studies and 2 of a language other than English, and the transcript should be signed or validated by the homeschool administrator.

Legislative Lottery Scholarship: under § 21-21N-2, a qualified student includes one who "completed the requirements of a home-based or nonpublic secondary educational program in New Mexico," then attends a public college, university or tribal college within 16 months (or begins U.S. armed forces service within four months and enrolls within 16 months of honorable or medical discharge), and completes the first semester with at least a 2.5 GPA in 12 or more credit hours. PED says a 2021 law made the scholarship available to home school students, and that the student must have been registered with PED — the parents must have notified the state during the relevant school years. HED says the Lottery Scholarship pays 100% of tuition.

Opportunity Scholarship: New Mexico residents at a public college or tribal college after high school, an HSE or — per HED — a home school certificate can qualify, enrolling in 6 to 18 credit hours in fall and spring and keeping a 2.5 cumulative GPA (§§ 21-21R-2, 21-21R-3). Awards may cover up to 100% of tuition and fees after other state aid (§ 21-21R-4).

Where New Mexico stands on school choice (November 2026)

What exists: public choices. PED's Options for Parents & Families Division supports traditional public schools, public charter schools, online public schools and non-public schools as well as home schooling. Charter schools are public schools and can't charge tuition (§ 22-8B-4). PED names two statewide online public charter schools: Pecos Cyber Academy (K–12) and New Mexico Connections Academy (grades 4–12). District enrollment rules give priority first to students living in a school's attendance area, then to students who previously attended the school, and then to "all other applicants" (§ 22-1-4(E)).

Public options are not homeschooling: enrolling in a charter school or an online public school makes your child a public school student. PED says students in online public schools are not home school students.

What doesn't exist: New Mexico has no education savings account, voucher or state tax-credit scholarship program, and no state program pays homeschool costs.

Bills in 2025: SB 286, the Education Freedom Account Act (introduced February 5, 2025); HB 324, educational scholarships and tax credit (February 7, 2025); and HB 387, the Education Opportunity Account Act, and HB 388, the Low-Income Education Opportunity Account Act (both February 11, 2025). Each was sent to committee, no vote is recorded, and each died.

Bills in 2026: HB 193, scholarships for private education and tax credits (introduced January 27, 2026 and sent to the House Education Committee), and HB 240, the Education Opportunity Account Act (introduced January 29, 2026 and not printed), both died. Two memorials asking the Governor to opt into the federal scholarship tax credit — SJM 4 and HM 28 — also died.

The federal scholarship tax credit: from 2027, a taxpayer may claim a federal credit of up to

,700 ($3,400 for joint filers) for cash gifts to an approved scholarship-granting organization (SGO), but only in states that opt in. In August 2025 a spokesperson for the Governor said New Mexico would not opt in. On November 4, 2026, Governor Lujan Grisham announced she will opt New Mexico in; her office says PED will set up a certification process for SGOs "in the coming weeks" and SGOs can apply once guidelines are released. New Mexico was not on the IRS list of participating states as of the list's October 22, 2026 update.

What the scholarships may pay: the Governor's release says scholarships will be open to students in public and private schools, for things like tutoring and special education services, before- and after-school programs, technology, books, supplies and public school fees for supplemental programs, for students whose household income is no more than 300% of the area median gross income. Families will apply to SGOs, which will usually pay schools and service providers directly. The release doesn't mention home-schooled students, and PED's SGO certification guidelines had not been released when it was issued — so don't count on these scholarships for homeschool costs until PED's rules and the SGOs' own rules say so.

What it means for homeschool families: no New Mexico program pays homeschool costs today. What the law gives home-schooled students is access — up to three district activities under NMAA rules, district classes, dual credit college courses with tuition waived, state university admission without an equivalency credential for students with qualifying test scores, and the Lottery and Opportunity Scholarships for college. We make no prediction about 2027 legislation.

District classes, NMAA activities and dual credit

District activities: a home school student may take part in up to three school district activities at the public school in the attendance zone where the student lives, under New Mexico Activities Association (NMAA) guidelines; "activities" means athletics, co-curricular and extracurricular activities sanctioned by the NMAA, and the district verifies each home school student's academic eligibility (§ 22-8-23.8).

NMAA rules (Handbook Section X, 10.5): the student must be registered with PED as a home school student and live within the school's attendance area, and must document home school classes equaling more than half of that school's regular class schedule. Academic eligibility is checked at the same time as for enrolled students — NMAA requires a 2.0 grade point average with no F's for the preceding semester grading period. The student, parents and school sign a code of conduct agreement, keep an annual physical, consent forms and proof of insurance on file, and handle their own transportation to practice.

Transferring into home school: NMAA treats a student in good standing who moves from a non-public school, or from a public school outside the attendance zone, into home school as a transfer student, ineligible for varsity athletics at the public school for 365 calendar days unless it is the student's first transfer. A student who was academically ineligible stays ineligible until regaining eligibility under NMAA's rules.

District classes: home school students may take one or more classes at public schools — at the school in their attendance zone or another public school under the district's enrollment rules — and the district verifies academic and other eligibility (§ 22-8-23.9). PED says enrollment must be for less than half a day; a student enrolled for half a day or more counts as a full-time student of that school.

Dual credit: New Mexico's dual credit law counts a home school as a "high school" (§ 21-1-1.2). To take part, a student must be a school-age person receiving at least half of their instruction at their high school, and must get permission from the counselor, principal or head administrator of the high school they mainly attend — for a home schooler, that is your home school. Public colleges and universities waive tuition and general fees for dual credit students; families pay course-specific fees and transportation.

Dual credit in practice: courses must count toward a college degree or certificate — remedial courses and PE activity classes don't qualify. A home school student needs a state student ID (Nova, formerly STARS); look it up in your Home School System account, or email PED's dual credit office if the field is blank. Each college sets its own process: CNM in Albuquerque, for example, accepts home-schooled students ages 15 to 18 who show their PED home school registration, and home-schooled students pay for their own textbooks there.

Support from PED and districts: PED says schools and PED can't recommend or endorse home school programs or provide materials and services, and points families to local home school support groups, libraries and home school stores.

Special education and health requirements

Child find: New Mexico's special education rules require each school district to locate, evaluate and determine the eligibility of children with disabilities who are schooled at home (6.31.2.11 NMAC), and each public agency's child find duty covers "children who are schooled at home" (6.31.2.10 NMAC). If you think your child has a disability, contact your school district's special education office and ask for an evaluation.

Services: the state rules we read say districts must locate, evaluate and identify home-schooled children with disabilities; they don't spell out what services a home-schooled student then receives. Ask your district what it offers, and whether enrolling part time would change it.

Immunizations: the law requires you to keep records of each child's immunizations or a waiver of that requirement (§ 22-1-2.1(B)). For NMAA activities, NMAA's sample home school packet for districts lists an up-to-date shot record.

Driver's license for home-schooled teens

Graduated licensing: if you're under 18 and applying for your first New Mexico license, you go through MVD's three-stage Graduated Driver Licensing system. For a Stage 1 instructional permit, a teen must be at least 15 and bring proof of having completed, or being enrolled in, a state-approved driver education program, plus proof of identity, an identification number and New Mexico residency. The teen and a parent or guardian sign the application, and the teen passes the knowledge exam.

Stage 1 requirements: hold the permit at least six months; complete a driver education course from a school approved by the Traffic Safety Bureau that includes a 3-hour DWI component; drive only with an adult 21 or older who has been licensed at least three years; log 50 hours of supervised practice, including 10 at night, with the parent or guardian signing the log; and keep a clean record for the 90 days before applying for Stage 2.

Provisional and full license: at 15½ or older, the teen applies for a provisional license with the driver education certificate of completion and the driving log, and passes the road skills exam. The provisional license must be held at least 12 months; without a licensed driver 21 or older in the car, the teen may carry no more than one passenger under 21 who isn't immediate family, and may not drive between midnight and 5 a.m. except for school, work, family or medical need, or religious activities, with a signed statement. By statute, a parent or guardian may sign the statement for driving to and from school (§ 66-5-8(C)).

Home-schooled teens: MVD's teen licensing page and § 66-5-8 list no school-attendance form or separate requirement for home-schooled students; the parent or guardian signs the applications and certifies the practice hours. Driver education must come from a school licensed by the NMDOT Traffic Safety Bureau.

For vendors: serving New Mexico homeschool families

No state money, no approved list: New Mexico has no ESA, voucher or state tax-credit scholarship, no approved-vendor list and no state marketplace. Families pay you directly. Don't suggest that any state program pays for your products.

The federal scholarship tax credit: the Governor announced on November 4, 2026 that New Mexico will opt in for 2027, and PED is developing the certification process for scholarship-granting organizations. The Governor's office says SGOs will usually pay schools and service providers directly, but it hasn't said whether home-schooled students or homeschool vendors will be covered. Wait for PED's guidelines and the SGOs' own rules before telling families anything.

Curriculum: families must teach at least reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies and science, and PED approves no curricula — families choose freely. PED points families to the New Mexico content standards, so showing how your materials line up with them can help.

Tutors, classes and co-ops: a parent may hire someone to teach a particular subject but stays responsible for the law, including making sure the instructor has at least a high school diploma or high school equivalency credential. Expect families to ask about your instructors' credentials.

Testing: New Mexico doesn't require standardized tests for home school students, but PED says families may choose to test. Optional testing, transcripts and course documentation are useful to families whose students may transfer to a school, apply to college or seek NMAA eligibility.

High school and college: families building a transcript for college or for the Lottery Scholarship value clear course descriptions, length of study and grades — UNM, for example, looks for 4 years of English, 4 of math, 3 of lab science, 3 of social studies and 2 of a world language. HSE preparation (GED and HiSET) and dual credit support are steady needs; home-schooled dual credit students at CNM, for example, buy their own textbooks.

Driver education: teen drivers need a course from a driving school licensed by the NMDOT Traffic Safety Bureau, with a 3-hour DWI component.

Listing on My Learning Source is separate from any state program — New Mexico doesn't approve vendors for homeschool families, and families find you here either way.

Official sources

My Learning Source is an independent marketplace. We are not affiliated with the New Mexico Public Education Department, any New Mexico school district or charter school, the New Mexico Legislature, the Office of the Governor, the Taxation and Revenue Department, the Higher Education Department, the Motor Vehicle Division, the New Mexico Activities Association, any scholarship-granting organization or college. New Mexico does not approve vendors for homeschool families, and a listing here says nothing about any scholarship program. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

As of November 2026.

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