Homeschool PE in New York

New York has some of the strictest homeschool regulations in the country — including a mandatory PE requirement. Here's how to stay compliant.

A teenager doing agility work on a paved area behind a two-storey clapboard house, maples turning in the low autumn light and a jacket over the porch rail.
Regulation Level
High Regulation
PE Mandate
Required
Compulsory Ages
6–16 (17 NYC)
Annual Hours
900–990

These figures come from our state requirements registry, which names NY Education Law §3204 (Individualized Home Instruction Plan) for New York. We hold that citation; nobody has yet checked each figure above against the statute text itself, and we would rather say so than imply otherwise. Requirements change — confirm with your district before relying on them. See what we hold for New York, or how we source this. This is a homeschool PE reference, not legal advice.

New York IHIP Requirements

New York requires homeschool families to file an Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP) with their local school district each year. PE must be explicitly listed as a subject area in the IHIP.

For grades 1–6, you need 900 instructional hours per year. For grades 7–12, you need 990 hours. Physical education must be included but specific PE hours are not mandated separately — it counts toward your total.

Annual Compliance Timeline

July 1
File Notice of Intent with local school district
Within 4 weeks of notice
Submit IHIP including PE plan description
Quarterly (Nov, Jan, Mar, Jun)
Submit quarterly reports with hours per subject
June 30
Annual assessment — standardized test or narrative evaluation

What NY Requires for PE Documentation

  • PE must be listed as a subject in your IHIP
  • Quarterly reports must include PE hours and activities summary
  • Annual assessment must reference PE progress if narrative-based
  • Activities must show "regular and substantial" instruction
  • No specific curriculum is mandated — parent chooses content

What Evaluators Look For

  • Consistent weekly schedule (not just sporadic activity)
  • Progression in skill development over the year
  • Variety of physical activities (not just one sport)
  • Documentation of specific dates and durations

Paying With Education Funds

A growing number of states let families spend education savings account or scholarship funds on physical education. Spatrian produces a standard itemised invoice showing the instruction delivered, the hours and the dates, which is what these programmes ask for.

We have not built a programme-specific invoice format for this state, and we are not going to guess at one — these programmes change every legislative session. Check what your own state offers and what it counts as an eligible expense.

How Spatrian Satisfies NY Requirements

  • Auto-generates IHIP PE section language you can paste into your filing
  • Tracks hours by quarter — export quarterly reports with one click
  • Produces dated activity logs with specific durations for each session
  • Shows skill progression graphs that demonstrate "regular and substantial" instruction
  • Includes cognitive development metrics that impress narrative evaluators
  • Covers multiple activity types (technical drills, tactical games, fitness) for variety
  • Generates annual summary narrative aligned to NY assessment standards
  • Automatic hour tracking with running totals toward 900/990 goal

NYC-Specific Notes

New York City families file with the NYC Department of Education's Office of Homeschooling rather than a local school board. The compulsory age extends to 17 in NYC. Requirements are otherwise identical to the rest of the state, but NYC reviewers tend to be more thorough in IHIP reviews.

Spatrian's NYC mode includes additional documentation detail in exports to satisfy the higher scrutiny level.

Stay Compliant in New York

Spatrian handles the paperwork so you can focus on teaching. Start with a plan that auto-generates NY-specific compliance docs.

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