Legal statusHomeschooling is legal in Montana, but families need to file yearly notice and follow basic attendance, subject, and instruction-time rules.Compulsory age range7-16, or until 8th grade work is completed if laterNotification requiredYes. Families notify the county superintendent each school fiscal year that the child is being homeschooled.Who you notifyThe superintendent of schools of the county where the homeschool is located.Notification deadlineDuring each school fiscal year, which runs from July 1 through June 30. The HSLDA source suggests filing at the beginning of each school year.Required subjectsEnglish language arts, Mathematics, Social studies, Science, Health, Arts, Career educationHours or days requiredAt least 720 hours of instruction each school fiscal year for grades 1-3, and at least 1,080 hours each school fiscal year for grades 4-12.Record keepingKeep attendance records for your homeschool and make them available to the county superintendent on request. Families should also keep a copy of the yearly notice and strong academic records, especially for high school, even though the available sources mainly speak to attendance.Testing and evaluationNo statewide testing requirement is described in the available sources reviewed here.Testing frequencyNot required statewide in the available sources.Teacher qualificationsMontana's statute describes a home school as instruction by a parent of the parent's child, stepchild, or ward in the parent's residence. The available sources do not describe a separate parent teaching license requirement.Curriculum freedomModerate. Families choose their materials, but the homeschool must provide an organized course of study that includes the basic subjects Montana public schools are required to teach.Umbrella school optionYes, but it is optional. The available sources mainly describe Montana's direct parent-run homeschool path.Virtual school optionThe raw sources do not describe a separate virtual-school homeschool pathway. Families may use online materials privately, but public virtual enrollment would be a different arrangement from direct homeschooling.Special educationThe available sources reviewed here do not clearly explain one simple statewide rule for special education services for independent homeschoolers.High school diplomaThe raw sources do not spell out a separate Montana homeschool diploma process. Families homeschooling through high school should keep careful transcripts and other records.College admissionThe raw sources do not discuss college admission rules in detail. Clear transcripts and other supporting records are likely important for homeschool graduates.Sports accessThe available sources reviewed here do not clearly describe a simple statewide rule for homeschool access to public school sports or extracurricular activities.Dual enrollmentPartly. Montana's compulsory-attendance statute says a child enrolled in a home school may enroll on a part-time basis in a public school, but the available sources do not separately explain a statewide college dual-enrollment rule.NotesFirst-pass draft. Verification quality is mixed: Montana's compulsory-attendance statute was readable and HSLDA's compliance summary was readable, but the Montana OPI homeschool URL in the raw source file returned a 404 during capture, so the practical compliance wording relies heavily on HSLDA plus the statute. The available sources point to one main direct homeschool path, and the broken OPI link should get final QA before publication.