Year-end paperwork is easier when you know what you agreed to at the beginning. Rhode Island’s statute requires thorough and efficient instruction, but it does not prescribe one statewide test or year-end evaluation format for every homeschool family.
Separate the statute from your local arrangement
Section 16-19-2 sets the approval points, including subjects, English instruction, attendance, registers, and thorough and efficient instruction. It does not set a statewide annual progress-report deadline or require every family to submit the same portfolio. Your committee’s approval terms and local procedures matter; confirm them rather than assuming another town’s practice applies to you.
Four questions to settle early
- What progress information, if any, is expected under our approval terms?
- Which period should it cover and when is it due?
- What format and submission method should we use?
- Is renewal handled separately, and what local steps apply?
Keep the response in writing where possible. A portfolio, parent-written progress report, test or discussion may be relevant to your local arrangement, but none of those is a universally required statewide evaluation choice under this provision.
If you are preparing a progress report
Write about what actually happened: the subjects studied, materials used, examples of learning and areas you will continue working on. A concise narrative can be more informative than a long list of assignments. Describe growth honestly without inventing test scores, evaluator credentials or claims that a form guarantees compliance.
If work samples are helpful
Keep a few representative, dated examples across the subjects you taught. A beginning-of-year and later sample can show change. Sorting samples as you go is an optional organization practice, not a separate statutory portfolio mandate. Share only what is relevant to your agreement and retain your own copy.
Close the loop
Record what you submitted, the date, any acknowledgment and the next locally agreed action. Attendance-register return is a separate statutory record requirement; do not assume a progress report automatically replaces it. If you receive a new or unclear demand, ask for the basis and how it relates to the approval terms, and seek qualified advice when needed.
A home base for your Rhode Island records
Pennsole’s Rhode Island requirements guide and request and instruction-plan generator are free, with no account needed. Membership adds saved plans, daily logs, an attendance register, progress-report templates, optional portfolios, a committee log and an evaluation tracker. Rhode Island membership is $149/year ($12.42/month billed annually).
Official sources
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-19-1 — compulsory attendance and approved home instruction
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-19-2 — approval, subjects and attendance registers
- Rhode Island Department of Education — home schooling
Reviewed October 25, 2026. General guidance, not legal advice. Check current law and your school committee’s procedures before acting.