Indiana Homeschool Law: Ind. Code § 20-33-2-28

Indiana homeschool law operates under Ind. Code § 20-33-2-28, which exempts children from compulsory school attendance when they are enrolled in a school that is not accredited by the state. Indiana home schools are treated as non-accredited private schools, placing them in the same legal category as many private religious or independent schools.

Under this framework, Indiana homeschooling families are required to provide 180 days of instruction per year, but face no registration, no standardized testing, and no reporting requirements to the state or local school district. Parents have full authority over curriculum selection, course content, grading methodology, and graduation requirements.

180 days: Unlike many other low-regulation states, Indiana does specify 180 instructional days. Track your school calendar and keep attendance records, even though you do not submit them to any authority, colleges often ask for documentation of instructional time.

Indiana's Core 40 College-Prep Benchmark

Indiana sets no graduation credit requirements for homeschoolers, but most college-bound families use the Indiana Core 40 Diploma framework as their benchmark. The Core 40 is the standard college-prep diploma earned by Indiana public school graduates, and Indiana universities including Indiana University, Purdue, Ball State, and Butler all reference it when reviewing homeschool applications.

Subject Area Notes Credits
Language ArtsEnglish 9–124
MathematicsAlgebra I required; 2 credits beyond Algebra I4
ScienceBiology I + 2 others3
Social StudiesUS History, Economics, Government3
Fine Arts2
Health / PE2
World LanguageSame language, 2 years2
Electives2
TotalIndiana Core 40 Diploma benchmark22
DiplomaPath tip: DiplomaPath lets you set custom credit targets per subject. Map the Indiana Core 40 framework to your targets and the Requirements tracker automatically shows progress in real time, so you never reach senior year with a gap in World Language or Science.

Required Elements of a Complete Indiana Transcript

Use this checklist when building your transcript. Every item below should appear on the final document colleges receive:

  • Student information
    Full legal name, date of birth, address
  • Homeschool name
    A consistent name used across all your student's academic records (e.g., “Hoosier Academy” or “The Taylor Home School”)
  • Courses organized by grade year
    Group by 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th grade with academic year dates
  • Letter grade and grade point value per course
    Include your grading scale (e.g., A = 93–100 = 4.0)
  • Credits per course
    Full-year course = 1.0 credit; semester = 0.5 credit (Carnegie Unit)
  • Cumulative GPA, weighted and unweighted
    Standard = 4.0; Honors +0.5; AP/PSEO +1.0
  • Total credits earned
  • Expected graduation date
  • Parent signature and title
    Sign as “Principal” or “Administrator” of the home school, appropriate under Indiana's private school framework

GPA Calculation for Indiana Homeschoolers

GPA is calculated the same way regardless of state: multiply each course's grade points by its credit value, sum all those products, and divide by the total number of credits. The standard 4.0 scale applies. Honors courses add 0.5 and AP or dual enrollment courses add 1.0 to produce a weighted GPA.

Indiana universities, including IU, Purdue, and Ball State, use your transcript GPA combined with SAT or ACT scores as the primary admissions criteria. Since Indiana does not verify homeschool grades through any state body, a transparent grading methodology and explicit grading scale on the transcript removes ambiguity for admissions reviewers.

Always include both weighted and unweighted GPA, clearly labeled, with your full grading scale. Note the total instructional days (180 is the Indiana benchmark) either on the transcript or in an accompanying cover letter for college applications.

Want to calculate GPA automatically? Use our free Homeschool GPA Calculator, enter courses and grades and get weighted and unweighted GPA instantly.

Common Indiana Homeschool Transcript Mistakes

These are the most common mistakes Indiana homeschool families make when building a transcript for college applications:

  • 1
    Setting your own requirements below the Core 40 floor
    Indiana gives homeschoolers complete freedom, but Indiana colleges expect to see a transcript that looks like a Core 40 diploma. Setting your own requirements below 22 credits or omitting World Language will put your student at a disadvantage in admissions.
  • 2
    Skipping the two-year World Language requirement
    The Core 40 requires two years of the same World Language. Switching languages or completing only one year leaves a visible gap. Plan World Language from 9th grade and document both years on the transcript.
  • 3
    Not documenting 180 instructional days
    Unlike many states, Indiana does specify 180 instructional days for private schools (which includes homeschools). Keep an attendance calendar and note instructional days on your transcript or accompanying cover letter.
  • 4
    Vague course names on the transcript
    Listing “Science” or “History” without specifics raises questions with admissions reviewers. Use Core 40 –aligned names (“Biology I,” “Algebra II,” “AP US History”) to signal alignment with Indiana's college-prep standard.
  • 5
    Waiting until senior year to organize records
    Reconstructing four years of coursework, grades, and materials from memory is error-prone and stressful. Start a running record from the first day of 9th-grade-level work and update it each semester.

Generate a Complete Indiana Transcript Automatically

DiplomaPath supports Indiana homeschoolers with custom credit targets, Core 40 subject tracking, weighted GPA calculation, and professional PDF transcript export, all in a format Indiana colleges and universities accept. Set your targets once and let the app track your student's progress automatically.

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