New York · Record-Keeping Guide

Homeschool Record Keeping in New York: IHIPs, Quarterly Reports, and the Records Behind Them

New York asks more of homeschool paperwork than almost any state: a plan, four reports a year, hours, and an annual assessment. The families who find it easy are the ones whose daily records feed the reports automatically. Here's the whole picture in plain English.

The paperwork rhythm New York asks for

New York's home instruction regulation (8 NYCRR § 100.10) is one of the most structured in the country - but it's a rhythm, not a mystery. Once you know the four beats of the year, it's very manageable:

Letter of intent - a short letter to your district by July 1 (or within 14 days of starting home instruction mid-year).
The IHIP (Individualized Home Instruction Plan) - your plan for the year, listing the syllabus, curriculum materials, or plan of instruction for each required subject, plus the quarterly report dates you choose. Due within four weeks of receiving the district's form.
Four quarterly reports - on the dates you named in the IHIP, you send: the hours of instruction that quarter, a description of the material covered in each subject, and either a grade or a short written narrative per subject.
An annual assessment filed with the last quarterly report - in the younger grades a written narrative evaluation is accepted; from fourth grade on, a nationally normed standardized test at least every other year, with a narrative allowed in the off years.

The number to know New York expects instruction to be "substantially equivalent" to 900 hours per year in grades 1-6 and 990 hours in grades 7-12, and your quarterly reports state the hours completed. Attendance records must be available if the district asks - so a habit of logging days and hours as you go is the whole game.

What districts actually look at

Quarterly reports that match the IHIP - the material you describe each quarter should visibly connect to the plan you filed in the fall.
Hours that add up - a running count of instructional hours, quarter by quarter.
Coverage of the required subjects - and evidence each one actually happened, not just appeared in the plan.
Steady records - contemporaneous logging reads very differently from a year reconstructed the night before a report is due.

How The Homeschool Log maps to each requirement

📅 Material covered, quarter by quarter A sentence or two per subject each day becomes exactly the "description of material covered" your quarterly report needs. Pick the quarter's date range and generate a report - the narrative subject summaries draft themselves from your own entries.

⏱️ Hours of instruction Turn on hours tracking and log minutes with each entry; your quarterly and yearly totals accumulate automatically toward the 900/990-hour benchmark.

🗓️ Attendance Every logged day is an attendance record; holidays, sick days, and vacation are tagged right in the log, ready if your district ever asks.

📗 Reading materials The book log keeps every title, author, and reading level - strong evidence for ELA in every quarterly report, and a lovely record for your annual narrative.

🧾 Quarterly reports without the scramble Four times a year, choose the date range and print or email the report: hours, subject narratives, book list, and work samples in one document. See a sample report →

Keep IHIP-ready records in two minutes a day

Log as you go, track your hours, and each quarterly report assembles itself from what you already wrote.

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Why records matter in every state →

This guide summarizes 8 NYCRR § 100.10 in plain language for convenience. It isn't legal advice, and district practices vary; verify current requirements with your district's home instruction office or a group like NYHEN or HSLDA.