🌟 Keeping a Homeschool Portfolio in Florida— It’s Easier Than You Think! But read this in it’s entirety, it’s very important.

Annual Portfolio Evaluations are for those that are homeschooling in Florida, without scholarships OR with the Step Up for Students Unique Abilities Scholarship funding.

1. Start homeschooling by filing a “Notice of Intent” with the Home Education Office of the County you live in.

2. Start keeping a portfolio that proves your child is learning. Later in the article I will share what to put inside this Portfolio. This Portfolio will need to be looked at by a Certified Teacher, like me, on the anniversary of your homeschool start date (on the notice of intent). When I look at a Portfolio, I am using my professional experience to determine if the child has made progress “commensurate to their abilities.” This is not my opinion. This is “homeschooling” according to FL state statute 1002.41.

3. If I determine your child has made progress from the evidence presented in the Portfolio, I will issue you a letter that YOU will send to the Home Education office of the county that you live in. This letter is due by the yearly anniversary stated on your Notice of Intent to homeschool.

Make sure you have this straight: You are “homeschooling” according to FL state statute 1002.41 and follow the steps above if you DO NOT accept any scholarship funding, or if you are homeschooling with the Unique Abilities Scholarship by Step Up.

A Very Important Note about PEP:

The PEP “Personalized Education Plan” with Step Up for Students looks like homeschooling, sounds like homeschool, but it is not “HOMESCHOOLING” and does not follow the FL State Statute. PEP students should NOT be registered as “homeschoolers” with the county Home Education office where they live. They do not submit a Notice of Intent. If you have in the past, you should terminate your “homeschool.” Instead, PEP Students follow the PEP handbook requirements defined by Step Up for Students, and are registered with Step UP and not the county school board. PEP students and homeschooling students are different terms because they have different requirements legally! PEP students, according to the requirements of step up, are required to take a Norm-referenced test yearly and submit the scores to step up for renewal each year by June 30th. PEP parents can choose a test from this list by the FL Department of Education. As a veteran Educator who has experience administering several of these, I have chosen to offer in person and virtual administration of the WRAT-5 to PEP students. This test provides the best testing experience for PEP students and tests students on foundational skills, not the state standards that some tests are based on. For more information on this check out my information about the Wrat-5 on my website and consider booking starting in March at https://peptest.as.me. Although PEP students are NOT REQUIRED to keep a portfolio because they do not follow FL State Statute 1002.41, and they DO NOT need to have the portfolio reviewed by me annually, and they DO NOT turn in an evaluation letter at the end of the year, I STILL RECOMMEND THAT YOU KEEP A PORTFOLIO FOR EVERY CHILD! It’s just a good teaching practice to make a plan and track progress which will lead to more learning if kept. Also I think it’s a good idea if anyone would question your homeschooling methods, that you would at least have this to show. If you are having trouble understanding this, please start by reading all the handbooks put out by Step Up, then if you need to, book a support session with me and I’d be happy to help you get it figured out.


Good news: Ok now that everyone is with me, a Portfolio doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated!
Here’s an easy checklist to help you stay organized, confident, and compliant — without the stress.

📚 Just what Florida Law Says:

Florida Statute 1002.41 requires every “homeschooling” family to keep the following items as proof of the progress your student is making while homeschooling, notice that these items are defined in the FL State Statute and are not my opinion:

  • A log of educational activities

  • Samples of student work

  • A Book List

  • Portfolio saved for two years

That’s it — no standardized tests, grading, or fancy formatting required! (unless you want to do those things) Notice what is NOT defined in the statute. There is not a number of days required, no hourly requirement, there isn’t even a definition of which subjects to cover. This is all left up to the PARENTS - hello freedom! We want to keep these freedoms for all. Note that although these things are not stated in the statute it is your responsibility as the Homeschooling Parent to make sure your child has met the necessary requirements for a high school transcript that may be necessary for things like college entry for example. If you have a child that is 14 or over and have questions about high school transcripts please book a consultation session and I would be happy to explain more.

📋 More specific ideas for how to show the Portfolio requirements below:

✅ 1. Log of Educational Activities - https://amzn.to/41yZkYa
Keep a simple, dated list of what your child is doing. Clear goals drive success. Defining weekly objectives for your student often leads to more progress than leaving them undefined.

Real-life examples:

  • "March 1: Read Charlotte’s Web, Chapters 1–3"

  • "March 3: Science experiment – built a volcano"

  • "March 5: Field trip to the aquarium — learned about marine life"

Helpful Tip:
You can use a notebook, planner, spreadsheet, calendar app, or even a basic Word document. Weekly or monthly summaries work perfectly! Even writing the date that each lesson was completed next to each skill in the table of contents of your curriculum textbooks works! Keeping a log of educational activities is required by FL State Statute, but it is also a great teaching practice to track student progress. We tend to achieve what we clearly define. Setting weekly goals for your student creates direction and helps ensure steady progress. Even if you are a PEP student I recommend keeping a Log of Educational Activities. The book The 7 habits of HIghly Effective People by Sean Covey explains why in Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind. If you haven’t read that book you must get it! It will totally help you to homeschool effectively. Purchase here: https://amzn.to/460awys

✅ 2. Samples of Student Work that show growth
Save a few examples that show your child's learning across the year. Think about saving things from the beginning, middle, and end of your homeschool year that show growth in each subject that you worked on. Saving samples also isn’t just a compliance step — it’s a simple but powerful way to document learning, inspire confidence, and guide better teaching.

Easy examples:

  • Math worksheets that show skill progression

  • Spelling tests from beginning of year and end that shows progress in phonics recognition and usage

  • A short story they wrote (one from the beginning, and another from the end to show progress in skill usage)

  • Science project photos

  • History reports that show progress over time

Helpful Tip:
You don’t need to save everything — just 3–5 samples per subject is plenty for showing me! However, saving your child’s work to track progress is one of the best ways to support learning — it shows their progress, boosts their confidence, and helps you (their teacher) know what to focus on next! If you are not sure what you should be looking for in your child’s work, book a support session with me! I’d love to show you how to make oodles of learning gains just by doing this one thing.

✅ 3. Book Lists and Resource Lists
Track some of the books your child reads and programs or curricula you use.

Examples:

  • Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

  • Teaching Textbooks Math 4 (online math program)

  • MasterBooks Science workbook

  • Adventures in Odyssey audio series

Helpful Tip:
A few titles are fine! No need to make a massive list. This could even be photos of all the books you’ve read together as a family saved in a photo album on your phone. Saving library receipts is another easy done for you idea. Keeping a list of all the books your child reads is also just a great teaching practice because it makes their progress visible, shows the variety and levels of reading they’ve experienced, and helps you spot gaps or interests to guide future book choices.

Having excellent reading comprehension is a pillar of freedom and should be the top priority in every homeschool. Multiple studies have proven that reading intervention is most effective at the first sign of struggle, and before age 8. Do not wait. Multi-sensory systematic reading instruction never hurt anyone and provides the best environment to grow your reader. Please book a support session with me if you feel like your child is struggling with reading at all, or if you just want to make sure that the reading curriculum you have selected is covering all your bases.

✅ 4. Save Your Portfolio for Two Years
You can store your portfolio:

Helpful Tip:
Label your materials by year so it’s easy to find if ever needed.

❓ Common Questions:

Do I need to record every day?
👉 Nope. A weekly or monthly summary works just fine.

Do I need to assign grades?
👉 No. Grades are not required — just samples showing the progression of learning over time. However, keep in mind that feedback without shame is where the learning happens! Reviewing pages for accuracy and having a mini-lesson/learning sesh about mistakes made is a wonderful learning experience! Make notes in the margins when things like this happen and celebrate learning from those mistakes over time. If you haven’t heard of the word “Growth Mindset” before you MUST go down this rabbit hole as a family. It is the key to homeschooling in my opinion. This book is a great starting point! Contact me for more resources too if you really feel like this is something your family struggles with.

Will someone ask to see my portfolio?
👉 Just me. However, if your local superintendent requests it, you must provide it within 15 days. That statement is not my opinion, but a fact from FL State Statute 1002.41.

✨ Keep It Simple and Celebrate Learning!

Remember: your homeschool portfolio doesn’t have to be perfect.
It just needs to show that your child is learning and growing!

Focus on progress, not perfection — you’ve got this! 🌟

📅 Ready for Your Evaluation? Book using the buttons below.

✅Independent Homeschoolers (that have NOT accepted any scholarship funds) and filed a Notice of Intent 1 year ago

✅UA student with Step Up, evaluation letter due on the yearly anniversary of your Notice of Intent letter

❌ PEP students with Step Up (PEP students should NOT file a notice of intent, and do not need portfolio evaluations. If they have previously filed a Notice of Intent, they should send a letter of termination to the county Home education office or risk losing funding from Step Up. )

The first step of homeschooling is filing your Notice of Intent to homeschool. The date that you stated that your homeschool program would begin on this letter, is your annual evaluation due date. Book a Portfolio Evaluation with me about a month before that due date. When you’re ready for your annual homeschool evaluation, I’m here to make it simple and encouraging! Book below.