State guide
The legal pathways, operator types, funding programs and licensing agencies Delaware recognizes, with links to the state code and agency pages that set the rules.
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Answer below. You get a ranked list of the operator models that fit here, what each would mean for you, and what would change the answer. A ranking of fits, not a licensing determination.
Compulsory attendance
How a family satisfies compulsory attendance outside public school. Your operator type maps to one of these, and the statute linked on each card is what defines it.
A child satisfies compulsory attendance by enrolling in a private or parochial school that is registered as a Nonpublic School (NPS) with DDOE.
Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.
Read the source:delcode.delaware.gov ↗education.delaware.gov ↗education.delaware.gov ↗
Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.
Read the source:delcode.delaware.gov ↗education.delaware.gov ↗
Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.
Read the source:delcode.delaware.gov ↗
For founders
What each type is, and who to talk to. The requirements to hold each designation are set by the statute and agency pages linked on the card; read them before you choose.
An independent private school operating as a DDOE-registered Nonpublic School (NPS).
Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.
Delaware explicitly recognizes the MULTI-FAMILY homeschool — unusual and favorable, and the category a co-op operates under, since 14 Del. C. § 2703A(b) recognizes no separate co-op type. A single annual reporting cycle covers the whole co-op rather than per-family filings.
Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.
A tutor provides instruction to families who already hold their own DDOE homeschool NPS registrations (single-family or multi-family, the latter being how a co-op registers).
Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.
A faith-based school registered as a DDOE Nonpublic School. Church or diocese backing typically covers facility and finance, and religious instruction is protected provided the overall program still satisfies the "regular and thorough" curriculum standard.
Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.
A pre-compulsory-age program for children below kindergarten, licensed by the DDOE Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL). Dual licensing (OCCL for pre-K + DDOE NPS for K-12) applies to any school with an attached preschool.
Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.
Delaware Department of Education, Office of Child Care LicensingWho licenses this type
Families remain legally responsible for the homeschool NPS registration and annual reporting; your program coordinates curriculum and on-site instruction for the shared days.
Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.
Every private school — including any potential satellite — must independently register with DDOE as an NPS. Operators should plan on standalone NPS registration rather than operating under another school's umbrella.
Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.
Check before you open
In Delaware, childcare licensing is administered by Delaware Department of Education, Office of Child Care Licensing. The governing rules are cited as 14 DE Admin Code 933 (DELACARE Regulations for Early Care and Education and School-Age Centers, effective 2022-06-01); 14 DE Admin Code 934 (DELACARE Regulations for Family and Large Family Child Care Homes, effective 2022-08-10); legal base 14 Del. C. §§ 3001A-3005A.
Agency and rules:education.delaware.gov ↗publichealthlawcenter.org ↗
Common triggers. Not a complete list:
Childcare rules can reach school-age children as well as preschoolers, and a microschool that fits a pathway above can still fall under them. Only the agency can tell you whether your program needs a license. Ask them before you open, and confirm with your attorney.
For families
Grants and loans that aren't tied to one state, each linked to the funder's own page.
This page lists no state-run scholarship, voucher or education savings account program for Delaware. Check the state education agency for anything new.
Calendar
We don't publish filing windows or due dates. A wrong date can cost a school year. These pages set them; check them directly, and again before you file.
14 Del. C. § 2703; DDOE NPS Opening GuidanceBeyond childcare
Situations that can bring a program under a state approval or licensing rule. Approval rules and forms change; confirm with the agency on the linked page.
14 Del. C. § 2702(a)(1) (the 5-to-16 compulsory-attendance age range); § 2703 (exempts a student enrolled in a private school giving "regular and thorough instruction," conditioned on that school being "subject to and in compliance with" § 2704; a homeschool is exempted through § 2703A); § 2704 (the two annual reports -- attendance on or before July 31, pupil enrollment no later than September 30). NPS registration through EdAccess is DDOE administrative practice for collecting the § 2704 reports; neither § 2703 nor § 2704 states a registration duty.
Register as a Nonpublic School (NPS) with DDOE through the EdAccess portal. Provide a Delaware physical address, DE Division of Corporations registration, and a DE business license.
Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.
Read the source:delcode.delaware.gov ↗education.delaware.gov ↗education.delaware.gov ↗
Legislation
Bills the Delaware legislature passed that touch microschools, learning pods or education savings accounts, each read before it is listed. The sections above describe the law as we last verified it; a law listed here may change them.
Our search found no enacted bills on microschools, learning pods or education savings accounts in Delaware. A search can miss things, so this is not a statement that nothing changed.
Bill data from LegiScan LLC, CC BY 4.0. Updated Sep 26, 2026. Every law listed was read before it was listed. Read the act on the legislature's site before you rely on it.
Verification
Every source this page draws on, split by who published it. Check which group a link is in, and who published it, before you rely on it.
Government-published — which is not the same as state-published. Most are this state's own code, regulations, agency and legislature pages. Others are federal, and some of those only SUMMARISE this state's rules rather than setting them; a few are city or county government. A summary of the law is not the law, and neither a federal nor a local page is a source of state obligation — so check who published any you rely on.
News coverage, program directories, advocacy and association publications. Useful context, and listed so you can see what this page drew on — but they are not the law and they are not the state speaking. This list is not mapped claim by claim, so if a specific fact matters to a decision, confirm it against a government source rather than assuming it came from one.