There are 2 Legislative Acts of Manitoba that apply to Home Education in some way:

1) Manitoba Public Schools Act

2) Manitoba Education Administration Act

These statutes speak to the following issues:

• School attendance - Section 260 of the Public Schools Act requires all children of compulsory school age (age 7 to 17 inclusive) to attend a school as defined in The Education Administration Act, while section 262 on The Public Schools Act provides exemptions from attendance at a public school. "Responsibility to send child to school - The Public Schools Act 260 (1) - Every Parent of a child of compulsory school age and every person who has or receives a child of compulsory school age in his house, whether that child is his own or that of any other person and the child is resident with and in the care and custody of the parent or person, as the case may be, shall ensure that the child attends school, unless specifically excused in writing by the minister, in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the regulations". The Public Schools Act section 258 - "'Compulsory school age' means
  • (1) subject to subsection (2), over the age of seven years and under the age of 16 years." Further, The Public Schools Act section 258
  • (2)"A child who is seven years of age or older on December 31 in a year is deemed to be of compulsory school age at the beginning of the fall term of that year".
• Definition of a School - The Education Administration Act defines a public school as "an institution for education purposes established and maintained under this act or The Public Schools Act", and a private school as "any school, other than a public school, which provides a curriculum and a standard of education equivalent to that provided by the public schools, but does not include any home or place to which clause 262 (b) of The Public Schools Act applies".
• Exemptions from Public School Attendance - Section 262 of The Public Schools Act states that: "No person is liable to any of the penalties set out in this act for failing or refusing to send his child to school as required under section 260 where:
  • the child is in regular attendance at a private school as defined in the Education Administration Act, or
  • the field representative certifies that in his opinion the child is currently receiving a standard of education at home or elsewhere equivalent to that provided in a public school or..." (this section then provides for other exemptions for sickness, religious holidays or at least 15 years old).

This is the current extent of legislative Acts and regulations in Manitoba that apply to home education.

Other documents are Manitoba Education policy. A policy is a guidance document that provides guidelines as to how the Department will implement the provisions of a legislative Act or Regulation. Policy does not carry legislative force but Manitoba Education does have significant latitude in its implementation of home school provisions of The Public Schools Act because of its ambiguity in defining equivalency in the standard of education.

Amendments made to the Public Schools Act in 2000.

The amendments made in Bill 12 to the Public Schools Act related to home school are as follows:

• Notification to the Minister Section 260.1(1) The parent or guardian of a child who is a pupil in a home school shall, in the prescribed form, notify the Minister of the establishment of the home school.
• When Notification to Take Place Section 260.1(2) The parent or guardian shall, in the prescribed form, notify the Minister about the home school when it is first established and on or before September 1st in each year.
• Information to be Provided to the Minister Section 260.1(3) Within 30 days after a home school is first established and on or before September 1st of each year, the parent or guardian shall provide the Minister with the following information:
  • name and birth date of each pupil in the school;
  • the name of the school or school division each pupil would otherwise attend;
  • an outline of the education program and grade-level of each pupil.
• Periodic Progress Reports - Section 260.1(4) The parent or guardian shall provide the Minister with periodic progress reports on each pupil in the home school. The reports must contain the information and be provided according to a schedule determined by the Minister.

In addition to the amendments of Section 260.1 of the Public Schools Act, there remains Section 260 of the Act that requires compulsory school attendance in Manitoba:

The other sections of Part XIV of The Public Schools Act deal with cases of truancy where pupils are not being home schooled.

So what does this all mean? What do we need to do?

Notification and Reporting is required by law to the Manitoba Education Home School Office (using the Notification and Reporting forms). A Notification Form is required for each child being homeschooled (ages 7 - 16) and must be submitted by Sept. 1st or within 30 days of starting to homeschool. Two reports per year are required to be submitted for each child being homeschooled: in January and June.

Notification and Report forms can be requested from the homeschool office or are available for download from the MACHS website at our government forms page.

The forms come with instructions and example comments for education outlines and progress report comments. If the Notification and Reporting forms are completed as indicated and submitted to MB Education then all requirements of the law should have been met.

Contact Information

Home Schooling Office
Manitoba Education and Training
507-1181 Portage Ave
Winnipeg, R3G 0T3

Phone 204-945-8138 or Toll Free 1-866-550-4818 Fax 204-948-2154. The Manitoba homeschool officer is Mr. John Shaw email:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

If you have questions on MB regulations and completion of forms email  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  or for legal assistance see the HSLDA Canada website.