If you're an Illinois parent looking for an accredited online school for your child in grades 6 through 12, the good news is that the state's education laws make it entirely possible. Illinois treats homeschools and private schools under the same legal umbrella, and because private education is recognized as a valid way to meet the state's compulsory attendance requirement, enrolling in an accredited online school is a straightforward and fully legal choice.
There's no registration, no state approval process, and no standardized testing mandate for privately educated students.
That flexibility is one of the reasons more Illinois families are exploring virtual options. Whether your child needs a schedule that accommodates athletics or performing arts, a learning environment free from the social pressures of a traditional campus, or simply an academic approach that adapts to how they actually learn, an accredited private online school can deliver what many Illinois brick-and-mortar schools cannot.
Illinois compulsory attendance law (105 ILCS 5/26-1) requires all children between the ages of 6 (by September 1) and 17 to attend a public school, a private school, or receive equivalent instruction. Thanks to the landmark People v. Levisen court decision, the state recognizes that a homeschool qualifies as a private school as long as it teaches the same branches of education covered in public schools and delivers that instruction in English.
Those required branches include language arts, mathematics, biological and physical sciences, social sciences, fine arts, and physical development and health. Beyond meeting those broad subject requirements, Illinois imposes remarkably few restrictions. There's no required number of school days per year for private school students. There's no mandatory standardized testing. Teachers in private schools don't need state certification. And families are not required to register with or seek approval from the state or their local school district, though notifying your district when withdrawing from a public school is recommended to avoid truancy questions.
This means that when you enroll your child in an accredited private online school, the program's own accreditation standards and academic framework serve as your quality assurance rather than a state bureaucratic process.
It's worth noting that Illinois legislators introduced HB 2827 in early 2025, which would create new notification and oversight requirements for home education. As of now, the bill has not been enacted, but families should keep an eye on potential changes.
Illinois is home to strong public school districts in many suburban areas, but the traditional model still leaves gaps for plenty of students. Large class sizes are common, particularly in the Chicago metro area and other urban districts where per-classroom enrollment regularly exceeds 25 or 30 students. For students who need more individualized attention, that environment can make it hard to keep pace or stay challenged.
A 2023 systematic review published in Review of Educational Research examined the full body of literature on K-12 online teaching and found that students in well-designed online courses performed at least as well as their peers in traditional face-to-face settings, with some studies showing stronger outcomes when online instruction included structured interaction and personalized support (Johnson, Walton, Strickler, & Elliott, 2023).
Beyond academics, Illinois families turn to online school for practical reasons. Consider a high schooler in the western suburbs who's training year-round for competitive gymnastics. The rigid bell schedule of a traditional school conflicts with daily training blocks, travel to meets, and recovery time. In an online school, that student can attend live classes in smaller windows, complete coursework around her training schedule, and still earn an accredited diploma without falling behind.
Families also seek online school when bullying, anxiety, chronic illness, or other personal challenges make the daily environment of a physical campus counterproductive to learning. For those students, removing the stressor isn't giving up on education. It's removing the barrier to it.
Not all virtual schools are the same, and accreditation is the single most important factor when evaluating your options. Regional accreditation from a body like Cognia (formerly AdvancED and SACS CASI) means the school has been independently verified to meet rigorous academic standards. It also means your child's transcript, credits, and diploma will be recognized by colleges, universities, employers, and organizations like the NCAA.
Beyond accreditation, pay attention to class size. A program that limits classes to just a few students per teacher can offer a level of individual attention that large public school classrooms simply can't match. Look for certified teachers in every course, not just facilitators monitoring self-paced modules. And ask whether the school creates individualized education plans for all students, not only those with documented learning differences.
Score Academy Online meets all of these criteria. It's a Cognia-accredited, NCAA-approved private online school for grades 6 through 12, with live classes capped at six students per teacher. Every student receives an individualized education plan, and all courses are taught by certified educators. For Illinois families who want rigorous academics combined with genuine flexibility, it's a program worth a close look.
Illinois families have a few alternatives to traditional public school, and understanding the differences helps clarify where private online education fits.
Homeschooling is popular in Illinois because the state's requirements are minimal. But homeschooling places curriculum planning, instruction, and assessment entirely on the parent. A private online school offers the same at-home learning environment with the added structure of certified teachers, scheduled live classes, and an accredited diploma pathway. For a deeper comparison, this article on online school vs. homeschool differences breaks down what changes and what stays the same.
Public virtual options are limited in Illinois. The state does not have a robust full-time virtual public school program in the way some other states do, which means families seeking a complete online education are primarily looking at private programs.
Illinois does offer a modest tax benefit for private education: a K-12 Education Expense Credit that provides parents 25% of qualifying expenses (tuition, book fees, lab fees) above $250, up to a maximum credit of $500. It's not transformative, but it's worth claiming. The state's previous tax-credit scholarship program, Invest in Kids, expired in January 2024 after the legislature declined to renew it. A new federal tax-credit scholarship program signed into law in 2025 could eventually provide additional support for Illinois families, but the state would need to opt in before those funds become available in 2027.
Enrolling in a private online school from Illinois requires no state paperwork or approval. If your child is currently in a public school, you should formally withdraw them by contacting the school and completing any required withdrawal forms. After that, the enrollment process is handled directly through your chosen online school.
Most accredited programs, including Score Academy, accept students on a rolling basis, so you're not locked into a single enrollment window. Credits from your child's previous school typically transfer as part of the admissions process.
Whether your child is entering middle school or preparing for senior year, an accredited online school gives Illinois families a path to a recognized diploma with the kind of personal attention and scheduling freedom that traditional schools rarely offer. You can explore the full program details and grade-level options at Score Academy's website.
Is online school legal in Illinois?Yes. Illinois compulsory attendance law (105 ILCS 5/26-1) allows children to attend a private school or receive equivalent instruction instead of attending public school. Because the state treats homeschools as private schools under People v. Levisen, enrolling in an accredited private online school fully satisfies the attendance requirement.
Do I need to notify my school district if I withdraw my child?Illinois does not legally require you to notify the state or your district when choosing private education. However, if your child is currently enrolled in a public school, formally withdrawing them is strongly recommended to prevent truancy issues.
Will colleges accept an online school diploma from Illinois?Yes, as long as the school holds recognized accreditation. A diploma from a Cognia-accredited program like Score Academy Online carries the same weight as one from any accredited brick-and-mortar school. Transcripts, GPAs, and credits are fully recognized by colleges and universities.
Are there any financial assistance options for Illinois families?Illinois offers a small K-12 Education Expense Credit (up to $500) for qualifying tuition and fees. The state's larger Invest in Kids tax-credit scholarship program expired in January 2024. A new federal tax-credit scholarship program could provide additional support starting in 2027 if Illinois opts in.
What grades does Score Academy Online serve?Score Academy Online serves students in grades 6 through 12. Classes are live, taught by certified teachers, and capped at six students per session. Every student receives an individualized education plan tailored to their academic needs and goals.
If you're a New Jersey parent exploring accredited online school options for your child in grades 6 through 12, the short answer is yes, your child can absolutely attend a private online school from anywhere in the state.
Pennsylvania families searching for an accredited online school have real options, but the quality gap between programs is wider than most parents realize.An accredited private online school gives your child a recognized diploma, certified teachers, and small class sizes that large virtual public programs rarely offer.
Score Academy Online offers Cognia and SACS CASI dual accreditation, live instruction in classes of no more than six students per teacher, and individualized education plans for every student in grades 6 through 12.