There are many states that require a notice of intent to homeschool either before or after you withdraw your child from public school.
Unless you live in one of the states with zero homeschool regulations (like Texas or Oklahoma, to name a few) and you want to withdraw your child from school to homeschool mid year, then you’ve got homework. States that require notification BEFORE you withdraw your child are indicated with an alarm symbol.
These States Require a Notice of Intent to Homeschool Mid Year
Click on the links below to get the specifics on your particular state.
| State | Requirements to withdraw during the school year |
| Alabama | Notify your local superintendent of your intent to homeschool. There is no indication of what timeframe this must be done if you were to pull out your child midyear, but in general, the state requires notification within five days of the start of public school. |
| 🚨 Arkansas | Send written notice of intent to your local superintendent 5 days BEFORE withdrawing your child to homeschool. |
| Arizona | File an affidavit of intent with the county school superintendent within 30 days of beginning to homeschool. |
| California | File a private school affidavit with the California Superintendent of Public Instruction as soon as possible. |
| 🚨 Colorado | Notify any school district in the state of your intent to homeschool 14 days before you begin. |
| Delaware | Create an account on the Department of Education’s website and report enrollment on or before October 5th. |
| Florida | File a notice of intent with your local superintendent within 30 days. |
| Georgia | Submit a declaration of intent to the Department of Education within 30 days. |
| 🚨 Hawaii | Notify the principal of the local school district before beginning homeschooling! |
| Kansas | Register your “private school” with the State Board of Education as soon as you start homeschooling. |
| Louisiana | Apply to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education for approval within 15 days of beginning to homeschool. |
| Maine | File a notice of intent with your superintendent within 10 days. |
| 🚨 Maryland | File a notice of consent form with your local superintendent 15 days before starting homeschooling. |
| Massachusetts | Depends on the district, but you most likely will need to submit a notice of intent to homeschool ASAP. |
| Minnesota | Notify the district superintendent within 15 days of withdrawing your child from school. |
| Mississippi | File a certificate of enrollment with your district’s school attendance officer at the time of withdrawing your child from school. |
| Montana | Notice must be sent to the superintendent of the county, but no timeline is indicated if you start in the middle of the year. |
| Nebraska | 1) File a parent/guardian form (Form A) with the Nebraska Department of Education promptly after beginning to homeschool. (Do it that first week so you don’t forget!) 2) File a parent representative form (Form B) 3) File an Information Summary sheet within 30 days of filing forms A and B which includes a calendar, a list of instructional monitors, and a scope and sequence for each grade level. |
| New York | 1) Submit a notice of intent to homeschool to your district’s superintendent (or department of education if you live in NYC) within 14 days. 2) Submit an Individualized Home Instruction Plan within 4 weeks. |
| New Hampshire | File initial notice with a “participating agency” (commissioner of education, district superintendent, or principal [if a private school]) within 5 days. |
| Nevada | File a notice of intent with your local school district within 10 days of withdrawing your child from school. |
| New Mexico | Notify the New Mexico Public Education Department within 30 days of starting homeschooling. |
| North Carolina | Submit a notice of intent to operate a homeschool to the North Carolina Division of Non-Public Education (DNPE). There is no deadline indicated, but I recommend doing it the first week of homeschooling so you don’t forget. |
| 🚨 North Dakota | North Dakota wants notice 14 days BEFORE you start homeschooling. File this statement with your district’s superintendent ASAP! |
| Ohio | Submit notification to the school district superintendent within 5 days of starting homeschooling. |
| Oregon | Notify your education service district of your intent to homeschool within 10 days. |
| 🚨 Pennsylvania | File a notarized affidavit or unsworn declaration with your district’s superintendent BEFORE you start homeschooling. |
| 🚨 South Carolina | You must contact the board of trustees of your local public school district for information about their homeschool application process, and submit an application. |
| South Dakota | File a notification form with the DOE or your local school district within 30 days. |
| Tennessee | Submit a notice of intent to the local school superintendent within a reasonable amount of time (do it that first week to be safe!) |
| Utah | File a notarized affidavit with your local school board when you start homeschooling. (No timeline indicated, I recommend doing it that same week.) |
| Vermont | 1) Send written enrollment notice to the secretary of education including attestations that your child will receive 175 days of schooling and will take formal assessments at the end of the year. (There’s no deadline mentioned – but I would submit this within the same week you withdraw your child from school, if not before.) 2) You should receive permission (a receipt, basically) from the deparatment of education within 10 business days of receiving notice. |
| 🚨 West Virginia | Send notice of intent to homeschool to your local superintendent or school board the first day of homeschooling or before. |
| Virginia | Send notice of intent to homeschool to your local superintendent “as soon as practicable”. I recommend doing it that first week so you don’t forget. |
| Washington | File a signed declaration of intent with your district’s superintendent within two weeks. |
| Wyoming | Submit your curriculum to the local public school district board of trustees. No date is indicated, if I were you, I’d contact them immediately and set up a line of communication (if you’re not sure about what curriculum you would like to use, then pick one of these and include it for documentation purposes. You can always change later.) |
Filing a Notice of Intent to Homeschool Mid Year by State
Alabama intent to homeschool form
When you homeschool in Alabama, you’re technically setting up a private school. Get all the details about what that means here. Parents submitting notice of intent to homeschool in Alabama can send this form to the county or city superintendent.
Arizona affidavit of intent to homeschool
Parents wishing to homeschool in Arizona can submit this affidavit to the local superintendent within 30 days.
Intent to homeschool Arkansas
Arkansas is one of those states that requires notice to homeschool BEFORE you withdraw your student; 5 days before, to be exact. The superintendent or school board has the discretion to waive this waiting period if you request it. You must make an online account here to submit a notice of intent to homeschool in Arkansas.
Intent to Homeschool Form Colorado
Colorado families must submit a letter of homeschool intent, not a form, to a superintendent of their choice. It can be any superintendent in Colorado, but it makes since to communicate with the superintendent of your local school school district. The letter must include:
- Name
- Age
- Place of residence
- Number of attendance hours (Colorado requires no less than 172 days of instruction with about 4 hours a day of instruction.)
Check out what Colorado’s Department of Education has to say about homeschooling.
Notice of intent to homeschool Florida
A notice of intent is required to homeschool in Florida and it’s due within 30 days of withdrawing your child. However, local Florida homeschoolers recommend that you submit a notice immediately so you don’t run into trouble with truancy laws. You don’t have to submit a notice of intent annually, just that initial year.
Your notice of intent to homeschool in the state of Florida must include the following information for EACH child:
- Full legal name
- Address
- Birthdate
Here is a link to a list of contact information for superintendents in the state of Florida.
Georgia letter of intent to homeschool
It’s easy to submit a declaration of intent to homeschool form in Georgia, simply fill out this online form at the Georgia Department of Education here.
Indiana letter of intent to homeschool
You are not required to report homeschool enrollment or submit a letter of intent to homeschool in the state of Indiana.
KY letter of intent to homeschool
Parents in Kentucky must send a letter of intent to homeschool to the superintendent in writing within 10 days of withdrawing their child to homeschool. This letter must include the following for each child:
- Name
- Ages
- Residence
The Department of Education for Kentucky has created a comprehensive document detailing their homeschool requirements here.
Notice of intent to homeschool Nevada
Notice of intent to homeschool in Nevada is a form which must be submitted for every child ages 7 to 18. You have 10 days to submit this form after withdrawing your child from school.
Here is a copy of the State of Nevada’s Notice of Intent to Homeschool form.
Notice of intent to homeschool NYS
Parents must submit a notice of intent to homeschool in New York to this email: letterofintent@schools.nyc.gov within 14 days of withdrawing their child from school. After that, you must create an Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP). This can be emailed to homeschool@schoos.nyc.gov
Keep in mind the state of New York requires that quarterly reports be made to the district superintendent as well. Get a detailed list of all of New York’s homeschool requirements here.
Letter of intent to homeschool Texas
You are not required to send a letter of intent to homeschool in the state of Texas.
NOI homeschool Virginia; VA notice of intent to homeschool
Parents may write a letter or use a form provided by the school district to provide notice of intent to homeschool in Virginia. Within the notice of intent, you must provide proof that one parent has the qualifications required to homeschool. Those are:
- Holds a high school diploma (GED is not accepted)
- Certified teacher
- Can provide a program of study
- Can provide an adequate education
You must also provide a curriculum description. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to use a curriculum, so rest easy unschool families. That simply means a list of subjects to be studied during the school year.
