Homeschool withdrawal letter

What the letter does

While your child is on a school's roll, every day at home is an absence, and enough of them start truancy letters. The withdrawal letter ends the enrollment on a date you choose.

It goes to the school your child attends now, and it is separate from any notice your state wants, which goes to the district or the state and is covered in our letter of intent guide.

The letter can be a few lines, and in many states it is all a withdrawal takes. The Texas Education Agency, for example, tells districts that a signed, dated letter from the parent saying the child is being withdrawn to homeschool is enough, with no meeting and no need to show your curriculum.

When to send it: the order matters

The basic rule is the same everywhere: the school should have your letter before your child stops attending, because an enrolled child who stops coming without notice can be marked truant. What differs is whether a state filing has to come first.

• The letter is the whole step. In Texas, the district disenrolls your child on your written notice. California districts cannot require proof of a filed affidavit before you withdraw.
• File with the state first, then withdraw. North Carolina asks you to wait for the state's acknowledgment of your notice before withdrawing. Vermont asks you to keep your child in school until its enrollment acknowledgment arrives, and the District of Columbia until its education office sends a verification letter. Massachusetts requires your plan to be approved before you withdraw. Maryland asks for its consent form at least 15 days before you start.
• Withdraw, then file within days. Ohio wants its notice within five days of withdrawing, and Nevada and Oregon within 10 days. Georgia's school system needs proof of enrollment in a home study program within 45 days of the withdrawal, and your declaration of intent provides it.
• Filing does not withdraw your child. In Arkansas, the state notice and the school withdrawal are separate, so contact the school once the notice is filed.

Where a legal route needs district approval before home instruction begins, wait for that approval before your child stops attending.

What to include, and what to leave out

A withdrawal letter is short and factual. It tells the school which child is leaving, that they are leaving to be educated at home, and the last day of attendance, which is the effective date the school will use. It also asks for written confirmation and for copies of your child's records, and gives your contact details and signature.

Leave out reasons, complaints, and family details. No state requires you to explain why you are homeschooling in a withdrawal letter, and the letter does not need to quote the law. A school that asks you to fill in its own withdrawal form is asking for the same information, and the form does the same job.

Special cases by state

A few states add a form or a condition, mostly for older students.

• Indiana high schoolers also sign the state's withdrawal form for non-accredited nonpublic schools. Without it, the student is counted as a dropout and can lose a learner's permit or driver's license.
• New Jersey high schoolers complete the school's transfer form recording your intent to provide instruction elsewhere. For younger children the state encourages, but does not require, telling the district.
• Wyoming: if you do not notify the district that your child is in a home-based program, a parent of a child under 18 must meet with a counselor or administrator and sign a consent to withdraw.
• Kansas and Missouri: Kansas asks you to tell the previous school your child is changing schools, or the school must report truancy. Missouri asks for a written notice asking the school to drop your child from its rolls.

Sending it and getting the records

Email or certified mail both put a date on record, which matters if the school later asks about absences. Keep a copy with proof it was sent. If no written confirmation comes, follow up in writing with a copy of the first letter.

The letter is the easiest place to ask for your child's school file, while your child is still enrolled: report cards and grades to date, test scores, immunization records, and any special education documents, including an IEP or a 504 plan.

Under federal privacy law, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a school must let a parent inspect their child's education records within 45 days of a request. None of them is needed to start learning at home, but a later return to school, a college application, or a state review can call for them.

How we draft it

In the Records tab of our Parent Dashboard, your private view of each child's work and records, Paperwork & records lists a withdrawal letter in every state, even where the state needs no homeschool filing. Once your family details are filled in, you choose Generate, and we draft the letter ready for your signature; you send it to the school.

If your state also wants a notice, it is in the same list, and until the required forms exist, the dashboard's Needs you list shows Create required forms.

The day after the last day of school can be the first day at home. Your child takes placement, a short adaptive test in each subject, then opens the first lessons. Their daily check-in starts the attendance record. We grade everything your child submits as soon as they submit it, so grading never lands on you.

The new school year has a record from its first hour. Our guide to withdrawing mid-year covers the rest of the move.

Sample withdrawal letter, if you write your own

If you would rather write your own, a withdrawal letter follows the shape below. If your state or district has its own form, use the form instead.

The sample has the four parts every school needs: who it is for, which child is leaving and when, the records you want, and how to reach you. It works the same in the first week of school or the last.