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Withdrawing from school to homeschool in Delaware

How to take your child out of school to homeschool in Delaware, step by step: what to file first, what to tell the school, and a letter to print.

This is general information, not legal advice; check your state's own page. Laws change, and Delaware's own statute and education department are the final word. The links below go straight to them.

Deadlines, forms and amounts checked on against the sources linked on this page.

Step by step

  1. Before your child's last day, do what Delaware asks of a new homeschool. Before you withdraw your child: Open a nonpublic school (homeschool) with the Department of Education in its online system, enroll your children, and print the Acknowledgement Letter. By July 31: Report end-of-year attendance to the Department of Education. By September 30: Report this year's enrollment to the Department of Education. The state's form: Nonpublic school (homeschool) registration in the Department's online system.Source: Delaware Department of Education: Register for a Nonpublic School; Delaware Code Title 14, Chapter 27, Subchapter I: School Attendance Requirements (General Assembly)
  2. Tell the school. Before your child leaves public school: The homeschool must be open and your child enrolled in it before your child is withdrawn from a Delaware public school. Give the school the Acknowledgement Letter.Source: Delaware Department of Education: Register for a Nonpublic School
  3. Ask for your child's records (report cards, test results, any evaluations or plans) so you know where your child stands. Good practice, not a legal step.
  4. If your child has an IEP or a 504 plan, ask the district before you leave what, if anything, it offers homeschooled students, and get a copy of the plan. Good practice, not a legal step.
  5. Keep copies of everything you send and anything you get back, with the dates. Good practice, not a legal step.
  6. Start your records on day one. The only reports the law requires are the annual attendance report (by July 31) and enrollment statement (by September 30). The Department does not keep student records and does not require a portfolio, but recommends keeping one with grades, attendance and test scores, because the public school decides placement if the student returns.Source: Delaware Department of Education: Homeschools and Private Schools

What Delaware's law or education agency says about leaving school

Open the homeschool and enroll your children before withdrawing from a Delaware public school, or the child is treated as truant. Give the public school the Acknowledgement Letter. To go back to public school, withdraw the student in the system, reprint the letter showing the withdrawal, and bring it with the student's academic portfolio; the public school decides the grade level.Source: Delaware Department of Education: Register for a Nonpublic School

A letter to the school

Fill this in and print it. It tells the school your child is leaving to be taught at home and asks for the records. It is not the state's notice.

For example a copy of your notice, or the acknowledgement the state sent you.

Nothing you type here is saved or sent.

Your letter

________________

To: ________________

I am withdrawing ________________ from your school. My child will be educated at home under the law of Delaware.

Please send me a copy of my child's school records.

Thank you.

SignatureDate
Keep a copy with the date you handed it in or mailed it.

Where this comes from

Checked on October 29, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Laws and forms change; confirm a date with your school district or the state agency before you rely on it. For legal advice, ask a lawyer licensed in Delaware; homeschool legal-help organizations and your state's homeschool groups can also point you to help. Something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.