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Withdrawing from school to homeschool in Maine

How to take your child out of school to homeschool in Maine, 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 Maine'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 Maine asks of a new homeschool. Within 10 days of withdrawing from school, or by September 1 if you start with the new school year: File a Notice of Intent to Provide Home Instruction. One notice goes to both the superintendent's office and the Department. The state's form: Notice of Intent (online portal or paper form, Maine DOE).Source: 20-A M.R.S. 5001-A, compulsory attendance (Maine Legislature); Department of Education: Home Instruction Frequently Asked Questions
  2. Tell the school. We did not find a Maine rule on how to tell the school. A short dated letter, with a copy kept, gives you a record of the day your child left.
  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. Parents keep copies of the notices and assessments they file until the home instruction program ends, and must make them available to the commissioner on request.Source: 20-A M.R.S. 5001-A, compulsory attendance (Maine Legislature)

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

If the home instruction program is discontinued, a student of compulsory age must be enrolled in a public school or another allowed alternative. The receiving school decides the placement. The Department asks parents to tell the superintendent and school of any change.Source: 20-A M.R.S. 5001-A, compulsory attendance (Maine Legislature)

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 Maine.

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 Maine; 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.