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Maryland homeschool law

Notice, days or hours, subjects, testing and records, in plain words, with the source for each.

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

Checked on against the sources linked on this page.

What to file in Maryland

File
The home instruction notification form your local school system uses; then a yearly notice that you are continuing. §
To
Local school superintendent, or your supervising nonpublic school or institution. §
By
At least 15 days before starting; then each year before the school year begins. §
Keep
A portfolio showing regular, thorough instruction: materials, writing, worksheets, creative work, tests. §
Test
No test. A portfolio review at the end of each semester, no more than three a year. §
Starting this year
  • At least 15 days before you start: Sign the home instruction notification form your local school system uses and submit it to the local superintendent.
  • At the end of each semester: The local superintendent or a designee reviews your portfolio.
Already homeschooling
  • Each year, before the school year begins: Verify with the local superintendent (or your supervising school or institution) that you are continuing.
  • At the end of each semester: The local superintendent or a designee reviews your portfolio.
Leaving a school mid-year

The Department of Education says a parent can be held responsible for unexcused absences if a child has left public school but the notice of consent has not been filed and instruction has not begun. To go back to public school, the local superintendent decides placement and credits by an evaluation.

Open your attendance recordStart the Tap Clock, if you want to

What Maryland's law asks you to keep, as tools: Portfolio · Reading log · Evaluation packet. The same rows for every state: what to file, by state.

Checked . § = source: COMAR 13A.10.01, Home Instruction (Maryland State Department of Education). Information, not legal advice.

Quick answers

Notice
Notice every yearSign the home instruction notification form your local school system uses and submit it to the local school superintendent at least 15 days before starting. Each year after, before the school year begins, tell the local superintendent (or your supervising nonpublic school or institution) that you are continuing. Report any change in status during the year. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: COMAR 13A.10.01, Home Instruction (Maryland State Department of Education)
Days or hours
No number givenThe regulation sets no number of days or hours. The program must take place on a regular basis during the school year and be of sufficient duration to carry out the instruction program. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: COMAR 13A.10.01, Home Instruction (Maryland State Department of Education)
Subjects
Regular, thorough instruction in the studies usually taught in the public schools to children of the same age, including English, mathematics, science, social studies, art, music, health and physical education. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: COMAR 13A.10.01, Home Instruction (Maryland State Department of Education)
Testing or evaluation
An evaluationNo test is required. Instead the parent keeps a portfolio, and the local superintendent or a designee reviews it at the end of each semester, at a time that suits both sides, no more than three reviews a year. A child may take the public school's standardized tests on request. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: COMAR 13A.10.01, Home Instruction (Maryland State Department of Education)
Records
Keep a portfolio of materials showing regular, thorough instruction during the school year. It can include instructional and reading materials, examples of the child's writing, worksheets, workbooks, creative materials and tests. A child taking college courses can show a semester report card or transcript for those courses instead. Checked October 27, 2026. Source: COMAR 13A.10.01, Home Instruction (Maryland State Department of Education)
Who must attend school
Each child who lives in Maryland and is 5 years old or older and under 18 must attend a public school regularly during the school year, unless an exception applies. Receiving regular, thorough instruction in the studies usually taught in public schools is one of those exceptions (Education Article 7-301). Source: Maryland Education Article 7-301, compulsory attendance (Maryland General Assembly)
Education savings accounts and vouchers
No program foundWe did not find a state-funded education savings account or voucher open to homeschool families (checked 2026-10-27). Maryland's BOOST scholarship goes to income-eligible students enrolled or accepted at a participating nonpublic school; its page does not mention home instruction. Check the Department's pages for changes. Source: Maryland State Department of Education: BOOST Scholarship Program

What to do first

  1. Read Maryland's own pages, linked under each row below, so you know what applies to your situation.
  2. Notice: At least 15 days before starting; then yearly, before the school year begins To: Local school superintendent, or the supervising nonpublic school or institution.
  3. If your child is in school now: The Department of Education says a parent can be held responsible for unexcused absences if a child has left public school but the notice of consent has not been filed and instruction has not begun. To go back to public school, the local superintendent decides placement and credits by an evaluation.
  4. Plan the year around the days or hours and the subjects below.
  5. Start your records on day one: a simple attendance log, a list of books read and a work sample or two for each subject.
  6. Put the testing or evaluation date on your calendar.

Other legal routes in Maryland

  • Supervision by a church school or an approved nonpublic school. A parent may run the home program under the supervision of a school or institution operated by a bona fide church organization, or a nonpublic school with a State Board of Education certificate of approval. That supervisor handles the annual verification with the local superintendent.
  • Enrollment in a nonpublic school. The Department of Education says Maryland recognizes nonpublic schools, as well as homeschooling, as options for children to get regular, thorough instruction.

Records to keep

Keep a portfolio of materials showing regular, thorough instruction during the school year. It can include instructional and reading materials, examples of the child's writing, worksheets, workbooks, creative materials and tests. A child taking college courses can show a semester report card or transcript for those courses instead. Whatever the law asks, many families also keep a simple attendance log, a list of books read and a few work samples for each subject; they cost nothing and help if you move or return to school.

Good to know

  • Who may teach: the Department of Education's FAQ says the regulations do not require the parent, guardian or other instructor to hold teacher certification.
  • If the superintendent finds the program lacking, you get written notice and 30 days to show the problem has been or is being fixed. If not, the child is enrolled promptly in a public or nonpublic school.
  • A local school system may not add requirements beyond those in the regulation. The regulation also lets part of the program be college courses.
  • The Department says the regulations give home instruction students no right to public school courses or activities beyond standardized testing and federal Army JROTC. A co-op can add to a program but cannot give regular daily instruction to children from other families, because that may be an unapproved nonpublic school.
  • The Department says a home instruction student does not receive a Maryland High School Diploma, which only public schools issue, and may earn one by GED examination from age 16.

Where this comes from

Checked on October 27, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice; check your state's own page, and confirm with your school district or the department before you rely on a date. Something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.