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Withdrawing from school to homeschool in Michigan

How to take your child out of school to homeschool in Michigan, 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 Michigan'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 Michigan asks of a new homeschool. A parent teaching their own child at home under exemption (f) does not report to the state; the Department of Education says it plays no role with these families. Telling the local school is not required but suggested, and without it the child may be marked absent and the truancy officer involved. Reporting to the Department is voluntary, and needed only to get special education services or to be registered as a nonpublic school.Source: Department of Education: Exemption (f) Home School; Department of Education: Home Schooling in Michigan (fact sheet)
  2. Tell the school. When you take your child out: Telling the local school is not required, but it is suggested; otherwise your child may be marked absent and the truancy officer involved. (Suggested, not required.)Source: Department of Education: Exemption (f) Home School; Department of Education: Home Schooling in Michigan (fact sheet)
  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. No law requires home schools to keep student records. The Department of Education encourages parents to keep records of progress through the year, which help a public or nonpublic school place the child later. Report cards, transcripts and diplomas are the family's job.Source: Department of Education: 2025-2026 Nonpublic and Homeschool Manual

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

Telling the local school you will home school is not required but is suggested. A phone call or written note works, and a written note can be placed in the child's school record showing when the child withdrew.

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 Michigan.

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 Michigan; 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.