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Withdrawing from school to homeschool in New Jersey

How to take your child out of school to homeschool in New Jersey, 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 New Jersey'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 New Jersey asks of a new homeschool. Before you start: The Department of Education encourages you to tell the local board of education that you will educate your child elsewhere than at school. (Suggested, not required.)Source: NJ Department of Education: Frequently Asked Questions, Homeschooling
  2. Tell the school. We did not find a New Jersey 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. State guidance names no records a parent must keep. A board of education is not required to establish a record for a child educated elsewhere than at school, and if it gets information from a parent it may keep a record only to document that the child is receiving an education as required by law.Source: NJ Department of Education: Frequently Asked Questions, Homeschooling

What New Jersey's law or education agency says about leaving school

The state says the mere fact that a child has been withdrawn to be homeschooled is not, in itself, credible evidence of a legal violation. Removing a student from a high school program requires completing a transfer form that includes the intent to provide instruction elsewhere than at school.Source: NJ Department of Education: Frequently Asked Questions, Homeschooling

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 New Jersey.

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 New Jersey; 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.