If you want to start homeschooling during the school year and your child is currently enrolled in a public or private school, HSLDA recommends that you formally withdraw your child from that school. If you are going to start homeschooling after the school year is over, and your child is considered as enrolled for the following year, we recommend that you withdraw your child before the next school year begins so that the school does not mark your child as absent or truant.

We generally recommend that any correspondence with authorities be sent by “Certified Mail—Return Receipt Requested.” Keep copies of the withdrawal letter, any other paperwork or correspondence, and any green postal receipts for your personal records.

Note that local schools may have specific forms or withdrawal procedures, especially if you are withdrawing midyear (for example, you may have to return school computers or other technology). If you are an HSLDA member, you can contact your state’s legal team for more information about complying with these procedures. HSLDA members can also use one of our sample letters of withdrawal to correspond with school officials. You can find the sample withdrawal form for your state through our interactive legal map.

Generally, no. If a child is already being homeschooled, the new law does not require a DCF registry check, and it does not require an intent-to-educate form unless the family moves into a new school district.

The DCF records check applies only when a parent withdraws a child from public school for parent-managed learning beginning in the 2027–28 school year. A child who is already being homeschooled is not being withdrawn from public school, so that process would not apply to a homeschooling family unless the parents voluntarily place their child back in public school, then later decide to withdraw to homeschool.

The annual intent-to-educate form—which goes into effect for the 2028–29 school year—also does not apply to children already being instructed through parent-managed learning, unless the family moves into a new school district.

In sum, while the law generally does not affect families who are currently homeschooling, it may apply to them in future situations (such as if a family moves to a new district, withdraws a child from public school, withdraws a child from a nonpublic school, or begins parent-managed learning with a younger child who becomes subject to the law’s form requirements). For more information about how the law works, contact HSLDA.

The DCF records check includes every person age 18 or older who lives with the child.

That means the check is not limited to parents or guardians. It includes adult siblings, grandparents, other relatives, roommates, and any other adult residing in the home.

This is one of HSLDA’s major concerns with the law. A parent’s ability to withdraw a child from public school for homeschooling can be blocked because of the registry status or active DCF investigation of another adult in the home, even when that adult is not the parent, not the child’s teacher, and not the person making educational decisions.

If your family is denied the ability to withdraw a child from public school for parent-managed learning, contact HSLDA immediately.

Keep copies of everything you receive from the school district or DCF, including withdrawal forms, denial notices, emails, letters, and any information about how to challenge the DCF records check.

HSLDA members should contact us through their member account or by calling HSLDA directly. Families who are not yet members should consider joining HSLDA so we can assess the situation and determine how we can help.