Homeschooling in Maryland

Your options

(A) Home instruction with local school system portfolio review. (B) Umbrella: supervision by a nonpublic school holding a State Board certificate of approval, or by a bona fide church organization (COMAR 13A.10.01.05); no local portfolio review.

Notice or letter of intent

Signed state Home Instruction Notification form to the local superintendent at least 15 days before starting. Verify continuation annually before the school year begins; report status changes.

Need a letter? See our letter of intent and withdrawal letter templates – but use the official form below if there is one.

Subjects, time, assessment and records

Subjects

English, mathematics, science, social studies, art, music, health, physical education.

Days or hours

'Regular, thorough instruction' on a regular basis during the school year for sufficient duration; no day or hour count.

Testing or assessment

Option A: portfolio reviewed by the superintendent or designee at the end of each semester, at agreed times, with no more than 3 reviews per year. College course report cards or transcripts may replace the portfolio for those courses. Option B: the umbrella reviews.

Not yet confirmed: the 2017 state form says reviews happen “at least twice a year”, while the regulation says at the end of each semester, with no more than 3 a year. Check your state’s official page: Maryland official page.

Records

Portfolio with relevant materials, reading materials, and the child's writings, worksheets, workbooks, creative materials and tests.

Parent qualifications

None.

Other rules

Local systems may not add requirements beyond COMAR. The form asks whether the child will join standardised testing (optional).

Official forms

Home Instruction Notification form (Rev. 2017): marylandpublicschools.org/…

The law

COMAR 13A.10.01.01–.06; Md. Code, Education §7-301 – read the law

Not yet confirmed: Education Article §7-301 was not confirmed on the Maryland General Assembly site. Check your state’s official page: Maryland official page.

Who to contact

• Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) – MSDE (no published homeschool office contact; local school system Home Instruction Coordinators handle cases)Contact form · 410-767-0100 · Official pageWho handles notices: Local district (local superintendent / Home Instruction Coordinator), or supervising umbrella school

Special education and public school classes and sports

Not stated on any MSDE page that could be fetched. Local systems say home-instructed students have no access to public school educational resources (Howard Co., hcpss.org/…). Montgomery Co. allows Montgomery College courses from age 16 and the GED from 16 (montgomeryschoolsmd.org/…). Re-entry placement follows COMAR 13A.10.01.05. Federal IDEA equitable services and Child Find are not described by MSDE.

Federal rules on Child Find and evaluations apply in every state – see special education.

Going back to public school in Maryland

Maryland’s regulation says that when a child from a home instruction program applies to a public school, the local superintendent decides grade placement and any high school graduation credit through an evaluation, which may include standardized tests, exams and an interview with the child (COMAR 13A.10.01.04).

Source: Maryland regulation COMAR 13A.10.01.04 (Placement in Public School)

To enroll, contact the enrollment or registration office of your local school district or public school, and ask how it decides grade placement and credits before your child starts. See the Maryland official page, and going back to school after homeschooling for what to bring, placement, credits and special education.