To withdraw your child from public school in Arizona, file an affidavit of intent to homeschool with your county school superintendent within 30 days of beginning home instruction, and notify the public school. The affidavit goes to the county superintendent, not your local district. There is no approval, no testing, and no parent-credential requirement. Keep a copy of the affidavit and your withdrawal notice. If you are instead taking the state Empowerment Scholarship Account, that is a separate enrollment path covered in our Arizona funding guide. Compulsory age runs from 6 to 16. Confirm procedures at azed.gov.
Verified June 2026 against Arizona Revised Statutes Section 15-802 and the Arizona Department of Education. Confirm current county procedures at azed.gov before relying on this for legal decisions.
| Step | What You Do in Arizona |
|---|---|
| 1. File the affidavit | Affidavit of intent to homeschool with your county school superintendent |
| 2. Timing | Within 30 days of beginning home instruction |
| 3. Notify the school | Tell the public school the child is withdrawn to home instruction |
| 4. Keep records | Save the affidavit and your withdrawal notice |
| ESA note | The Empowerment Scholarship Account is a separate enrollment path |
| Compulsory age | 6 to 16 |
How Withdrawal Works in Arizona
Arizona runs home instruction through an affidavit filed with the county, not with your local school district. You file an affidavit of intent to homeschool with the superintendent of your county school district, which establishes your home instruction under Arizona Revised Statutes Section 15-802. There is no approval vote, no credential check, and no testing required. Once the affidavit is on file, your child is a home instruction student.
The other step is notifying your child's public school so attendance tracking stops. The affidavit goes to the county; the school notice goes to the building. Together the two documents move your child cleanly out of the public system.
The 30-day window is the piece to plan around. You have 30 days from the day you begin home instruction to file the affidavit. That window applies both for starting at the beginning of the year and for a mid-year withdrawal. Before you begin, settle one question: are you taking the standard home instruction path with the affidavit, or are you enrolling in the Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Account? The ESA is a separate program with its own enrollment steps and legal classification. Decide which route you are on before you start, since the steps differ and the two paths are not the same.
Step 1: File the Affidavit With Your County
The affidavit of intent to homeschool goes to your county school superintendent, not your local school district. This is the point most Arizona families get wrong the first time. Your local school district does not process home instruction affidavits. Your county superintendent does.
Arizona has 15 counties, each with its own county school superintendent's office. In Maricopa County, that office is the Maricopa County School Superintendent. In Pima County, it is the Pima County School Superintendent. Find your county's office through the Arizona Department of Education at azed.gov. Most county offices post their own affidavit form on their website. Many will also accept a written statement that includes the required identifying information: your name as the parent or guardian and each child's name and date of birth.
Filing takes about ten minutes and there is no fee. The county office receives and records the affidavit; it does not approve or deny it. You do not need to wait for a response before you begin teaching. After the first filing, renew the affidavit by September 1 each year.
Keep a copy of every affidavit you file and any acknowledgment the county provides. If you move to a different county mid-year, file a new affidavit with the new county superintendent as soon as possible. There is no formal grace period in the law for mid-year moves, so filing promptly keeps your records clean.
Arizona requires home instruction to cover five subjects: reading, grammar, mathematics, social studies, and science. The law does not specify textbooks, hours per subject, or what mastery looks like. Most standard curriculum packages cover all five without any supplemental planning. Everything you need to know about the affidavit and the five-subject requirement is in the Arizona homeschooling guide. Before you set up your first curriculum order, run a free reading assessment so you know exactly where your child stands when you begin.
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Step 2: Notify the Public School
With your affidavit filed or in progress, send your child's school written notice that the child is withdrawn to home instruction. The school needs this to update its enrollment records and stop counting your child as absent. A short note with your child's name, the effective date of withdrawal, and a statement that the child is entering home instruction is enough. Send it dated and keep a copy.
Your child's school and your county superintendent's office are two separate channels. The affidavit covers the county requirement. The school notice covers the attendance record at the building level. Both documents together give you a clean withdrawal on both fronts.
For a mid-year withdrawal, the 30-day window for the affidavit starts on the day you begin home instruction, not the day you send the school notice. If you plan to start home instruction on a particular Monday, that Monday is day one of your 30-day window. File the affidavit before that window closes and send the school notice at or near the same time so there is no gap between when the public school stops tracking your child and when your home instruction is established.
Request school records at the time you send the withdrawal notice. Immunization records, transcripts, and report cards are far easier to collect at withdrawal than to retrieve months later.
Step 3: Keep Records and Note the ESA Difference
Keep your affidavit confirmation and your school withdrawal notice in the same folder. Arizona requires no portfolio, no annual testing, and no evaluator from home instruction families, so these two documents are the core compliance record. Beyond that, any record-keeping you do is for your own planning.
One decision to make before filing: standard home instruction through the affidavit, or Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Account. The ESA provides approximately $7,000 per child per year in state funds for approved educational expenses, which is a meaningful resource. Taking the ESA does not change how you teach, but ESA students are not classified as homeschoolers under Arizona law. They are ESA students enrolled in a separate program with its own contract and spending documentation requirements through the ClassWallet portal. Choosing the ESA means applying at ade.az.gov rather than filing the home instruction affidavit. Our Arizona homeschool funding guide covers the ESA path in full.
If you are staying on the standard home instruction path, the affidavit plus the school notice is the whole of the withdrawal process. For planning what to teach once the withdrawal is done, the Guide covers curriculum selection and structuring the school year.
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Special Education and Common Snags
If your child has an Individualized Education Program, the special education services provided through the public school end when you withdraw to home instruction. Arizona districts may offer limited services to home instruction students on a voluntary basis, and the ESA can fund qualified private providers for some therapies and services, but the public school IEP entitlement ends at withdrawal. Contact the district's special education office before withdrawing if services are in place, so you understand what changes and what options remain.
The two common snags in Arizona withdrawals are sending the affidavit to the wrong office and missing the 30-day window. Routing the affidavit to your local school district instead of your county superintendent is the most frequent error, and it means the filing does not count. Double-check the county superintendent's address before you mail anything. Find it at azed.gov, not on your school district's website. The second snag is starting home instruction and then waiting too long to file. The 30-day clock starts the day you begin, not the day you decide to homeschool. Mark that start date and count forward to know your filing deadline.
A Note from Homeschool Teacher Guide: What This Really Means for You
Arizona withdrawal is a single filing plus a school note, with two details worth getting right. The affidavit goes to your county school superintendent, not your local district, which trips up a lot of families, and you have 30 days from the day you begin to file it. Send the affidavit, send a short note to your child's school, and keep copies of both.
One fork to decide first: standard homeschooling with the affidavit, or the state Empowerment Scholarship Account, which is a separate enrollment that changes your legal classification. Our Arizona funding guide covers the ESA, and our Arizona homeschooling guide covers everything after the affidavit: the five required subjects, the annual renewal, and how to build a teaching plan that works for your family.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Withdraw My Child From Public School in Arizona?
File an affidavit of intent to homeschool with your county school superintendent within 30 days of beginning, and notify the public school. The affidavit establishes your home instruction.
Where Does the Arizona Homeschool Affidavit Go?
To your county school superintendent, not your local school district. This is a common point of confusion. Find your county superintendent's office and affidavit form at azed.gov.
When Is the Arizona Homeschool Affidavit Due?
Within 30 days of the day you begin home instruction, including for a mid-year withdrawal. After the first filing, renew by September 1 each year.
Is the Homeschool Affidavit the Same as the Arizona ESA?
No. The Empowerment Scholarship Account is a separate enrollment path, and ESA students are not classified as homeschoolers under Arizona law. Decide which route you are on before filing, since the steps differ.
What Happens to My Child's IEP When I Withdraw in Arizona?
Public school special education services end when you withdraw to home instruction. Districts may offer limited services, but the IEP entitlement does not carry over. Contact the special education office before withdrawing if services are in place.
Sources
Arizona Department of Education: Homeschooling
Arizona Revised Statutes Section 15-802
HSLDA: How to Comply with Arizona's Homeschool Law