How to Withdraw Your Child From Public School in Delaware (2026): Step by Step

How Withdrawal Works in Delaware

Delaware runs home school registration and attendance reporting through a state online system, which means your relationship is with the Department of Education directly rather than with your local school district. You register your home school in the system, choose the type, enroll your child by early October, notify your child's public school, and file an attendance report at the end of the year. There is no curriculum review, no testing, and no parent credential. Registration in the online system is what gives your home school legal standing.

Two dates define the annual rhythm: the early-October enrollment deadline and the July 31 attendance report deadline. Both happen through the same online portal you use to register. Understanding those two dates before you start is what keeps the administrative side manageable year over year. The Delaware homeschooling guide covers the home school types, the required instructional days, and what subjects Delaware expects in full.

Step 1: Register Your Home School Online

Delaware uses an online Home School Enrollment and Attendance Reporting System run by the Department of Education. Your first step is to register your home school there and choose the type you are running. Most families register as a single-family home school, which is the most common option. That type means you operate independently and issue your child's diploma when the time comes. There are other options, including coordinated arrangements with local school districts, but most families who want a clean separation from the public system use the single-family home school designation.

The registration process identifies your home school, the grade levels you plan to cover, and the children enrolled. There is no fee and no approval step; the system records your home school when you complete the registration. Once you have registered, your login credentials carry forward to future years, and both of your annual filings, the enrollment count and the attendance report, go through the same portal.

Keep a copy or screenshot of your registration confirmation. Because everything runs through the state system rather than the local district, that confirmation is your record that your home school exists in the state's view. We cover the home school types and what each means for your program in the Delaware homeschooling guide. Before you plan your first year's curriculum, run a free reading and academic assessment so you know where your child stands before you map out the subjects.

Step 2: Notify the School

Send your child's public school a short written notice that the child is withdrawn to a registered home school. Keep a copy of that note with your registration confirmation. The state registration gives your home school legal standing; the written notice to the school closes out the public enrollment and stops attendance tracking so absences are not recorded as truancy while the district updates its records.

Because your registration is with the state system and not the local district, the school withdrawal note is the one direct communication you have with the public school during this process. Make it clear and dated, and keep your copy. A brief email or letter stating that your child is enrolled in a registered Delaware home school effective a specific date is sufficient.

For a mid-year withdrawal, register in the online system first, then send the school note and keep both dated close together so your child's transition is documented cleanly. If you start home schooling mid-year, check the system for how mid-year enrollment is recorded, since the fall enrollment report is based on September enrollment counts.

Step 3: Keep Records and File the Attendance Report

After registering and notifying the school, request copies of your child's academic records, report cards, and any assessment results. Those are faster to obtain during the withdrawal process than after the school has fully closed the enrollment, and they help you plan where to start your home school curriculum. A free academic assessment alongside the school records gives you both the formal history and a current, subject-by-subject picture of where your child is right now.

Delaware's recurring annual requirement is the attendance report: by July 31 each year, you file your attendance data through the same online portal you used to register. There is no test to submit and no curriculum review. The report is a count of attendance days for the year. Keep a simple attendance log from the first day of instruction so the July 31 filing is a matter of pulling numbers you already have rather than reconstructing the year from memory.

You also submit a statement of pupil enrollment by early October each year, reflecting enrollment as of the last school day in September. Put both dates on a recurring calendar the day you register: early October for the fall enrollment count, July 31 for the end-of-year attendance report. The planning guide maps out a full school year with the recordkeeping built in so the attendance log and the annual filings stay current as the year moves along.

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 a home school. Delaware districts may offer limited services to home school students on a case-by-case basis, but the IEP entitlement that applies to enrolled public school students does not carry over. Contact the district's special education office before withdrawing if services are in place. Ask what remains available and what steps, if any, you need to take to preserve access to any services that might continue after you withdraw.

The most common snag in Delaware is missing a deadline in the online system. The early-October enrollment deadline and the July 31 attendance report are both in the state portal, not with the local district, so they can slip past families who expect the process to involve their school building. Calendar both dates the day you register, treat them like bill-pay reminders, and submit early rather than at the last moment. A missed July 31 deadline means Delaware's records show your home school as non-compliant for that year.

A Note from Homeschool Teacher Guide: What This Really Means for You

Delaware keeps everything in one online system, which is convenient once you know the two dates. Register your home school in the state portal and enroll your child by early October, then file the year-end attendance report by July 31. Those are the two administrative tasks that repeat every year, and both happen in the same portal you set up when you first registered. Send a short written note to your child's public school so attendance tracking stops, and keep your registration confirmation.

There is no testing and no curriculum review, so the work is mostly hitting those two deadlines. Calendar them the day you register so they do not sneak up during a busy stretch of the school year. Keep a daily attendance log from day one; filling in the July report is straightforward when the log is already current.

Our Delaware homeschooling guide covers the home school types, the required instructional days, and the subject expectations in full. If you start with a clear picture of where your child is right now from a free assessment, your curriculum plan for the first year will be far more targeted than one built from a grade-level chart alone.