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

How Withdrawal Works in Hawaii

Hawaii establishes home schooling through a one-time notice of intent filed with the principal of the public school your child attends or would attend. Filing the notice excuses your child from public school attendance, and you do not refile it each year once you are submitting annual progress reports. There is no approval step and no parent credential. The principal is your point of contact going forward.

Hawaii's structure is distinct from most states in that the notice goes to the school principal, not a district or state office. That means the principal of your child's specific school is the person you work with for the entire life of your home school program at that location. Filing with the right office matters: if you move to a different school's attendance area within Hawaii, you file a new notice with the new school's principal.

For the full picture of what Hawaii requires beyond the withdrawal itself, the Hawaii homeschooling guide covers the curriculum record, the annual progress report, and the testing grades in one place.

Step 1: File the One-Time Notice of Intent

File a notice of intent to homeschool with the principal of the public school your child attends or would attend. Hawaii provides a standard form for this purpose, commonly called Form 4140. The form identifies your child, gives the child's grade level, and states your intent to provide home instruction. Submit it to the principal before your child's first day of home schooling.

The notice is one-time. Once you are filing annual progress reports, you do not refile it. If you move to a different school's attendance area within Hawaii, file a new notice with the principal of that school. Keep a copy of your notice and any acknowledgment the principal provides. If you filed in person, note the date and the staff member who received it. If you filed by mail, keep a copy of the envelope or a delivery confirmation. These records are your documentation that the filing happened.

There is no approval step. The principal records your notice, and your child is excused from public school attendance from that point. You do not wait for permission to begin home instruction. The filing alone is what starts the program.

We cover the Form 4140 process and the principal relationship in the Hawaii homeschooling guide. Before you finalize your curriculum for the first school year, run a free reading and academic assessment so you know where your child is standing. That baseline steers you toward the right materials from the start rather than adjusting mid-year after discovering gaps.

Step 2: The Principal Is Your Point of Contact

Because the notice goes to the principal rather than a district or state office, the principal of that specific school is who you work with for the life of your home school. Filing the notice with the principal is the step that stops attendance tracking and excuses your child from the public school rolls. Your annual progress reports also go to that same principal each year.

Keep a copy of your notice and any written acknowledgment you receive. That paper trail confirms the date your home school became active and shows that the principal has your notice on file. Having it accessible means you can respond quickly if any questions come up later about when your child's attendance ended at the public school.

For a mid-year withdrawal, file the notice with the principal and the child is excused. There is no separate step at the district level and no waiting period before home instruction begins. Mid-year withdrawals follow the same process as start-of-year ones, so the timing of your decision does not change what you need to do.

Step 3: Keep Records and Know What Follows

Start your home school records folder from the day you file. Keep a copy of the notice and any acknowledgment from the principal, and request your child's records from the public school shortly after withdrawal. Those records, including immunization records and transcripts, are worth having on hand for college applications, athletic programs, and any future enrollment that requires documentation of prior schooling.

After the notice is filed, Hawaii asks two ongoing things. First, keep a record of your planned curriculum. This is a documentation requirement, not an approval process. The state does not review your curriculum in advance, and the principal does not need to approve your course of study before you begin. The curriculum record is a document you maintain and keep current through each school year. Most families keep a simple written plan that lists the subjects and materials for the year, and they update it as the year progresses.

Second, submit an annual progress report to the principal each year. In most grades, the report can take several forms: a score from a nationally normed standardized achievement test, a written evaluation by a Hawaii state-certified teacher, a written evaluation you prepare yourself using your child's grades and work samples, or results from Hawaii's statewide testing program. You choose the format that fits how you document your school year.

In grades 3, 5, 8, and 10, the report must include the results of a standardized achievement test. Those four grades are the years when a test score is required rather than optional. Put those four years on a long-range calendar from the day you begin so they do not arrive as surprises. Plan the test in the spring of each required year so the results are ready for the report. The Hawaii homeschooling guide covers all the progress report options and explains what each testing year involves.

The planning guide can help you build a curriculum record and map out a full school year before you spend anything on materials, so the annual report at the end of the year has something clear to draw from.

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 schooling. Hawaii may offer limited services to home-schooled students on a voluntary basis, but the IEP entitlement that applies to enrolled public school students does not carry over to a home school setting. Contact the school's special education office before withdrawing if services are in place. Ask what, if anything, remains available after your child leaves the public system, and make any arrangements before the withdrawal date if you want continuity of support.

The most common confusion in Hawaii is treating the notice as an annual filing. It is not. The notice is one-time. Once you have filed it and you are turning in annual progress reports, there is no new notice each year. Filing an additional notice when you have not moved to a new school area is unnecessary and can create confusion at the school office. File once with the principal, then focus on the annual progress report as the recurring task. Keeping that distinction clear from the start makes the compliance side of Hawaii home schooling straightforward.

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

Hawaii withdrawal is a single filing with the principal. File Form 4140 with the principal of your child's school, keep your copy, and the child is excused. You will not refile that notice once you are turning in annual progress reports, so the withdrawal step is finished after one submission. There is no approval to wait for and no credential to obtain.

The recurring work is the progress report, not a new notice each year. Keep a simple curriculum record from the first day of home schooling so the report has something to draw from when it is due. Save grades and work samples through the year, and the annual report becomes mostly assembly rather than reconstruction under a deadline.

The four years to plan ahead for are grades 3, 5, 8, and 10, because those require a standardized test score in the progress report. Put those years on a long-range calendar from the moment you begin so they do not catch you off guard. Our Hawaii homeschooling guide covers the progress report and the testing grades in full, so you know what each of those years involves before you reach it.