Maryland's Three Home Instruction Paths
Maryland Code, Education Article §7-301 gives parents three legal paths to provide home instruction as an alternative to public school enrollment. Each path satisfies Maryland's compulsory attendance law and each involves a different oversight structure. Choosing the right path before you start determines who oversees your program, what records you maintain, and who reviews your work throughout the year.
Maryland's compulsory school age begins at 5, earlier than most states. Children who turn 5 on or before September 1 must be enrolled in kindergarten or an approved alternative, including home instruction. The compulsory attendance window runs through age 16 or through the school year in which the child turns 16.
Option 1: Home Instruction Under the County School System
This is the path most Maryland families who want to teach independently use. Under Option 1, you file a notice with your county school superintendent, provide instruction in the required subjects, maintain a portfolio throughout the year, and participate in two portfolio reviews conducted by a school official each year.
Filing Notice
Contact your county board of education to request the Notice of Intent form for home instruction. File the completed form with the county superintendent before beginning instruction. The county records the enrollment and assigns a point of contact for the portfolio review process. Some counties have specific timelines for filing; check with your county office at the start of the school year.
Required Subjects
Maryland's required subjects for home instruction under Option 1 are English (which includes language arts, reading, and writing), mathematics, science, social studies, art, music, health, and physical education. Maryland does not specify textbooks, publishers, grade-level benchmarks, or instructional hours for any of these subjects. You choose the curriculum and structure the school day entirely within those subject areas.
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Maintaining the Portfolio
The portfolio is the ongoing record of your child's home instruction. It should include a sampling of work across the required subject areas accumulated over the course of the school year -- completed assignments, writing samples, math work, project documentation, and similar materials that show instruction is happening across all required subjects. You do not need to save every piece of paper. A representative selection from each subject area at regular intervals throughout the year is sufficient.
Build the portfolio as you go rather than assembling it in the weeks before a review. A running folder or binder organized by subject, with one or two items added per subject each month, creates a full portfolio with almost no extra effort. A reading assessment at the start of the year helps you set a baseline for your child's skills before you plan your English instruction for the year.
The Portfolio Review
A school official reviews your portfolio twice per year -- once early in the school year to confirm the program is underway and once mid-year to confirm continued instruction. The review is non-evaluative. The reviewer is checking that a portfolio exists and that it reflects instruction across the required subjects. They are not grading your child's work, comparing it to grade-level standards, prescribing curriculum, or approving your instructional choices. The review is scheduled in advance and takes under an hour.
If the reviewer has concerns that the portfolio does not reflect any real instruction, they can raise those concerns with the superintendent. But for families who are teaching, the review is a straightforward confirmation meeting. Bring an organized portfolio, be prepared to walk the reviewer through what the child has been working on across subjects, and the process is finished in one visit.
Option 2: Church-Related or Religious School
Under Option 2, you affiliate with a Maryland church or religious school that operates as a non-public institution and provides oversight of your home instruction program. Your child is enrolled in the institution; you provide instruction at home under its umbrella.
Who Sets the Requirements
The church-related institution sets its own requirements for enrollment, curriculum, record-keeping, and portfolio or assessment review. These vary by organization. Some umbrella institutions are structured and involved; others are minimal in their oversight. Research specific Maryland umbrella institutions before enrolling to understand what they require of affiliated families.
No Direct County Involvement
Under Option 2, you do not file a notice with your county superintendent and you do not participate in the county's portfolio review process. The institution provides the oversight. Your compliance relationship is with the institution, not with the county.
Diplomas Under Option 2
The institution issues the high school diploma. A diploma from an established Maryland church-related institution is accepted by Maryland colleges and universities in most cases. Confirm accreditation or recognition status with the specific institutions your student plans to apply to before high school begins.
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Option 3: Approved Correspondence or Distance Learning Program
Under Option 3, you enroll your child in a correspondence or distance learning program that has been approved by the Maryland State Superintendent of Schools. The program provides the curriculum, conducts assessments, maintains records, and ultimately issues the diploma. Instruction happens at home but the academic structure comes entirely from the external program.
Finding Approved Programs
The Maryland State Department of Education maintains a list of approved correspondence and distance learning programs. Check marylandpublicschools.org for the current list before enrolling. Not every online or correspondence program is approved; the program must hold state approval from the Maryland State Superintendent of Schools to qualify under this option.
No Direct County Involvement
Like Option 2, Option 3 does not require you to file a notice with the county superintendent or participate in portfolio reviews. The program provides the oversight and handles its own reporting to the state.
Choosing Between the Three Options
Option 1 gives the most day-to-day independence in curriculum choices. You design the program, choose the materials, and set the schedule. The trade-off is the twice-yearly portfolio review, which adds two scheduled meetings per year with a school official.
Option 2 adds an umbrella institution between you and the county. It works well for families who want to affiliate with a faith-based organization or who prefer to have diploma issuance handled by an institution rather than a parent. The specific umbrella institution shapes how much structure or flexibility you have.
Option 3 is the most externally structured path. The correspondence program provides the curriculum, the schedule, and the assessment framework. It works well for families who want a complete external program and are comfortable working within a defined structure. The diploma from an accredited program carries more weight with selective colleges than a parent-issued diploma.
Withdrawing from a Maryland Public School
Send a written withdrawal notice to your child's school and file your notice of intent with the county superintendent if you are using Option 1. Keep copies of both. Contact your umbrella institution or correspondence program if using Options 2 or 3. If your child has an IEP, mandatory special education services through the public school end at withdrawal. Maryland allows school systems to make certain services available to non-public school students with disabilities voluntarily, but the mandatory IEP services end when the child leaves the public system. Contact your county's special education office before withdrawing if services are in place.
High School, Transcripts, and Diplomas in Maryland
Under Option 1, you issue the high school diploma and create the transcript. Maryland does not set graduation requirements for home instruction families operating under Option 1. You establish the criteria, track credits through grades 9 to 12, and award the diploma when the student meets them. A parent-issued Maryland home instruction diploma and transcript are accepted by Maryland's public colleges and the University System of Maryland.
Under Options 2 and 3, the diploma is issued by the institution or program. Confirm the institution's accreditation status before high school begins if your student plans to apply to selective colleges, since accreditation affects how broadly the diploma is recognized.
The University of Maryland system, Towson University, and other Maryland public institutions are experienced reviewing home instruction applications. Most ask for SAT or ACT scores alongside the transcript. A well-organized transcript listing courses, credit hours, and grades by year is the standard document for Option 1 families. Use the curriculum guide to build a full high school plan that accounts for the courses and credentials your student's target colleges will expect.
No State Funding for Maryland Home Instruction Families
Maryland does not have an education savings account or voucher program for home instruction families. All curriculum, materials, portfolio supplies, and other educational costs are the family's responsibility under all three options.
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A Note from Homeschool Teacher Guide: What This Really Means for You
Maryland's portfolio review is the piece that intimidates new families most, and it almost always turns out to be less stressful than expected. The reviewer is not there to evaluate your teaching or your child's performance. They are there to confirm that a portfolio exists and that it reflects work across the required subjects. An organized binder with one or two items per subject per month -- a math worksheet, a writing sample, a science project summary, a social studies reading response -- is everything you need. Build the portfolio as you go, one item at a time, and by the time the review comes around it is already done. The choice between the three options is worth thinking through carefully before you start, on the diploma question above all. If your student is headed for a selective college, the accreditation status of a diploma matters. Know that before grade 9, not during grade 12.