To withdraw your child from public school in Indiana, send a written withdrawal letter to the school stating that your child now attends a non-accredited private school (your home school). Indiana requires no notice to the state or district to begin and no approval. Keep a dated copy of your letter and request any records you want. Indiana asks home schools to keep attendance records and teach roughly the same number of days as public schools, covered in the main guide. Compulsory age runs from 7 to 18. Confirm your district's records process with the school office.
Verified June 2026 against Indiana Code Section 20-33-2-17 and the Indiana Department of Education. Confirm current district procedures with your school before relying on this for legal decisions.
| Step | What You Do in Indiana |
|---|---|
| 1. Write the letter | A written letter stating the child now attends a non-accredited private school |
| 2. Deliver it | Send or hand it to the school office; keep a dated copy |
| 3. Request records | Ask for immunization records, transcripts, or other documents |
| State or district notice | None required to begin |
| Approval needed | None |
| Timing | Any time during the year |
| Compulsory age | 7 to 18 |
How Withdrawal Works in Indiana
Indiana recognizes a home school as a non-accredited private school. Non-accredited private schools in Indiana do not register with the state, file annual notices, or seek approval from any government body. When you decide to home school, you are operating a private school, and you withdraw your child from the public school by sending that school a written letter.
The letter tells the school your child is leaving to attend a non-accredited private school, which is your home school. The school updates its records. No state office receives anything. No district superintendent is notified. Your home instruction begins as soon as the school has recorded the withdrawal.
That is the complete withdrawal. Indiana asks nothing more at the front end. The legal standard is instruction equivalent to what public schools offer, set under Indiana Code Section 20-33-2-17, and Indiana specifies no mandatory subjects, no daily hour minimums, and no testing requirement for non-accredited private schools. What you teach after the letter is your own decision. We cover the teaching side in the Indiana homeschooling guide.
Step 1: Write the Withdrawal Letter
The withdrawal letter is short. It tells the school your child's name, the effective date of withdrawal, and that the child now attends a non-accredited private school. You do not describe a curriculum, prove your qualifications, or explain your teaching plan. The letter is a notice to the school's attendance office, not a legal filing under home school law.
A few sentences is enough. Something like: "This letter notifies you that [child's name] will no longer attend [school name] as of [date]. The child will be receiving instruction at a non-accredited private school." Sign it, date it, and deliver it.
The phrase "non-accredited private school" matters because that is how Indiana law classifies a home school under IC Section 20-33-2-17. Framing the letter that way aligns your withdrawal with the legal basis for your home education and makes the transition clear to the school's records staff. If you leave out that framing, some school offices will ask follow-up questions about where the child is going.
Some Indiana districts circulate their own withdrawal forms. There is no harm in completing one if the school offers it, but signing a district form is not a legal requirement. Your own letter is sufficient. You do not need to prove anything, receive anything back, or wait for a response before you begin teaching.
Before you write the letter, take a free reading assessment so you know exactly where your child stands today. That baseline gives you a starting point for the curriculum plan and shows you whether to adjust the pace up or down from where the public school left off.
Want to see what a structured plan looks like before you commit?
Two chapters, a curriculum breakdown, and a worksheet -- free.
See inside before you buy. Delivered by email.
Step 2: Deliver It and Keep a Copy
Deliver the letter to the school office in a way you can prove. Handing it in person and asking for a date-stamped copy, emailing it and keeping the sent receipt, or mailing it with return receipt all work. Keep the confirmation and a dated copy of the letter together in your files.
Indiana asks for no state or district filing when you begin home schooling, so your letter is the only document that records the transition from the public school side. That makes the delivery confirmation and dated copy worth keeping. If a question ever comes up about when the withdrawal happened, your copy answers it.
For a mid-year withdrawal, the same single step applies. There is no window to wait for and no notice period. Send the letter and keep your copy. Your child's attendance at the public school ends when the school records the change. Home instruction can begin the same day.
Some families wonder whether they need to notify the Indiana Department of Education or their local school board separately. They do not. The withdrawal letter goes to the school, and that is the only notification Indiana's home school framework requires. No state office, no district superintendent, no county clerk.
Step 3: Request Records and Know Your Light Duties
At the time you deliver the withdrawal letter, ask the school for any records you want. Immunization records, report cards, transcripts, and any evaluation or accommodation records are worth collecting at the point of withdrawal. These are far easier to obtain when your child is a current or recently departed enrollee than to retrieve months later after the records have been archived.
Most Indiana school offices release these on request at withdrawal without delay. If your child was receiving any academic support services or accommodations, ask for those records too. Teacher notes, prior evaluations, or accommodation plans can be useful as you build your home curriculum and decide where to start.
Once you have withdrawn, Indiana asks home schools to keep their own attendance records and to provide instruction for roughly the same number of days as the public schools, which run 180 days. Those attendance records are held by you and are available on request; they are not submitted to a district office, a state agency, or any other government body. You are maintaining your own records the way any private school would, privately. Our Indiana homeschooling guide covers the attendance standard and the equivalence requirement in full. For building a teaching plan from scratch, the Guide walks through curriculum selection and school-year structure.
Choosing the right curriculum gets easier when you know what to teach, what to skip, and where to start.
Get the GuideA simple step-by-step plan for getting started.
Funding Note and Special Education
Indiana's main state education funding programs do not reach general home education. The Choice Scholarship is available only to students enrolled in private accredited schools, not non-accredited home schools. Indiana's Education Savings Account program (INESA) funds home education only for students with disabilities or their siblings. Neither program changes the withdrawal steps, but knowing this before you withdraw keeps expectations accurate. Our Indiana homeschool funding guide covers who qualifies and what each program provides.
If your child has an Individualized Education Program, the special education services provided through the public school end when you withdraw to a non-accredited private home school. Indiana school districts may offer limited services to private school students with disabilities on a voluntary basis, but the legal entitlement under federal law ends when your child leaves the public system. Contact the district's special education office before withdrawing if services are currently in place, so you understand what changes and what options remain available.
A Note from Homeschool Teacher Guide: What This Really Means for You
Indiana withdrawal is genuinely easy, and the only thing to avoid is overcomplicating it. You send a short letter stating your child now attends a non-accredited private school, you deliver it in a way you can prove, and you keep a dated copy. There is no state form to file before you begin and no approval to wait for. Collect your child's records on the way out, then keep simple attendance records as you go, since Indiana asks home schools to have those available on request.
If funding crossed your mind, our Indiana funding guide explains why the main programs do not fit general home education. Our Indiana homeschooling guide covers everything after the letter: the equivalence standard, record keeping, and how to build a high school transcript that holds up when your student applies to college.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Withdraw My Child From Public School in Indiana?
Send a written withdrawal letter to the school stating that your child now attends a non-accredited private school. Indiana requires no notice to the state or district to begin and no approval.
Do I Have to Notify the State of Indiana to Begin Home Schooling?
No. Indiana treats home schools as non-accredited private schools, which do not register with the state to begin. The only notification needed is the withdrawal letter to the public school.
Can I Withdraw My Child From an Indiana Public School at Any Time?
Yes. There is no window to wait for and no notice period. The same single letter works at any point in the year. Home instruction can begin the same day the school records the change.
What Ongoing Records Does Indiana Expect From Home Schools?
Home schools keep their own attendance records and teach roughly the same number of days as public schools, with attendance available on request. These are self-kept records, not filings with any government body.
What Happens to My Child's IEP When I Withdraw in Indiana?
Public school special education services end when you withdraw to a non-accredited private home school. 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
Indiana Department of Education: Home Schools
Indiana Code Section 20-33-2-17
HSLDA: How to Comply with Indiana's Homeschool Law