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

How Withdrawal Works in Maine

Maine establishes home instruction through a notice of intent that you file with two recipients: your local school unit and the Maine Department of Education. You file within 10 days of starting home instruction, and then you renew the filing each year by September 1, along with an assessment of your child's progress. Filing the notice is what excuses your child from the compulsory enrollment requirement. There is no approval step and no parent credential.

The dual filing is what sets Maine apart from lighter states. One copy going to only one place is not enough. Both recipients must receive the notice within the 10-day window, and you need proof of each filing so you can show the date if it is ever questioned. The Maine homeschooling guide covers the full notice requirements, the required subjects, and the four assessment options in one place.

Step 1: File the Notice of Intent With Both Recipients

Maine's notice of intent is called the Notice of Intent to Provide Home Instruction, and it goes to two places at once: your local school administrative unit and the Maine Department of Education. File within 10 days of starting home instruction. The Maine Department of Education provides a standard form, and using it for both copies keeps the documentation consistent. Send both filings together so the dates match and you have a clear record that both recipients received the notice in the same window.

The notice states your intent to provide home instruction and names your child. Keep copies of both filings and any written acknowledgment you receive from either recipient. Those copies establish the date your home instruction program officially began. If you file by mail, consider certified mail for the paper trail. If you file by email or an online portal, save the confirmation. The date matters because the 10-day window is a hard deadline.

We cover the notice requirements in the Maine homeschooling guide. Before you choose curriculum for your first year, run a free reading and academic assessment so you know where your child stands before you start planning. That baseline is far more useful than guessing from a grade level.

Step 2: Notify the School

Send your child's public school a short written notice that the child is withdrawn to home instruction, so attendance tracking stops on the school side. If your local school administrative unit is one of your two filing recipients, the unit office may pass the information along to the school building. Even so, a direct note to the school avoids delays between the unit office and the building, and it gives you another piece of documentation with a clear date.

Keep the school note with your two notice filings. That set of papers, the local unit filing, the state filing, and the school withdrawal note, forms your complete documentation of the withdrawal. If any question arises about when your child stopped being enrolled, you have a coherent record with matching dates.

For a mid-year withdrawal, file the notice of intent with both recipients and send the school note close together so your child moves cleanly out of the public enrollment without a gap. Maine law does not restrict when during the year you can file; the process is the same whether you start in September or mid-January.

Step 3: Keep Records and Plan the Annual Renewal

After filing, request copies of your child's school records, including report cards, any assessment results, and immunization records. Those records are easier to obtain during the withdrawal process than after the enrollment has closed out, and they are useful when you plan your starting curriculum for the first year.

Maine's recurring requirement is what makes it different from states where you file once and you are done. By September 1 each year after the first, you file your notice again with both the local school unit and the Maine Department of Education, and you attach an annual assessment of your child's progress. The assessment can be a standardized test, a portfolio review by a certified teacher, testing administered by the school unit with prior permission, or a review by a local advisory group. The main guide covers each option in detail.

The most practical thing you can do from day one is keep a running record of what you teach: subjects covered, materials used, and representative work samples from each area. That ongoing record makes the annual assessment much easier to complete regardless of which method you choose. Put September 1 on a recurring calendar reminder so the renewal does not catch you late. A missed September 1 deadline means your home instruction is not covered under the law for that year, so the date deserves the same attention you would give a school enrollment deadline. The planning guide can help you map the required subjects across a full year so the curriculum record and the annual renewal align from the start.

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. Maine school units may offer limited services to home instruction students on a case-by-case basis, but the IEP entitlement that applies to enrolled public school students does not carry over. Contact your school unit'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.

The most common snag families run into in Maine is filing with only one recipient and assuming the local unit passes the notice to the state. The law requires both recipients, and you are responsible for both filings. Send both at the same time and keep proof of each. A letter to the local unit with a courtesy copy to the state does not count unless each filing is addressed to and received by the correct recipient. Double-filing up front takes a few extra minutes and protects your whole program.

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

Maine has two wrinkles worth getting right from the start. First, your notice of intent goes to two recipients, your local school unit and the Maine Department of Education, within 10 days, so send both at once and keep proof of each. One filing to one place is not enough. Second, Maine is not a one-and-done state: you renew by September 1 every year and include an assessment, so put that date on a recurring calendar now and treat it like a school enrollment deadline.

Send a short written note to your child's school so attendance tracking stops, and keep your copies together. That three-document set, the local unit filing, the state filing, and the school withdrawal note, forms your complete record of the withdrawal date.

The annual renewal sounds like a burden, but it becomes routine if you keep a running record through the year. Subjects covered, materials used, and a handful of work samples from each area is enough to satisfy any of the four assessment options Maine accepts. Our Maine homeschooling guide covers the required subjects and the assessment choices in full. Start the first year with a clear baseline from a free reading and academic assessment, and build the record from there.