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

How Withdrawal Works in Mississippi

Mississippi establishes home schooling through a Certificate of Enrollment filed with your county school attendance officer. There is no approval to wait for, no testing, no portfolio, and no parent credential. You file the certificate, notify your child's public school in writing, and the move is complete. The certificate has an annual deadline of September 15, but if you are beginning home schooling at another point in the year, you file it within 30 days of when you start.

The certificate is the legal record that your child is enrolled in a home school program in Mississippi. Without it on file, your child's absence from public school could be recorded as truancy. With it filed, you have met the state's primary paperwork requirement and can begin instruction on your timeline.

For the full picture on what comes after the certificate, including the five required subjects, the 180-day requirement, and record-keeping, see the Mississippi homeschooling guide.

Step 1: File the Certificate of Enrollment

File a Certificate of Enrollment with the school attendance officer for your county. The certificate identifies each child you are home schooling by name, age, and grade level, and confirms your intent to provide home instruction in the required subjects. Contact your county attendance office directly to obtain the current form; the certificate is not filed with the school your child currently attends or with the school district's general office, but with the county-level attendance officer. That distinction is the most common source of confusion in Mississippi home school withdrawals.

The annual deadline is September 15. If you plan to begin home schooling at the start of the school year, file the certificate well before that date to give yourself time to obtain the form and complete the process. If you begin home schooling at another point in the year, file the certificate within 30 days of starting. Mid-year withdrawals are fully accommodated; you file when you begin rather than waiting for September.

You will file a new certificate each school year. It does not carry over from one year to the next. Keep a dated copy of each filing in your records. We walk through the certificate and the ongoing requirements in the Mississippi homeschooling guide. Before you begin teaching, a free reading assessment shows you exactly where your child stands academically right now, so you can start curriculum at the right level from your first lesson.

Step 2: Notify the School

Send your child's public school a short written notice that the child is withdrawing to home school. This step stops attendance tracking at the school level and is separate from the Certificate of Enrollment you file with the county attendance officer. The withdrawal notice tells the school to update its enrollment records; the certificate tells the county that your child is enrolled in a home school program. Both steps together complete the transition cleanly.

A brief note with your child's name, the effective date of withdrawal, and a statement that you are home schooling is enough. Keep a copy of the notice together with your certificate filing. If the school contacts you about attendance after the withdrawal, your dated notice and certificate copies resolve the question.

For a mid-year withdrawal, send the school notice and file the certificate close together so your child moves out of the public enrollment without a gap on the official attendance record. The school updates its records when it receives your notice; the county attendance office updates its records when it receives the certificate.

Step 3: Keep Records and Know Your Duties

Keep your dated Certificate of Enrollment and your withdrawal notice together in your home school records. Request any records you want from the public school at the time of withdrawal: immunization records, report cards, transcripts, and any prior assessment results. Gathering them now is more direct than following up after enrollment is closed, and having them in hand before your first lesson lets you plan curriculum from your child's actual starting point.

After the withdrawal, Mississippi requires instruction in five subjects: reading, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. You must provide that instruction for at least 180 days per year. There is no standardized testing requirement, no portfolio you must submit, and no third-party evaluator. A simple attendance log helps you track the day count and gives you a record if a question ever arises, even though you never submit it to anyone.

A free reading assessment gives you a concrete starting point before your first lesson, so you know exactly where your child is rather than guessing. The Mississippi homeschooling guide covers the full subject list and 180-day structure in detail.

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 school. Mississippi districts may offer limited services to home school students on a voluntary basis, but the mandatory IEP entitlements that apply to enrolled public school students do not carry over. Contact the district's special education office before you send your withdrawal notice if services are currently in place, so you understand what transitions are available and what will end when enrollment closes.

The most common confusion in Mississippi is where to file the Certificate of Enrollment. The certificate goes to your county school attendance officer, not to the school principal and not to the school district's main administrative office. If you send it to the wrong office, your home school may not be properly registered with the county, which can create attendance questions later. Contact your county attendance office directly to get the current form and confirm the correct submission address before you file.

A second common point of confusion is the timeline for mid-year starts. You have 30 days from the date you begin home schooling to file the certificate, not 30 days from the date you notify the school. Track your actual start date so you file the certificate on time.

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

Mississippi keeps it simple with one document: the Certificate of Enrollment, filed with your county school attendance officer. File it by September 15 for the year, or within 30 days of starting if you are withdrawing mid-year, and send a short written notice to your child's school so attendance stops. Keep a dated copy of both documents together. The one thing families most often miss is the filing office: the county attendance officer, not the principal.

After the certificate is filed, there is no testing, no portfolio, and no evaluator, just the five required subjects across 180 days. Keep a simple attendance log and teach. For planning what to cover, our curriculum planning guide gives you a structured framework to work from. Our Mississippi homeschooling guide covers the full subject list, the 180-day requirement, and what the law expects through the school year.