Colorado Homeschool Notification of Establishment: The NOI Explained

Colorado requires parents who operate a home-based education program to file a formal Notice of Intent — often called a "notification of establishment" — before their child can legally begin. Getting this document wrong, or filing it with the wrong entity, is the most common procedural mistake that leads to truancy notices landing in families' mailboxes.

Here is exactly what the NOI is, what it must contain, where it goes, and what districts cannot legally ask of you when you submit it.

What the NOI Actually Is

The Notice of Intent (NOI) is the formal legal document you submit to establish a nonpublic home-based educational program under Colorado Revised Statutes §22-33-104.5. Once filed correctly, it creates the legal basis for your child to be absent from public school without being classified as truant.

It is not an application. It is not a request for permission. Colorado law does not require school districts to approve your NOI. You are informing the state — through the district — that your child will be educated at home as a matter of your primary parental right. The statute explicitly frames home education as the parent's primary right and restricts state oversight to "minimum state controls."

The 14-Day Advance Notice Requirement

The single most consequential rule in the NOI process is the 14-day advance notice mandate. Under C.R.S. §22-33-104.5, the NOI must be submitted at least 14 days before the home-based program begins.

This is not a soft guideline. If you file an NOI on a Monday and begin homeschooling that Thursday, you have technically violated the statute — your child's home program is not yet legally established, and any absences from school during that window could be marked as unexcused.

Practical timing example: if you plan to begin your home program on April 14, your NOI must be received by the district no later than March 31.

Because the 14-day clock starts when the district receives the document — not when you mail it — send it via certified mail with return receipt requested. This gives you a timestamped, signed record of when the NOI was delivered, which protects you if there is any dispute about timing.

What the NOI Must Include

Colorado law specifies exactly what information must appear on the NOI. The required fields are:

1. Child's name
2. Child's age
3. Child's place of residence
4. Number of projected attendance hours
5. Parent's signature

That is the complete statutory list. Nothing else is legally required.

The attendance hours projection should reflect Colorado's minimum: 172 instructional days per year, averaging four contact hours per day. A straightforward way to state this is: "This program will consist of no fewer than 172 days of instruction, averaging four instructional contact hours per day."

Where to File the NOI

Most parents assume the NOI must go to their residential school district. That assumption is wrong, and it matters.

Under Colorado law, the NOI can be filed with any public school district in the state. You are not restricted to the district where you live or where your child was previously enrolled.

That said, most legal advocates recommend filing with your resident district as a practical matter. When your child stops appearing on a local district's enrollment roster, the district's automated systems may trigger truancy protocols if they have no record of receiving an NOI. Filing locally prevents that administrative friction.

Some families who have had difficult relationships with their local district choose to file with a neighboring district that is known to have a more cooperative administrative culture. This is entirely legal under Colorado statute, though it does require you to also notify the resident district separately to prevent truancy triggers — one formal NOI filed elsewhere, and a separate informal notification to the resident district explaining the child's change in educational status.

What Districts Cannot Demand

This is where many parents run into trouble. School administrators — sometimes out of genuine ignorance of the statute, sometimes out of an attempt to gather more information than the law permits — routinely demand additional documentation that the law does not authorize.

Colorado law does not permit school districts to require, as a condition of accepting your NOI:

• A detailed curriculum outline or scope and sequence
• A list of textbooks or educational materials you intend to use
• The child's psychological or mental health history
• An agreement to allow home inspections or check-in visits
• Proof of your qualifications as an instructor
• Political or religious affiliation information

If a district rejects your NOI or conditions acceptance on any of these items, they are overstepping statutory authority. Your response should be in writing, citing C.R.S. §22-33-104.5, and declining to provide information beyond what the statute requires. If the district escalates to truancy threats, organizations like HSLDA specialize in correcting this kind of administrative overreach.

Annual Renewal

The NOI is not a one-time filing. Under Option 1 (independent home-based education), you must renew it annually — once per school year — for as long as your child is between the ages of 6 and 16. Once your student turns 16, the annual renewal requirement stops. After 16, you are still responsible for providing education, but you no longer owe the district an annual notification.

Some families file their renewal in the late summer before the new school year starts. This is the cleanest approach — you establish the new year's program before summer ends, avoiding any ambiguity about whether your child is enrolled anywhere as the new academic year begins.

The NOI and the Withdrawal Letter Are Not the Same Thing

A frequent and consequential misconception: many parents believe that filing an NOI automatically withdraws their child from their current school. It does not.

The NOI establishes your home program with the school district. The withdrawal letter terminates your child's enrollment at their current school. These are two separate documents that serve two entirely different legal functions.

If you file an NOI but do not submit a formal withdrawal letter to your child's current school, the school may continue logging absences and eventually refer the case to truancy authorities — even though a valid NOI exists. The withdrawal letter should go to the principal or registrar of the child's current school, state the effective date of withdrawal, and confirm that the child will hereafter receive instruction in a nonpublic home-based educational program under Colorado law.

Both documents should be sent via certified mail with return receipt requested, ideally on the same day.

The Truancy Exception: When the NOI Requires More

Most parents who file an NOI submit only the five required fields and that is legally sufficient. However, there is one scenario where you must include additional documentation: when your child has been habitually truant in the recent past.

Under Colorado law, a child is habitually truant if they have accumulated four unexcused absences in a single month or ten in a calendar year. If your child meets this definition at any point during the six months before you attempt to establish a home-based program, you lose the standard statute's exemption from curriculum oversight. In this specific case, you must attach a written description of the curriculum you intend to use to your NOI.

Failing to include that curriculum description in a truancy situation does not just mean the district can ask questions later — it invalidates the legal establishment of your home program entirely, leaving your child in legal limbo and your family exposed to CPS contact and juvenile court proceedings.

If your child has had significant attendance problems at their current school, clarify that history before you submit your NOI.

Filing Under an Umbrella School

If you choose to enroll your child in a Colorado independent or umbrella school — such as the CHEC Independent School, Statheros Academy, or West River Academy — you do not file an NOI at all.

Under this option, your child's legal status is that of a private school student, not a home-based learner under the state statute. The umbrella school handles all administrative enrollment and record-keeping. You do not interact with the school district for compliance purposes.

The critical sequencing rule for umbrella school families: secure your enrollment confirmation from the umbrella school before submitting the withdrawal letter to your child's current public school. This ensures the district has a clear record of where the child transferred, preventing truancy classification.

If you file an NOI while simultaneously enrolled in an umbrella school, you create conflicting records. The district will have your child listed both as an independent home-based student (via the NOI) and as a private school transfer (via the umbrella enrollment). Untangling that administrative mess takes time and creates unnecessary legal exposure.

Getting the NOI filed correctly — right language, right recipient, right timing — is the single most important step in the Colorado homeschool withdrawal process. The Colorado Legal Withdrawal Blueprint includes a ready-to-use NOI template with all five statutory fields pre-formatted, a 14-day timing checklist, and guidance on how to respond if your district demands more than the law allows.

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