CPS Withdrawal for Homeschool: A Step-by-Step Guide

The decision to leave Chicago Public Schools is usually made before the paperwork conversation starts. A failed IEP meeting, a string of emergency school closings, a child who is academically regressing while the school's data says otherwise — the reasons stack up over months until the decision feels less like a choice than an inevitability. What stops families at the threshold is not second-guessing the decision. It is not knowing what the paperwork actually requires and whether getting it wrong could create legal exposure.

It can. But the process is not complicated when you know the steps.

The Legal Foundation: Illinois Private School Status

A qualifying private-school route generally does not require state registration, state notification, or approval. Under 105 ILCS 5/26-1, the compulsory attendance law contains a private school exemption, and the People v. Levisen (1950) ruling established that home education can qualify as private-school instruction when its criteria are met. That ruling has governed the legal interpretation of homeschooling in Illinois for over seventy years.

What this means practically: when you withdraw from CPS and begin educating your child at home under an arrangement that meets the Levisen criteria, you are exercising a clearly established legal right that the Illinois courts and the General Assembly have affirmed.

The district's obligation is to your compliance with state law. The district's preferences about what you should do are not the same thing as what you are legally required to do. Keeping those two things clearly separated is useful when you encounter school staff who are unfamiliar with the law or who characterize the process as more restrictive than it is.

Step 1: The Physical Visit to the School

Chicago Public Schools requires that withdrawal from a CPS school be initiated through a physical visit to the child's current school. This is not something you can accomplish by phone call, email, or letter alone. A parent or legal guardian must go in person.

When you arrive, tell the office staff that you are withdrawing your child to attend a private school. Under Illinois law, home education can be private-school education when the Levisen criteria are met. Ask for the withdrawal form and confirm what documentation the school requests.

The staff will typically process the withdrawal and update the enrollment record, but district practice and requested forms can vary. Ask what documentation the school requires and keep your own copies of the withdrawal record and correspondence.

Step 2: The Statement of Assurance

CPS may ask families transitioning to home education to complete a Statement of Assurance. The form is available in both English and Spanish. Review what it asks and submit the family's own written notification letter as well.

When you review the Statement of Assurance, check its current statements about English-language instruction and responsibility for the child's education.

The form's contents and the district's requested process should be checked at the time of withdrawal. Keep the family's own written notification and copies of everything submitted; the form is not a substitute for meeting the underlying Levisen criteria.

Complete the form carefully. Keep a copy for your records.

Step 3: The Letter of Compliance

The Statement of Assurance handles the school's internal administrative process. Separately, the Ad Hoc Committee on Home Education in Illinois recommends that families submit a written letter of compliance directly to the school in addition to or alongside the Statement of Assurance.

The letter serves a distinct purpose: it creates your own documentary record that you notified the school of your educational intent and the legal basis for your private school arrangement. If a truancy inquiry arises later — particularly if there is administrative confusion about whether the withdrawal was properly processed — you want your own record of the communication, separate from the school's internal paperwork.

A letter of compliance does not need to be long. It should include:

• The child's full name and date of birth
• The child's CPS ID number and school name
• The date of withdrawal
• A statement that the family is relying on the private school exemption under 105 ILCS 5/26-1 and the English-instruction rule in 105 ILCS 5/27-1, and that the child will receive private-school instruction at home
• Your signature and the date

Send the letter to the school or principal using a method that preserves a copy and confirmation of delivery. Follow up at the time of your school visit if appropriate. Keep copies of all correspondence.

Understanding Truancy Risk and How to Avoid It

Illinois takes truancy seriously in ways that are worth understanding before you start the withdrawal process. Truancy officers in Illinois have peace officer authority, which means they can compel cooperation with truancy investigations in ways that ordinary city employees cannot. Parents of habitually truant students face Class C misdemeanor charges under Illinois law.

The truancy framework applies to students who are not enrolled in any school — public or private — and who are not otherwise accounted for under an exemption. Once the withdrawal is processed and the child is receiving qualifying private-school instruction, the private-school exemption may apply. Keep documentation showing both the withdrawal and the educational arrangement.

If CPS does not properly update its enrollment record at the time of your withdrawal visit, your child may appear in the system as unenrolled rather than withdrawn to private school. If a truancy officer subsequently makes contact, your documentation (Statement of Assurance if used, written notification letter, and copy of the withdrawal form) helps show the procedure followed.

This is why the physical visit, the written documentation, and the personal copies all matter. They are not bureaucratic caution — they can help protect you against administrative errors in a large district that processes thousands of enrollment changes.

If Your Child Has an IEP

Families leaving CPS because of inadequate IEP implementation face an additional layer of complexity. When your child withdraws from CPS, the district's FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education) obligations under the IDEA no longer apply in the same way. Your child's existing IEP does not automatically transfer to your home school and cannot be enforced there as a public-school IEP.

If you are accessing any services from the district as a parentally-placed private school student — which Illinois law technically allows under certain conditions — the rules change. But if you are fully withdrawing and providing a home-based private school education with no district services, the IEP becomes reference documentation rather than an active document.

Many families find that the loss of the IEP obligation is actually a relief — they were not receiving the services anyway, and now they can seek private providers on their own terms. Others find it a genuine loss. Know which situation you are in before you withdraw.

What Happens at the Microschool

If your child is joining a learning pod or microschool rather than a fully home-based arrangement, the withdrawal process is identical. From CPS's perspective, your child is withdrawing to attend a private school. Whether that private school consists of your family alone, a two-family pod, or a more structured microschool with a hired facilitator, the withdrawal documentation you complete is the same.

Each family in a microschool must complete its own withdrawal process independently. The microschool founder cannot withdraw students on behalf of other families. Each parent handles the applicable steps for that family, which may include the physical visit, a Statement of Assurance if CPS requests it, the family's own notification letter, and personal copies of the records.

If you are organizing a Chicago-area learning pod or microschool and want the full legal compliance documentation — including withdrawal letter templates, CPS-specific guidance, and enrollment agreement frameworks — the Illinois Micro-School & Pod Kit gives you everything you need to navigate the process correctly from the start.

See more Illinois guides →