DC Homeschool Withdrawal Letter: How to Withdraw from DCPS or a Charter School

Withdrawing your child from DCPS or a D.C. charter school to homeschool is a defined legal process with a specific sequence. Do it in the wrong order, and the school district may continue tracking your child as absent — which triggers truancy referrals to the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA). Do it in the right order, and the transition is clean, documented, and legally complete within a few weeks.

Here is exactly how to do it.

The Two-Step Process: OSSE Notification + School Withdrawal

Under 5-E DCMR Chapter 52, the D.C. homeschool framework requires parents to take two distinct actions:

Step 1: Submit your Notification of Intent to Homeschool to OSSE. At least 15 business days before instruction begins, each family must file a Notification of Intent to Homeschool with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE). The form is available on the OSSE website. You submit it by email or mail; there is no in-person requirement.

The notification requires:

• Parent or guardian name and contact information
• Child's name, date of birth, and grade level
• Planned start date for homeschooling
• Statement that the parent/guardian holds a high school diploma or equivalent (or will petition for a waiver)

You do not need to wait for OSSE to confirm or approve your notification before beginning instruction, but you must have submitted it at least 15 business days in advance. Keep a copy with the submission timestamp.

Step 2: Formally withdraw your child from their current school. If your child is currently enrolled in a DCPS school or a D.C. charter school, you must formally notify the school in writing that your child is withdrawing to be homeschooled. This is the step that prevents truancy referrals — if a school does not receive a withdrawal notification, they are required by law to continue marking your child absent and to escalate absences through D.C.'s truancy process, which can result in CFSA involvement.

Send a written withdrawal letter to the school's principal or registrar. Keep a copy. If submitting in person, ask for a dated receipt. If submitting by email, save the sent confirmation.

DC Homeschool Withdrawal Letter: What to Include

Your withdrawal letter does not need to be elaborate. The key elements are:

1. Date of the letter
2. Your child's full name and current grade
3. Statement that your child is withdrawing from [School Name] effective [date]
4. Statement that you are withdrawing to provide homeschooling under D.C. Code § 38-202 and 5-E DCMR Chapter 52
5. Your name, signature, and contact information

A brief, factual letter is better than a lengthy one. You are not requesting permission — you are notifying the school of a decision you have already made. You do not need to explain your reasons, provide curriculum details, or answer questions about your homeschool program at this stage.

Sample language:

Dear [Principal's Name],

I am writing to formally notify [School Name] that my child, [Child's Full Name], currently enrolled in [Grade], will be withdrawing from enrollment effective [Date]. We will be providing home instruction under D.C. Code § 38-202 and the District's homeschool regulations (5-E DCMR Chapter 52).

Please ensure that [Child's Name] is officially disenrolled from your school records and that any absences after [Date] are not recorded.

Please also arrange for the transfer of any academic records, including cumulative records, to our family at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely, [Parent Name] [Contact Information]

Withdrawing from a DC Charter School Mid-Year

Charter school withdrawals follow the same general process as DCPS withdrawals — written notification to the school, formal disenrollment. However, charter schools sometimes raise additional questions:

Can they prevent withdrawal? No. You have the legal right to withdraw your child from any D.C. school at any time to provide homeschooling. No school — DCPS or charter — can require you to remain enrolled against your will.

Will you lose your spot? Yes. Withdrawing from a charter school seat typically forfeits that seat. If you want to return later, your child would need to re-enter the lottery. This is worth weighing carefully if the charter seat was hard-won.

What about mid-year contracts or agreements? Some charter schools ask families to sign enrollment agreements. These agreements typically cannot override your legal right to withdraw. However, some agreements include provisions about prorated refunds of materials fees or uniform deposits — review what you signed.

Do charter schools share records with DCPS? D.C. charter schools and DCPS schools both participate in My School DC and share student records through D.C.'s unified student information system. A formal withdrawal from a charter school should propagate through this system, but follow up with DCPS directly if your child was previously enrolled there or if you want to ensure no truancy flag exists at the district level.

Mid-Year Withdrawal: Timing Considerations

You can withdraw your child at any point during the school year. There is no legally required waiting period beyond the 15 business days you need to file with OSSE before instruction begins.

Practical timing considerations:

• Avoid withdrawing during standardized testing windows if you want to preserve the option to return to the school and have complete records. Schools that lose students mid-testing sometimes flag this administratively.
• January through March is the most common mid-year withdrawal window in D.C. — often aligned with My School DC lottery results when families who did not receive their preferred placement decide to pursue microschooling instead of accepting an unwanted assignment.
• Withdraw before absences accumulate. If you have already kept your child home for several days while planning the transition, submit both the OSSE notification and the school withdrawal letter as quickly as possible. Accumulated unexcused absences are the primary trigger for CFSA referrals.

What Happens After Withdrawal

Once your child is officially disenrolled and OSSE has received your Notification of Intent, you can begin homeschooling. Your obligations from that point are:

• Maintain a portfolio of your child's work covering the eight required subjects (language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, art, music, health, and physical education)
• Retain the portfolio for at least one year
• File a Notification of Homeschool Continuation with OSSE by August 15th each year you continue homeschooling
• Make the portfolio available to OSSE only if OSSE formally requests it in writing

No annual testing, no psychologist evaluation, no quarterly reports to any school or government agency.

The District of Columbia Micro-School & Pod Kit includes a withdrawal letter template, OSSE notification checklist, and a step-by-step guide to the full withdrawal-to-microschool transition — including how to set up the legal multi-family pod structure after you withdraw. The paperwork itself is manageable; having a complete checklist makes sure nothing gets skipped.

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