Delaware Microschool Parent Agreement Template: What to Include

The parent agreement is the document that defines your relationship with every family in your Delaware microschool. It does three things: sets expectations so everyone starts with the same understanding, creates a record of what families agreed to, and reduces your legal exposure when disputes arise.

Most pod organizers either skip it entirely ("we're just friends") or download a generic template that doesn't address Delaware law or their specific program structure. Both approaches create problems.

Here's what a Delaware microschool parent agreement actually needs to cover.

Why a Signed Agreement Matters

Verbal agreements are unenforceable in any meaningful dispute. When a family stops paying tuition mid-year, won't follow behavioral expectations, or disagrees about what you promised educationally, the signed agreement is what either resolves the dispute or forms the basis of a small claims court action.

Beyond disputes, the agreement creates a clear record that:

• Families knew and accepted the program's educational approach
• Families understood and agreed to financial obligations
• Families released certain claims (through the liability waiver provision)
• Families consented to background checks and supervision arrangements

This isn't about anticipating bad faith. It's about creating clarity upfront so that misunderstandings don't become conflicts.

Section 1: Program Overview and Educational Philosophy

This is where you describe what you're doing and why. It doesn't need to be long — 2–3 paragraphs — but it should answer:

• What educational approach does your pod use? (Classical, Charlotte Mason, project-based, eclectic, Socratic, etc.)
• What ages/grades is the program designed for?
• What is the typical daily schedule structure?
• Who is responsible for ensuring each child meets Delaware homeschool requirements (the parents)?

The legal point here: Reinforcing that parents retain responsibility for their children's education under Delaware law, with your pod as a supplemental or co-teaching arrangement. Delaware's homeschool statute places educational responsibility on parents, not on co-op operators. Your agreement should mirror this.

Section 2: Enrollment and Academic Expectations

Define what families commit to academically:

• Attendance expectations (minimum days per week/month, advance notice for absences)
• What parents should do at home to support the pod curriculum
• Whether makeup sessions are available for extended absences
• Academic prerequisites if your pod has them (grade-level reading, particular prior subjects)
• Any standardized assessment requirements and which party is responsible for them

If you're running a hybrid model where children do independent work on non-pod days, be specific about what that looks like and who provides guidance.

Section 3: Financial Obligations

This section prevents the most common dispute type — non-payment and refund disagreements. Include:

Tuition amount and payment schedule: Monthly amount, due date, acceptable payment methods. Name the amount in dollars even though you're not hardcoding it in marketing material — in a legal agreement, the specific number is essential.

Enrollment deposit: Whether you require a non-refundable enrollment deposit (typical range: $100–$300) to hold a spot.

Refund policy: Define what happens if a family withdraws mid-year. Common approaches:

• No refund of deposit under any circumstances
• Pro-rated refund of monthly tuition if withdrawn with 30 days' written notice
• No refund of tuition already paid, regardless of withdrawal date

Non-payment consequences: What happens after a payment is missed? Most pods give a 10-day grace period, then suspend enrollment until payment is current.

Materials and supply fees: If you charge separately for curriculum materials, field trips, or special programs, define how and when these are billed.

Annual vs. monthly billing: If you offer a discount for annual payment, state the terms. Define whether this is refundable if the family withdraws.

Section 4: Behavioral Expectations

Define the standards you expect from children and from parents. Include:

Student conduct code: Respectful treatment of facilitators, other students, and property. Your response to bullying, disruptive behavior, or unsafe conduct. Most pods use a three-incident escalation (documented warning → parent conference → enrollment suspension) before expulsion.

Parent conduct: Timely pickup and drop-off, respectful communication with facilitators, not undermining the program's educational decisions with students present, and appropriate communication channels (text/email vs. showing up unannounced).

Social media and privacy: Whether families can share photos of other children in the pod on social media. Most pods require explicit written consent before any child's image is shared publicly. This deserves its own clause.

Conflict resolution process: How disputes between families, or between a family and the organizer, are handled. A simple written notice → meeting → mediation escalation prevents situations from exploding before anyone has attempted a structured conversation.

Section 5: Liability Waiver and Release

This is the section most organizers write sloppily or omit entirely. A liability waiver in a parent agreement isn't a magic shield — Delaware courts will not enforce waivers for gross negligence or intentional misconduct — but it does:

• Put families on notice that ordinary risks of group educational activity exist
• Provide evidence that risks were disclosed and accepted
• Reduce likelihood of litigation for minor incidents where the family understood the risk

Your waiver should acknowledge that:

• Educational group activities involve inherent physical risks
• The program takes reasonable precautions but cannot guarantee against all incidents
• Parents release the organizer from claims arising from ordinary negligence during program activities
• This release doesn't apply to reckless or intentional conduct

Delaware-specific note: Delaware recognizes liability waivers between private parties for ordinary negligence, but they must be clear and unambiguous to be enforceable. Avoid boilerplate language that was written for a different state — use language that names Delaware and is specific to educational co-op activities.

Section 6: Health and Medical Provisions

Define your protocols for:

• What happens when a child shows up sick (minimum symptom-free period required)
• Medication administration (most pods don't administer medication; state this explicitly)
• Emergency medical authorization — who can consent to emergency care if a parent can't be reached
• Known allergies and health conditions you need to be aware of

The health provisions protect you if a parent sends a sick child anyway and other children get ill, or if a medical emergency arises and there's no clarity on authorization.

Section 7: Termination Provisions

State that either party can end the enrollment relationship, under what conditions, and with what notice period. Include:

• Family-initiated withdrawal: Written notice required, refund policy as defined in Section 3
• Organizer-initiated dismissal: Grounds for immediate termination (safety violations, non-payment beyond grace period, behavioral conduct that endangers other children) and grounds for notice-based termination (philosophical misalignment, enrollment reduction)
• What happens to materials or deposits upon termination

Homeschool Co-Op Bylaws: When You Need Them

If you're running a formal co-op rather than a private microschool — meaning governance is shared among participating families, there's a membership structure, and decisions are made collectively — you'll want bylaws in addition to a parent agreement.

Bylaws govern the organization itself: how decisions are made, what constitutes a quorum, how officers or committees are selected, and what happens if the co-op dissolves. They're especially important if you've formed a nonprofit entity (501(c)(3) or 501(c)(7)) where formal governance is legally required.

For a small, organizer-led pod, bylaws aren't necessary. A well-drafted parent agreement covers the relationship between the organizer and each family. Save the bylaw drafting for when you have a formal board and genuine shared governance.

Getting the Agreement Signed

Send the agreement electronically (DocuSign, HelloSign, or even a signed PDF returned by email) at the same time as your enrollment offer. Don't allow a child to start attending until the signed agreement is returned.

Review the agreement with families before asking them to sign — walk through the key provisions, especially the refund policy, behavioral expectations, and liability waiver. Families who understand what they're signing are less likely to claim later that they didn't know what they agreed to.

The Delaware Micro-School & Pod Kit at homeschoolstartguide.com/us/delaware/microschool/ includes a complete parent agreement template drafted for Delaware conditions — covering all seven sections above in ready-to-edit form, so you're not writing legal language from scratch.

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