How to Homeschool in Maine: A Step-by-Step Guide

Most Maine parents who decide to homeschool spend weeks buried in conflicting advice before they actually pull their child from school. That's time you don't need to waste. The process is straightforward once you understand the two-step sequence: withdraw first, then file. Getting those steps in the wrong order — or skipping one — is what triggers truancy notices and DHHS calls.

Here is the complete practical sequence for starting homeschooling in Maine.

Understand Maine's Two Legal Pathways

Before you write a single letter, you need to choose which legal framework you're operating under. Maine law offers two distinct options, and the paperwork you file — and the ongoing compliance you owe — depends entirely on which path you choose.

Option 1: Home Instruction (the standard path)

This is what most Maine families use. You operate as an independent home instructor under MRSA Title 20-A §5001-A(3)(A)(4). You file a Notice of Intent (NOI) simultaneously with your local superintendent and the Commissioner of Education. Each year, you must provide 175 days of instruction across ten required subjects and submit the results of an annual academic assessment by September 1.

Option 2: Recognized as Equivalent Private School (REPS)

Under this pathway, your child is enrolled in a private school that the state recognizes as providing equivalent instruction. This can be an umbrella school you join, or if you have at least two unrelated students, a school you organize yourself. The key practical difference: REPS families file a letter only with the Commissioner (not the local superintendent), and they are exempt from the annual assessment reporting requirement that Option 1 families owe. Many families specifically choose Option 2 to reduce the state's ongoing oversight of their program.

Which is right for you? Option 1 is simpler to initiate as a solo family. Option 2 is worth the extra setup if you want to avoid annual assessments or if you're withdrawing a child who has an active IEP and want to reduce the school district's involvement in your program.

Step 1: Send the Withdrawal Letter to the School

Before you file anything with the state, you need to formally notify the school that your child is leaving. Send a withdrawal letter directly to the school principal. Keep it short and factual — this letter is not the place to explain your reasons or negotiate anything.

The letter needs to state:

• Your name and address
• Your child's name
• The effective date of withdrawal
• A clear statement that your child will receive equivalent instruction via home instruction (Option 1) or a REPS (Option 2) under MRSA Title 20-A §5001-A

Send this via certified mail with return receipt requested. The return receipt gives you a dated paper record proving the school was notified on a specific day — this protects you against unexcused absences accumulating into truancy during the transition period.

One important caution: do not sign any withdrawal form the school hands you. District-generated forms frequently ask for information the law does not require — curriculum details, exit interviews, or signatures that could be interpreted as waiving rights. You are not required to use their form. Your own certified letter is legally sufficient.

Step 2: File Your Notice of Intent Within 10 Days

This is the step where most new homeschoolers run into trouble with timing.

If you are withdrawing mid-year, you have exactly 10 calendar days from the withdrawal date to file your Notice of Intent with the state. If you are transitioning between school years — your child finishes a grade in June and you plan to homeschool starting fall — file the NOI by September 1.

Maine now provides a Home Instruction Portal on the Department of Education website. Filing through the portal routes your submission simultaneously to both the local superintendent and the Commissioner of Education, which is what the law requires. You can also mail a paper Notice of Intent by certified mail directly to your resident superintendent, but if you go the paper route, the DOE instructs you not to mail the form to the state — it goes only to the superintendent, who handles routing from there.

Your Notice of Intent must include:

• Your printed name, signature, and mailing address
• Your child's legal name and current age
• The date the home instruction program will begin
• A statement that you will provide at least 175 days of instruction in the required subjects
• A statement that you will conduct and submit an annual academic assessment

For first-time filers, the portal asks about a "prior year assessment" upload. If this is your first year homeschooling, you have nothing to upload — leave that section blank or mark it as not applicable. The upload is only required for families continuing from a previous year.

Step 3: Know the 10 Required Subjects

Under Option 1, your program must cover all ten subjects listed in MRSA Title 20-A §5001-A. These are not daily requirements — the law requires that all subjects are covered within the 175-day school year, and you have complete freedom over how, when, and in what sequence you teach them.

The ten required subjects are:

1. English and Language Arts
2. Mathematics
3. Science and Technology
4. Social Studies
5. Physical Education
6. Health Education
7. Fine Arts
8. Library Skills
9. Maine Studies (required in at least one grade between grades 6 and 12)
10. Computer Proficiency (required in at least one grade between grades 7 and 12)

Maine Studies and Computer Proficiency are grade-banded — you don't need to teach them every year, just at least once in the specified grade ranges. Maine does not require your curriculum to align with state learning results, and there are no approved curriculum lists. You choose your own materials.

Physical Education is flexible. Skiing, hiking, team sports, dance classes, and martial arts all count. Fine Arts is equally broad — music lessons, painting, photography, and woodworking all satisfy the requirement.

Step 4: Plan Your Annual Assessment

Under Option 1, you must submit an annual academic assessment result by September 1 each year. Maine law gives you five legally valid options:

1. Standardized achievement test — administered through the local school or another arrangement approved by the commissioner
2. Local school test — developed by local school officials, but this method must be agreed upon before you submit your original Notice of Intent
3. Maine certified teacher portfolio review — a current Maine-certified teacher reviews your child's portfolio and verifies that 175 days of instruction occurred, required subjects were covered, and adequate progress was made
4. Support group portfolio review — conducted by a homeschool support group that includes a certified teacher or administrator
5. Local advisory board review — arranged with the school system before the school year begins

Most families use either standardized testing or the certified teacher portfolio review. For the portfolio option, you'll want to maintain a daily attendance log, a reading log, curriculum outlines for each subject, and two to four progressive work samples per subject per quarter.

If you're on Option 2 (REPS), you skip this entire step — no annual assessment reporting is required.

What Happens If You Get Pushback

Maine superintendents vary widely in how they interpret their role. Some will send acknowledgments and nothing more. Others will request information the law doesn't require — birth certificates, curriculum plans, meeting requests. These requests exceed the superintendent's statutory authority.

Under Option 1, local officials have no power to approve or deny a properly completed Notice of Intent. Their role is to receive the notification and maintain a list of resident students in home instruction programs. If a superintendent demands additional documentation or suggests your NOI needs to be "approved" before you can begin, you can — politely but firmly — respond that your filing complies with MRSA Title 20-A §5001-A(3)(A)(4) and that no local approval is required by statute.

Keep copies of everything: certified mail receipts, your NOI submission confirmation, all annual assessment filings. This paper trail is your complete defense if truancy ever becomes an issue.

Your Child's Access to Public School Activities

One advantage Maine homeschoolers have that many don't know about: under Title 20-A, Section 5021, homeschooled students have a legal right to participate in public school academic courses, co-curricular activities, and extracurriculars at their resident school. This includes interscholastic sports through the Maine Principals' Association, provided your child meets the same academic eligibility standards as enrolled students.

Public school access is conditional on following all the same behavioral and logistical rules that apply to enrolled students. But the right to access is real, and it gives homeschooling families significant flexibility.

If you're in the middle of a difficult withdrawal — dealing with superintendent pushback, an active IEP, or a mid-year situation — having the right legal language and templates on hand makes the difference between a clean exit and a truancy notice. The Maine Legal Withdrawal Blueprint walks through every scenario with ready-to-use letter templates, a step-by-step NEO portal walkthrough, and an Option 1 vs. Option 2 decision matrix.

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