How to Start Homeschooling in Quebec: A Practical First-Year Guide

Quebec has the most regulated homeschooling system in Canada, and most parents discover this after they've already decided to pull their child out of school. The province requires annual documentation, a formal Learning Project reviewed by the government, a mid-year monitoring meeting, and an annual evaluation. None of it is impossible — but none of it is optional, either.

Here is what the first year actually looks like, and how to get through it without a rejection or a crisis.

Before You Do Anything: Get the Permanent Code

Your child's Permanent Code is an alphanumeric identifier assigned by the Ministère de l'Éducation (MEQ). It's required to access the DEM's secure online portal, which is where you submit every compliance document.

If your child has ever been enrolled in a Quebec school, the code exists — ask the school for it before the last day of attendance. If your child has never been enrolled, contact your territorially assigned school service centre (CSS), bring a birth certificate and proof of Quebec residency, and ask them to generate the code through the MEQ. This takes time, so do it early.

Step 1: Submit the Notice of Intent

The Notice of Intent is a written declaration submitted to two places simultaneously:

• The DEM's secure online portal (part of the MEQ's systems)
• Your local Centre de services scolaire (CSS) or English school board

Deadline if withdrawing at the start of the school year: July 1 Deadline if withdrawing mid-year: within 10 days of your child's last day of school

The notice must include the student's name, address, date of birth, the parents' names and contact details, the withdrawal date, and the Permanent Code.

This is a declaration, not an application. You are not asking anyone's permission. No principal, school board, or CSS has the authority to approve or reject your right to homeschool.

Step 2: Write the Learning Project

The Learning Project (le projet d'apprentissage) is the core document in Quebec's compliance system. It's due by September 30 for start-of-year homeschoolers, or within 30 days of mid-year withdrawal.

It must cover five compulsory subjects:

1. Language of instruction (French or English)
2. Second language (the other of French or English)
3. Mathematics
4. Science and Technology
5. Social Sciences (History, Geography, Citizenship)

For each subject, describe: the activities you'll use, the approximate time per week, the QEP competencies those activities develop, and how you'll evaluate progress.

The most common reasons for rejection are vague activity descriptions and missing subjects. "We'll do math every day" fails. "Daily practice of arithmetic operations through Khan Academy and real-world measurement projects, developing the QEP competency 'solves a situational problem' (3-4 hours weekly)" passes.

You don't need to replicate the public school schedule. The QEP is competency-based — it describes skills children should be developing, not textbooks they must complete. Charlotte Mason, unschooling, classical, Montessori, and eclectic approaches can all be described in QEP-compliant language.

Step 3: Choose Your Evaluation Method

The Learning Project must state how you'll evaluate your child's progress. The five legally approved methods are:

• Portfolio: Comprehensive collection of work samples submitted directly to the DEM. Most flexible; most popular for primary-level families.
• Licensed Quebec teacher: A teacher holding a provincial brevet reviews the child's work and issues a professional evaluation.
• School board: The CSS administers evaluations.
• Private school: A recognized private educational institution evaluates the child.
• Ministerial examinations: Mandatory at certain secondary levels for DES credits.

Choose based on your child's age, your educational approach, and your long-term credential goals. For elementary-level families, portfolio is usually the simplest choice. For secondary-level families planning CEGEP admission, ministerial exam pathways matter.

The Annual Compliance Cycle

Once the Learning Project is accepted, you're locked into a calendar:

Months 3-5: Submit the Mid-Term Status Report. A narrative summary of what's happened in each subject area since September. If the Learning Project said you'd spend 3 hours a week on mathematics and you've actually been spending one, note it — and adjust.

Mid-year: Attend the mandatory Monitoring Meeting with the DEM resource person and your child. In person or videoconference. The purpose is to review the status report and confirm implementation. Not an interrogation — a check-in. Bring your documentation.

June 15: Submit the Completion Report. Summary of the full year.

Annual evaluation: Complete the evaluation using your chosen method and submit results.

Then it resets: new Notice of Intent for the next year, new Learning Project.

What to Document Throughout the Year

Your documentation forms the evidentiary basis for your reports and your annual evaluation. Start collecting from day one.

Keep dated evidence across all five subjects:

• Work samples (essays, math problems, science observations) — dated when produced
• Photos of projects, experiments, field trips
• Reading logs with brief notes
• Observation notes recording discussions, skills demonstrated, discoveries made
• Third-party evidence: co-op participation, program certificates, tutor reports

The term used in Quebec's compliance system is traces d'apprentissage — learning traces. The DEM resource person at the monitoring meeting expects to see that you've been tracking learning continuously, not assembled something the night before.

Handling School Board Pushback

Many families encounter resistance from the school or CSS during withdrawal. Common illegal demands include:

• Requiring the Learning Project before releasing the child
• Claiming parents need teaching qualifications
• Stating the child will be placed at a lower grade level upon re-entry
• Demanding diagnostic assessments before withdrawal is processed

None of these are legally required. The Learning Project is submitted to the DEM, not the CSS. Parents don't need teaching licenses. The CSS has no authority to block or delay withdrawal.

If the school refuses to cooperate, cite Section 15(4) of the Education Act and the Homeschooling Regulation. AQED and HSLDA Canada both have Quebec-specific support resources for parents facing institutional resistance.

The First Year Is the Hardest

Most families who've been homeschooling in Quebec for more than two years say the first year is by far the most difficult. The documentation requirements feel overwhelming, the monitoring meeting causes anxiety, and every submission feels like it might be wrong.

By year two, you have a template for the Learning Project, a working documentation system, and one monitoring meeting's worth of experience knowing what the DEM actually expects. The compliance cycle becomes manageable.

The Quebec Legal Withdrawal Blueprint provides the starting infrastructure for year one: bilingual Notice of Intent templates, a QEP-aligned Learning Project framework, and a step-by-step guide through each stage of the compliance cycle — so you're not building everything from scratch during the most stressful period.

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