Is Homeschooling Legal in Maryland? Yes — Here's the Law

Homeschooling is completely legal in Maryland. It has been since the mid-1980s when a series of legal challenges forced the state to formally recognize home instruction as a valid alternative to compulsory public school attendance. Today, 42,151 Maryland students were home-instructed during the 2024-2025 school year — roughly 4.13% of the state's total K-12 population.

If you have heard that Maryland might charge you with truancy for homeschooling, or that a school district can refuse to allow you to withdraw your child, those fears are based on a misreading of the law — or, in some cases, on administrators telling parents things that are simply not true.

Here is the actual legal basis, and what it requires.

The Statute: Maryland Education Article §7-301

Maryland's compulsory attendance law requires every child between ages 5 and 18 to attend a public school regularly during the school year. That sounds absolute — but the same statute contains a clear exemption:

The compulsory attendance requirement does not apply to a child who "is receiving regular, thorough instruction during the school year in the studies usually taught in the public schools to children of the same age."

That clause is the legal foundation of homeschooling in Maryland. Your child is exempt from attending public school as long as they are receiving instruction that is regular, thorough, and covers the subjects typically taught at their grade level. You are not asking the state for permission — you are exercising a right that exists explicitly in the statute.

What COMAR Adds on Top

The state legislature says homeschooling is legal; the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR 13A.10.01) says how it has to operate. COMAR is where the actual requirements live:

Eight required subjects. Your program must include English, mathematics, science, social studies, art, music, health, and physical education. These must be addressed across the school year, though the curriculum choices are entirely yours. Maryland does not require you to use state-approved materials or follow the Maryland College and Career Ready Standards.

External supervision. Maryland is what legal advocates call a "high-regulation" state because it mandates oversight of every home instruction program. You must operate under one of two supervision pathways:

• Option 1 — Your local school superintendent's office reviews your portfolio up to three times per year.
• Option 2 — A registered nonpublic entity (an umbrella school) supervises your program and reports annually to the district.

15-day Notice of Intent. Before you begin home instruction, you must submit a notification form to your local school superintendent — COMAR says at least 15 days before instruction begins. This form identifies which supervision option you have chosen and, if Option 2, names your umbrella organization.

That is the complete legal framework. No teacher certification is required. No standardized testing is mandated. No specific curriculum is prescribed. No approval from your school principal is necessary.

Why Do People Think Homeschooling Is Illegal?

A few persistent myths circulate — usually driven by school administrators who overstep, or by outdated online advice.

Myth 1: You need the school's approval before you can homeschool. False. The withdrawal and notification process is exactly that — notification. COMAR is explicit: a local school system may not impose additional requirements for home instruction programs beyond those in the regulations. Your principal does not approve your program. They receive notice of your departure.

Myth 2: You must stay enrolled for 15 days after submitting the notice. This is one of the most damaging myths in the Maryland homeschool community. Some school districts interpret the "15 days before beginning instruction" language to mean your child must remain in the building for 15 more days. Legal advocates, including the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), have consistently argued this interpretation is an unconstitutional overreach that conflicts with Maryland's statutory law. The result, in practice, is that some families who withdraw mid-year receive truancy warnings during that 15-day window. The correct response is to have your certified mail receipts proving you filed the Notice of Intent — documentation that serves as your legal defense.

Myth 3: Homeschooling without proper supervision is a gray area. It is not a gray area — it is a legal violation. If you simply stop sending your child to school without filing the Notice of Intent and selecting a supervision option, that is unlawful absence. Maryland truancy law carries potential fines of up to $50 per day of unlawful absence, and repeated non-compliance can trigger involvement from the Department of Social Services. This is why the paperwork matters: not because homeschooling is fragile legally, but because the state's oversight requirements are real.

Myth 4: If you fail the portfolio review, your child gets arrested or you face criminal charges. No. Under Option 1, if a county reviewer finds your portfolio deficient, you receive a written notice and have 30 days to demonstrate corrective action. The escalation path is forced re-enrollment in a school, not criminal prosecution — and even that outcome requires a failure to respond to the deficiency notice at all. Families who keep reasonably documented portfolios are not at meaningful risk of this outcome.

The Historical Context Worth Knowing

Maryland's homeschool community carries a specific historical memory that shapes its relationship to legal anxiety. In 1984, Kathleen and Terry Miller of Anne Arundel County were criminally charged with truancy after homeschooling their children without formal state recognition. The charges were eventually resolved, and the legal battle that followed contributed directly to the development of the current COMAR framework — the first formal legal recognition of home instruction in the state.

That history still echoes in online forums and Facebook groups. Parents who learned to homeschool from parents who lived through that era carry an understandable wariness about state enforcement. What has changed is that Maryland law now explicitly protects the right to home instruct. The regulations exist to create oversight, not to serve as a weapon against families who follow the process correctly.

What You Actually Need to Do

To homeschool legally in Maryland, the checklist is short:

1. Decide between Option 1 (county supervision) and Option 2 (umbrella school supervision).
2. If choosing Option 2, enroll with a registered nonpublic entity before filing your notice.
3. Submit the Home Instruction Notification form to your local school superintendent at least 15 days before beginning instruction.
4. Formally withdraw your child from their current school in writing, via certified mail.
5. Begin instruction. Maintain records demonstrating regular, thorough teaching across all eight subjects.
6. Cooperate with your Option 1 portfolio review or your Option 2 umbrella check-in.

Nothing in that list requires legal expertise to execute — but the order matters, and the documentation matters. A mis-sequenced filing or a missed certified mail step can create administrative friction that turns a smooth transition into a stressful one.

If you want a complete walkthrough of every form, every step, and every county-specific nuance — including withdrawal letter templates, a guide to choosing your supervision option, and a breakdown of how to handle mid-year withdrawals without accumulating truancy flags — the Maryland Legal Withdrawal Blueprint covers the full process.

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