Military Homeschool Montana: Malmstrom AFB, PCS, and Getting Compliant Fast

Military families homeschool at roughly double the rate of their civilian counterparts — around 12% compared to 6% nationally — and it's easy to see why. PCS orders don't wait for the end of a school year. Mid-year school transitions disrupt academic progress, friend groups, and stability in ways that compound over a career of moves. Montana is one of the more manageable states to homeschool in: the legal requirements are minimal, there's no state approval process, and you can be fully compliant within 10 days of establishing residency and beginning instruction.

Montana's Only Active Military Base: Malmstrom AFB

Malmstrom Air Force Base is located in Great Falls, Cascade County, and is home to the 341st Missile Wing. It is the only active-duty military installation in Montana. Families stationed at Malmstrom live primarily in Great Falls and surrounding Cascade County communities.

There are no DoDEA (Department of Defense Education Activity) schools at Malmstrom. Military dependents attend Great Falls Public Schools or private schools, or homeschool. The School Liaison Program Manager at Malmstrom is the installation's official resource for helping families navigate education transitions — they can assist with records requests, school enrollment, and connecting families with local homeschool resources.

The Malmstrom Community Homeschool Co-Op serves military and civilian homeschooling families in the Great Falls area. It provides social connection, group classes, and co-op activities — exactly the kind of structure that helps families who are new to a duty station get grounded quickly.

PCSing to Montana: How Homeschool Withdrawal Works

If you are PCSing to Montana from another state and your child is currently enrolled in a school at your old duty station, you have two steps: withdrawing from the old school and registering as a homeschooler in Montana.

Withdrawing from your current school: Request official withdrawal paperwork and ask for copies of all academic records — transcripts, report cards, IEP documents if applicable, immunization records, and any standardized test scores. Military families move frequently enough that having a complete records file in hand (not just uploaded to a portal) prevents lost documentation. If your child has an IEP, read the "parentally placed private school student" section below.

Registering in Montana: Montana's homeschool law (MCA § 20-5-109) requires you to file a notice of intent with the county superintendent of schools. For Malmstrom families, that's the Cascade County Superintendent. You have 10 days from the date you begin instruction to file the notice. There is no waiting period — you do not need to wait until a semester starts, and you do not need to wait until you are fully settled in base housing.

The notice requires:

• Names and ages of students
• Subject areas to be covered
• A statement of the parent's qualification to teach (a high school diploma or equivalent is all Montana requires)

Montana does not require curriculum submission, standardized testing, or home visits. Once your notice is filed, you are legally compliant.

PCSing Out of Montana: Withdrawing Before You Leave

If your family is PCSing out of Montana and your child is currently enrolled in a Montana public school, you can withdraw them as soon as your orders are finalized. You don't need to keep your child enrolled until your physical departure date.

Send a written notice to your child's principal stating the date of their last day, that they will be homeschooled (or will transfer to a new school at the next duty station), and a request to update attendance records. Request copies of all academic records before you leave — Montana schools are required to provide these, but delays happen during PCS windows when everyone is moving at once.

If you plan to homeschool during the PCS transition period (between departure from Montana and enrollment at the next duty station), file your Montana notice of intent before leaving and keep a copy. Some states at the receiving end will want documentation that the child was legally homeschooled, not truant, during the gap.

Special Needs and IEP Considerations for Military Families

Military families with children who have IEPs face the same federal framework as all other homeschooling families: when you withdraw from a public school, your child becomes a "parentally placed private school student" and loses their individual right to FAPE under IDEA. The receiving school at a new duty station is not obligated to honor the IEP from the previous school — they must conduct their own evaluation.

This makes keeping complete evaluation records particularly important for military families. If your child has had psychoeducational testing, speech evaluations, or OT assessments done by a previous school district, those documents belong to you. Request copies before every PCS. If you are in Montana and your child has an active IEP, request the full file before withdrawing, including all evaluation protocols and the current IEP document.

For Montana families considering the state's ESA program for special needs students (created by HB 393 in 2023), note that the ESA requires the child to have been counted in the district's ANB in the prior year. A child who just arrived via PCS and enrolled in a Montana school in the fall may qualify the following year. See the Montana Homeschool Special Needs post for full details on the ESA program.

Montana Homeschool Law: What Military Families Need to Know

Montana's simplicity makes it a relatively low-friction state for military families. The main documentation task is keeping your own records clean — attendance logs, curriculum materials, and academic records from prior schools — so that re-enrollment at a future duty station goes smoothly.

The Montana Legal Withdrawal Blueprint includes the county-by-county superintendent contact list, the notice of intent template, and a checklist specifically for mid-year and PCS withdrawal situations.

See more United States homeschool guides →