Mississippi Homeschool Law 37-13-91: What the Statute Actually Says

If you have spent any time researching homeschooling in Mississippi, you have run into the citation: Miss. Code Ann. §37-13-91. This is the state's compulsory school attendance law — and it is both the legal foundation that makes homeschooling legal in Mississippi and the source of considerable confusion for parents who try to interpret it secondhand through forum posts or outdated blogs.

Here is what the statute actually contains, what it requires parents to do, and — critically — what it explicitly forbids the state from doing.

Is Homeschooling Legal in Mississippi?

Yes, homeschooling is fully and explicitly legal in Mississippi. The state does not merely tolerate it as a gray-area exception; the statute affirmatively creates it as a protected educational pathway.

Mississippi Code §37-13-91(2)(i) defines "nonpublic school" to include "private, church, parochial and home instruction programs." Home instruction is named in the statute as a legitimate category of education, equal in legal standing to private and church schools. There is no ambiguity, no loophole, and no requirement to obtain a special exemption or seek approval from any government body before beginning.

The homeschool participation rate in Mississippi reflects this permissive environment. By the 2023-2024 academic year, an estimated 7.77% of K-12 students in Mississippi were being educated at home — noticeably above the national average of approximately 6%.

What §37-13-91 Requires of Homeschooling Parents

The statute is remarkably brief in its demands. For parents operating a "legitimate home instruction program," the only legal obligation is:

Filing the Certificate of Enrollment (COE) annually with the county School Attendance Officer (SAO).

The COE must be filed by September 15 each year (or immediately upon withdrawal for mid-year transitions). It requires:

• The child's full name, date of birth, address, and phone number
• The parent/guardian's name, address, and phone number
• A "simple description" of the educational program

The statute does not define what qualifies as a "simple description" beyond requiring that it indicate an organized educational effort is occurring. Descriptions as brief as "parent-directed instruction covering core academic subjects" or "instruction using the [curriculum name] program" satisfy the requirement.

The COE must be signed by the parent in blue ink — the MDE's requirement for the original document to bear a specific ink color as an authenticity verification. This is a frequently overlooked detail that causes unnecessary rejection of filings.

That is the complete list of affirmative obligations under §37-13-91 for home instruction families. No curriculum filings. No testing. No teacher credentials. No minimum school days or hours. No annual report.

The Definition of a "Legitimate" Home Instruction Program

Section 37-13-91 includes a definition that matters enormously for parents: what makes a home instruction program "legitimate" under the law?

The statute answers this question entirely in the negative. A legitimate home instruction program is one that is "not operated or instituted for the purpose of avoiding or circumventing the compulsory attendance law."

That is the complete definition. The law defines legitimacy by what the program is not, rather than by any positive criteria the program must meet. There is no academic output standard, no curriculum benchmark, and no government body empowered to evaluate whether your program is delivering adequate education. The single disqualifying condition is operating the program in bad faith — as a cover story for simply keeping a child out of school without providing any instruction.

In practical terms, any parent who is genuinely educating their child in any subject using any method is operating a legitimate home instruction program under Mississippi law.

What §37-13-91(9) Prohibits the State from Doing

This subsection is perhaps the most important part of the statute for homeschooling parents, yet it is rarely discussed in the resources parents encounter online.

Section 37-13-91(9) states explicitly that nothing in the law shall be construed to grant the State of Mississippi, its officers, or its agencies any authority to:

• "Control, manage, supervise or make any suggestions as to the control, management or supervision of any private or parochial school or institution for the education or training of children"
• Affect the "operation, management, program, curriculum, admissions policy, or discipline" of any nonpublic school or home instruction program

This language is a statutory firewall against government overreach. When a school principal demands to review your curriculum before approving a withdrawal, that demand has no legal basis. When an SAO asks what textbooks your child uses, you are under no obligation to answer. When a district official implies you need their approval to homeschool, they are describing a requirement that does not exist in Mississippi law.

Knowing this subsection exists — and being able to cite it calmly in a conversation with a school official — is often sufficient to end unauthorized demands immediately.

The Truancy Mechanics Parents Need to Understand

The same statute that protects homeschooling families also defines how truancy is triggered — and understanding this mechanism explains why formal withdrawal documentation matters.

Under §37-13-91, an "unlawful absence" is recorded when a compulsory-school-age child misses an entire school day (or more than 37% of a school day) without a legally recognized excuse. At 5 unexcused absences, the school is required to report to the county attendance officer. At 10 absences, a formal report is generated. At 12 absences, mandatory referral to county authorities — and potentially Child Protective Services — is triggered.

Here is the trap for families withdrawing mid-year: if a parent simply stops sending their child to school without formally filing a withdrawal letter and COE, the school's attendance system continues generating daily unexcused absences. Within two to three weeks, the truancy threshold is crossed automatically, and the parent receives a legal notification.

The solution is mechanically simple: file the withdrawal letter to the school and the COE to the SAO on the same day you stop sending your child to school. Both filings must be completed simultaneously. The withdrawal letter removes the child from the school's active roster, halting the absence accumulation. The COE establishes legal compliance with the compulsory attendance requirement through the home instruction pathway.

Mississippi also provides a safety net: if a parent receives written notice from an SAO that they are in noncompliance, they have a ten-day grace period to submit the COE and come into compliance. But triggering the truancy investigation in the first place is a stressful, avoidable experience.

The Two Pathways Under the Statute

§37-13-91 creates two distinct compliance pathways for families educating outside the public system:

Option 1: Legitimate Home Instruction Program. The parent files the COE directly with the county SAO. No third-party organization is involved. The parent has complete autonomy over curriculum, schedule, and pedagogy. This is the most common pathway for Mississippi homeschooling families.

Option 2: Nonpublic School Enrollment. The child is enrolled in a church-affiliated, parochial, or private school — including umbrella organizations that provide administrative and record-keeping services. Under this pathway, it is the school's "appropriate official" (such as the headmaster or principal) who files the COE with the SAO, not the parent. The filing obligation shifts from the parent to the institution.

Because neighboring states like Alabama have historically relied heavily on church school umbrella enrollment as the mechanism for legal homeschooling, many Mississippi families incorrectly assume they must join a church school to legally homeschool. The statute is unambiguous: Option 1 — direct, independent home instruction — is a fully protected standalone pathway that requires no religious affiliation and no umbrella enrollment.

Compulsory Attendance Age Window

§37-13-91 defines "compulsory-school-age child" as a child who:

• Has reached age 6 on or before September 1 of the current school year
• Has not yet reached age 17 on or before September 1

One exception extends the window downward: any child who has been enrolled in full-day public school kindergarten is subject to compulsory attendance from that point forward, even if they are only 5 years old at the time. Once enrollment in full-day public kindergarten occurs, the compulsory attendance obligation attaches.

Children who have never enrolled in public school and are under age 6 are outside the statute's scope entirely. Parents may educate them at home with no state filings required.

At age 17, the compulsory attendance obligation ends. Mississippi does not impose state-level graduation requirements on home instruction programs. The parent issues the diploma.

Handling Administrative Overreach in Practice

Local school officials and SAOs occasionally operate outside the boundaries of what §37-13-91 permits. Common examples of unlawful demands include:

• Requiring parents to submit curriculum samples or lesson plans as a condition of accepting the COE
• Demanding proof of the parent's educational credentials
• Insisting the child must test before withdrawal can be processed
• Claiming a verbal notification is insufficient and that formal paperwork is not legally required

All of these demands exceed the authority granted by the statute. The appropriate response is to cite §37-13-91(9) directly, limit your compliance to submitting the COE with the required information, and decline politely to provide anything beyond what the statute specifies.

If the administrative friction escalates — for example, if an SAO threatens truancy action despite receipt of a properly filed COE — the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) provides member legal support, and the Mississippi Home Educators Association (MHEA) monitors state-level policy and can provide guidance on escalating disputes with local officials.

For a complete walkthrough of the withdrawal process — including the COE filing checklist, the withdrawal letter framework, and scripts for handling school pushback — the Mississippi Legal Withdrawal Blueprint covers every step from decision to first legal school day at home.

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