Vermont Homeschool Mid-Year Withdrawal: How to Pull Your Child in January or February

Most Vermont homeschool guides assume you're starting in September. But a significant portion of families pull their children out in the middle of a school year — after a bullying incident, a mounting anxiety crisis, a family relocation, or simply reaching the limit of waiting for a situation to improve. If you're withdrawing in November, January, March, or any other non-summer month, the process is the same as a fall withdrawal with one key timing difference: your home study year will cover a non-standard date range, and you need to document that clearly.

Here's how mid-year withdrawal actually works in Vermont.

Vermont Law Does Not Require School Permission

This is the most important thing to know. Under 16 V.S.A. §166b as amended by H.461 (Act 66, 2023), a Vermont parent does not need school approval, a meeting with administrators, or any school-issued form to withdraw and begin homeschooling. The school's opinion of your decision is legally irrelevant.

The only entity you need to notify is the Vermont Agency of Education (AOE). You do that by submitting a Notice of Intent (NOI) for a home study program.

If a school administrator tells you that you must complete their withdrawal paperwork, have an exit meeting, or wait for district approval — that is not accurate. You can listen politely, but you are not legally obligated to comply with any of those steps before beginning homeschool.

The Correct Mid-Year Withdrawal Sequence

The sequence matters. Families who notify the school before filing with the AOE create a gap period where their child is unenrolled in any approved program — which exposes them to truancy complications.

Step 1: Prepare your Notice of Intent

Your NOI must include:

• Child's name, date of birth, and grade level
• Parent/guardian name and address
• Description of planned instruction in each required subject area (reading, language arts, math, science, social studies, health, physical education, fine arts, and practical arts)
• Name of the person providing instruction and their qualifications
• The start date of your home study program

For a mid-year start, your home study period runs from your chosen start date through August 31 (the end of Vermont's school year). Your End of Year Assessment will cover that partial year.

Step 2: Submit your NOI to the AOE

Submit online via the AOE's home study portal or by mail to: Vermont Agency of Education Home Study Program 219 North Main Street, Suite 402 Barre, VT 05641

Under Act 66, you are required to submit your NOI at least 10 business days before beginning instruction. This is not optional — do not start homeschooling the day you submit.

Step 3: Receive AOE acknowledgment

The AOE will send an acknowledgment confirming your home study program is on file. Keep this.

Step 4: Notify the school in writing

With your AOE acknowledgment in hand, send a brief letter to the school principal and registrar informing them that your child is withdrawing to enroll in a home study program registered with the Vermont Agency of Education. Reference your AOE acknowledgment date. Request that attendance and enrollment records be updated to reflect the withdrawal date.

You do not owe the school an explanation, a curriculum, or a meeting. One sentence is sufficient: "This letter confirms that [child's name] is withdrawing from [school name] effective [date] to enroll in a home study program registered with the Vermont Agency of Education."

See Vermont Homeschool Withdrawal Letter for a full template.

Step 5: Begin instruction on your registered start date

Do not pull your child from school before your registered home study start date. The 10-business-day gap is when you're doing logistics — getting curriculum ready, setting up your space, handling the school notification. Your child stays enrolled at the school during this window.

What Mid-Year Means for Your End of Year Assessment

Vermont requires an End of Year Assessment (EOYA) for every home study program. For mid-year starters, this still applies — but your assessment covers only the time your home study was active.

If you began homeschooling February 1, your EOYA covers February 1 through August 31. You do not need to account for the fall semester your child spent in public school — that was covered by the school's own records.

Vermont offers three EOYA options: a nationally normed standardized test, a review by a certified teacher who isn't a relative, or a portfolio review. For mid-year starters with 4–7 months of home study, a portfolio review is usually the most practical option. See Vermont Homeschool Portfolio for how to build one.

Under Act 66, EOYA results are no longer submitted to the AOE — you retain them. Keep records for at least three years.

Common Complications and How to Handle Them

The school says you need to attend an exit interview. You don't. Thank them and move on.

The school claims your child has a truancy flag before you even submit to the AOE. This sometimes happens when families take their child out while still in the filing process. Accelerate your NOI submission and send the school your AOE confirmation as soon as you have it. Truancy flags go away once the school sees documentation of your home study program.

You have an IEP. Withdrawing mid-year while your child has an active IEP ends the school district's obligation to provide services. Your child's special education services will stop. If you want to continue receiving services, you need to discuss a shared services agreement with the district before withdrawing — this is discretionary, not guaranteed. For families where the school is the source of the problem (inadequate supports, bullying), this is often an acceptable trade-off. Vermont does not have a funded private provider ESA, so services post-withdrawal depend on what the district is willing to offer voluntarily.

The school district contacts DCF. This is rare but happens in contentious withdrawals. Having your AOE acknowledgment and your written withdrawal notice on file is your documentation that you are complying with the law. See Vermont Homeschool CPS Investigation for what to expect if DCF contacts you.

You're part of an Act 46 consolidated district and the school is resisting. Act 46 school mergers created situations where families are enrolled in schools far from home, and some of those schools have taken a harder line on withdrawals. Your legal rights are the same regardless of district size or merger history. The AOE, not the local district, governs home study programs.

Mid-Year Logistics: Curriculum and Getting Started Quickly

You do not need to have a fully built-out curriculum on your NOI — you need a description of intended subject coverage. The AOE is not reviewing curriculum materials; they're confirming you've described your plan.

For mid-year starts where you want to get moving quickly:

• Free and low-cost options: Khan Academy (math, science, humanities), Easy Peasy All-in-One Homeschool (structured and free), Vermont Department of Libraries (physical and digital resources statewide)
• For families joining a microschool or pod: the facilitator's curriculum generally covers your MCOS requirements; you still file your own NOI as the home study supervisor

The Vermont Micro-School & Pod Kit at /us/vermont/microschool/ includes a mid-year NOI template and a checklist for families pulling out of school under difficult circumstances — including IEP transitions and bullying withdrawals.

The Short Version

Vermont mid-year withdrawal is a four-step process: (1) file your NOI with the AOE at least 10 business days before you want to start, (2) receive AOE acknowledgment, (3) notify the school in writing with your acknowledgment date, (4) begin instruction on your registered start date. No school permission required. No waiting for the district to approve anything.

The timing gap of 10 business days is the main thing families underestimate — plan for two full calendar weeks from decision to first day of home study.

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