Withdrawing from Catholic or Francophone School in Saskatchewan to Homeschool

Withdrawing from a Catholic separate school or a Francophone CÉF school in Saskatchewan follows the same two-step process as any public school withdrawal — but with two important differences, one per system, that affect your options and your paperwork.

Understanding these differences before you start will save you from submitting documents to the wrong body and potentially losing access to resources that Catholic and Francophone families are uniquely positioned to keep.

Catholic Separate School Withdrawal: What's Different

Saskatchewan has a constitutionally protected Catholic separate school system. Catholic separate school boards are distinct legal entities from public school divisions — they are not the same administrative authority, and withdrawing from a Catholic school means withdrawing from the Catholic board's roll, not the public division's.

The key difference for Catholic families: you may not need to fully sever your registration with the Catholic board.

Saskatchewan law allows families to maintain registration with the Catholic separate school board while operating a home-based education program — provided that the constitutional requirements for Catholic board membership are met. For most families, this means that at least one parent is a Catholic ratepayer in the relevant municipality.

Why does this matter? If you maintain registration with the Catholic board rather than transferring to the public system, you may retain access to:

• Religious education correspondence materials provided through the Catholic board
• Some board-level support services
• A cleaner path to re-enrollment if your family returns to Catholic school

This is not an automatic entitlement — it requires that you meet the constitutional criteria and that the Catholic board in your area has processes in place for home-based education families. Contact your Catholic school division's administrative office before submitting documents to ask specifically whether a home-education option within the Catholic board is available and what it requires.

If you do choose to fully withdraw from the Catholic board and register with your public school division instead, the process is identical to any other withdrawal: a withdrawal letter to the Catholic school principal, and a Notice of Intent with Written Educational Plan to the public school division board.

Withdrawal letter specifics for Catholic school: The letter goes to the principal of the Catholic school your child currently attends. Content is the same as any withdrawal letter — effective date, request for record release, reference to the Education Act, 1995. The Catholic board processes the administrative removal from their roll.

Francophone School (CÉF) Withdrawal: What's Different

The Conseil des écoles fransaskoises (CÉF) is Saskatchewan's Francophone school authority, operating under Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is a separate minority-language education authority, not part of the provincial public school division system.

The significant complication for Francophone school families is this: CÉF schools are constitutionally reserved for "rights-holders." A rights-holder, under Section 23, is a parent who:

• Has French as their first language learned and still understood, or
• Received their primary school instruction in French in Canada, or
• Has a child who is currently or has been enrolled in a French-language program in Canada

If you are a rights-holder and you want to withdraw your child from a CÉF school to homeschool, your withdrawal follows the same procedural path as any withdrawal: letter to the CÉF school principal, Notice of Intent to your school division (the public division serving your geographic area, not the CÉF board itself).

If you are not a rights-holder, your child's enrollment in the CÉF school required committee approval to begin. If you are withdrawing entirely to homeschool, you follow the standard withdrawal process — but you should be aware that re-enrollment in a CÉF school (if you return) will require going through that committee approval process again.

Language of home-based education. Francophone families withdrawing from CÉF schools are not required to deliver home-based instruction in French. Saskatchewan's Home-Based Education Program Regulations apply equally regardless of the previous school system, and the province does not prescribe the language of instruction. Many Francophone families continue French-medium home education as a cultural and family priority, but it is a choice rather than a legal requirement.

Notice of Intent recipient for CÉF families. Your Notice of Intent goes to the public school division that serves your geographic area — not to the CÉF board. This is the case even if your child was enrolled at a CÉF school. The CÉF board is a province-wide authority rather than a geographic division, so home-based education registration flows through the local public division.

The Core Process: Same for Both Systems

Regardless of whether you're leaving a Catholic separate school or a CÉF Francophone school, the two-document requirement is the same:

Document 1 — Withdrawal letter to the principal of the school your child currently attends. State the effective date, request removal from the attendance register, request release of the cumulative record, reference the Education Act, 1995.

Document 2 — Notice of Intent to the school division board's administrative office. Include your child's identifying information, your contact details, and a Written Educational Plan covering the seven required subject areas: language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, health education, the arts, and physical education.

For mid-year withdrawals, the Notice of Intent must be submitted at least 30 days before you intend to begin. During that 30-day window, your family is technically still subject to compulsory attendance requirements — which is why sending both documents on the same day and keeping delivery confirmation is important.

Frequently Asked Questions for Catholic and Francophone Families

Can I keep my child's Catholic faith records if we homeschool? Sacramental and faith records are maintained by the parish, not the school. Withdrawing from the Catholic school system does not affect your child's parish sacramental record.

Does withdrawing from CÉF affect our French language rights? No. Section 23 rights-holder status is not diminished by choosing home-based education. If your child returns to the CÉF system later, their eligibility is assessed based on parental rights-holder status at that time.

Do we need to notify the CÉF board directly? The withdrawal letter to the CÉF school principal triggers the administrative removal from the CÉF roll. You don't need to send a separate notice to CÉF central administration — the school handles the internal record-keeping.

Can a Catholic separate school principal refuse our withdrawal? No. Principals and board administrators cannot refuse a lawful withdrawal from enrollment. If you encounter resistance, reference the Education Act, 1995 and the Home-Based Education Program Regulations, 2015, and escalate to the division's superintendent in writing if needed.

The Saskatchewan Legal Withdrawal Blueprint covers the full withdrawal process including system-specific considerations for Catholic and Francophone families, templates for both required documents, and guidance on what to do when school staff pushes back or the process stalls.

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