Withdraw from Private School to Homeschool in Colorado: Step-by-Step

Withdrawing a child from a Colorado private school to begin homeschooling is a different process than leaving a public school. The legal mechanics of establishing your home-based program are the same — you still file a Notice of Intent under C.R.S. §22-33-104.5 — but private school withdrawal adds a second dimension that public school withdrawal doesn't: your enrollment contract and its financial obligations.

Getting this right requires addressing both the contract law piece and the state compliance piece simultaneously, in the right order.

Step 1: Read Your Enrollment Contract Before You Do Anything Else

Private school enrollment agreements are legally binding contracts. Before you send any withdrawal notice, locate and carefully read every provision in the contract regarding:

• Withdrawal and cancellation terms — Some contracts specify exact deadlines for withdrawal notification (for example, by March 1 for the following academic year, or within 30 days of the start of a semester)
• Tuition refund policy — Does the school offer prorated refunds for mid-year withdrawals? At what point does tuition become non-refundable?
• Financial obligations upon withdrawal — Some contracts require full-year tuition payment regardless of when the student leaves. Others enforce a specific notice period before a refund applies

This is the piece most families skip, and it's the one that generates the most financial conflict. A family that gives notice in November expecting a partial refund on January through June tuition may discover the contract defines all tuition as earned once the semester begins.

If the contract language is ambiguous or you're unsure what your obligations are, consider a consultation with a family law attorney or educational law specialist before you formally notify the school. The cost depends on the attorney and scope, and is often less than the potential liability.

Step 2: Understand the Distinction — Truancy Doesn't Apply Here

When withdrawing from a public school, the central legal concern is truancy: if you don't follow the proper Notice of Intent process, the district may treat your child's absence as unauthorized. Private schools operate under contract law rather than the state's compulsory attendance enforcement framework in the same way.

This matters because the main leverage a private school holds over you is financial (tuition and contract enforcement), but leaving the school does not eliminate Colorado's compulsory-attendance requirements.

That said, once you formally withdraw from the private school, you are no longer covered by that school's private school status under Colorado law. You must establish your own legal standing as a home-based education program through the state's process.

Step 3: File Your Notice of Intent Before Withdrawing

Timing is critical. Under C.R.S. §22-33-104.5, your home-based educational program must be established with a Notice of Intent (NOI) filed at least 14 days before the program begins. Coordinate the private-school withdrawal so the home-based program does not begin until at least 14 days after filing.

The correct sequence:

1. File your NOI with any Colorado school district (it does not need to be your resident district)
2. Set the home-program start date at least 14 days after filing
3. Coordinate the private-school withdrawal with that home-program start date

Why this order? Filing the NOI before ending the private-school enrollment helps avoid a gap in coverage; the statutory 14-day waiting period applies to the start of home-based instruction, not to the act of sending the withdrawal notice.

If your private school situation is urgent — if there's a conflict with the school that makes immediate withdrawal necessary — file the NOI as soon as possible and notify the private school the same day, but do not treat home-based instruction as established until 14 days have passed.

Step 4: Send Your Withdrawal Letter to the Private School

Your formal withdrawal letter to the private school serves two purposes: terminating the enrollment relationship and documenting the exact date of withdrawal for the purposes of your contract's refund and payment provisions.

The letter should:

• State clearly that you are withdrawing your child effective a specific date
• Reference that your child will be receiving instruction in a nonpublic home-based educational program
• Be sent via a method that creates a delivery record — certified mail, or at minimum a dated email to the school director or registrar

Keep a copy of everything. In a contract dispute, the date of your written notice and the school's acknowledgment of receipt are often the central facts.

You are not required to explain your reasons for withdrawing, attend an exit meeting, or allow the school to review your homeschool curriculum plans. The relationship ends on the contractual terms; you don't owe the school a pedagogical justification.

Step 5: Retrieve Academic Records

Request your child's academic records from the private school in writing at the time of withdrawal. Most private schools will comply promptly. Records to request:

• Transcripts and grade reports (particularly important for high school students)
• Standardized test results if the school administered any
• Immunization records from the school nurse's files
• Any special education documentation if your child had accommodations or a support plan

Having these on hand from day one of your home-based program simplifies your record-keeping and provides baseline academic documentation if you ever need to re-enroll elsewhere or present academic history for college admissions.

What Happens to Your NOI Pathway vs. the Umbrella School Option

Many families leaving private school to homeschool choose to enroll in a Colorado umbrella school (like the CHEC Independent School, West River Academy, or Statheros Academy) rather than filing an independent NOI. Under the umbrella school route, your child is classified as a private school student under the umbrella organization — you don't file an NOI with the district, and you're not bound by the state's standardized testing requirements.

If you go the umbrella school route, the sequence changes slightly:

1. Secure enrollment confirmation from the umbrella school in writing
2. Notify the private school of withdrawal, citing that your child is transferring to another private institution (which is legally accurate)
3. Ask the umbrella school what transfer documentation it will provide; do not assume it handles every district notice

Note that if you are withdrawing from a private school, this transition can be framed as a transfer between private institutions — not as a transition "to homeschool" — which avoids some of the semantic confusion that arises when private school administrators encounter unfamiliar terminology.

The Financial Reality of Mid-Year Private School Withdrawal

Most private school contracts are structured around the full academic year. The scenarios where mid-year families recover tuition money are specific:

• The contract has an explicit prorated refund schedule and the family's notification date falls within the refund window
• The family can demonstrate the school materially breached the enrollment agreement (a legal argument requiring more than just general dissatisfaction)
• The school voluntarily offers a partial refund as a goodwill gesture during the negotiation

If your contract does not have an explicit refund provision and the school is unwilling to negotiate, consider legal advice based on the amount at issue and the contract terms. Factor this financial reality into your withdrawal timeline if possible — giving notice at a contract-defined deadline is far better than giving notice mid-semester.

The Colorado Legal Withdrawal Blueprint covers both the private school withdrawal process and the independent NOI filing in detail, including the exact documentation sequence and the compliance structure for your new home-based program.

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