Sometimes the decision to homeschool arrives in the middle of an ordinary week. School is not working, your child needs a different pace, or your family's circumstances have changed. You can begin the Massachusetts approval process during the school year. The important part is the order: plan, approval, then withdrawal.
Do not confuse notification with approval
For a child of compulsory school age, M.G.L. c. 76, § 1 requires home instruction to be approved in advance by the superintendent or school committee. DESE explicitly says that notification alone does not authorize home schooling and that removing a child without an approved plan would cause the child to become truant.
A delivery receipt proves that you sent something; it does not prove the district approved it. Neither a pending review nor an unanswered email is automatic permission to stop school attendance.
1. Find the home education contact in your resident district
Ask your resident district for its home education policy, submission process, and the person who reviews plans. If your child attends a school outside the resident district, DESE says the resident district still approves the home education plan. Coordinate the eventual withdrawal separately with the school your child attends.
Use the Massachusetts district finder as a starting point, then confirm current contact details. Ask how a midyear application is handled and when you can expect a response; do not assume another town's timetable applies.
2. Write a plan for the remaining part of the year
Describe the period you intend to teach, rather than pretending you are beginning in September. Cover the proposed subjects and instructional time, your competency as the teaching parent, the materials and outline of study, and your proposed evaluation method. Explain how you will assess progress during this shorter reporting period.
You can acknowledge learning already completed at school without claiming you taught it. For example: “This proposal covers home instruction from the approved start date through the end of our school year. Prior school records will help us choose appropriate starting points.”
Our Education Plan guide explains the sections. The Massachusetts plan checklist is a useful final review before sending.
3. Submit and ask for written confirmation
Keep a dated copy of the plan and proof of delivery. Ask the district to confirm receipt and explain any further information needed for review. If you name a proposed start date, make clear that it depends on approval rather than announcing a completed withdrawal.
We are requesting approval of the attached home education plan for our child for the remainder of this school year. Our proposed start date is subject to approval. Please confirm receipt, identify any information needed to complete review, and let us know how approval will be communicated.
This is an example email, not a state-required form. Reply to reasonable clarification requests and keep the correspondence together.
4. Coordinate the last school day after approval
Once approval is confirmed, notify the current school in writing and agree on the last attendance date and the first home education date. Ask how enrollment and attendance records will reflect the change. Keep the approval and withdrawal acknowledgement in the same folder.
You do not need an unexplained gap between the two settings. A short written timeline helps the school office, the district reviewer, and your family understand the same sequence.
What if your child cannot safely attend while you wait?
Take an immediate safety or health concern seriously. Contact the school promptly about the concern and ask what attendance arrangements or supports can be put in place while the application is reviewed. In an immediate emergency, seek appropriate emergency help.
A medical concern, bullying complaint, or difficult school situation does not by itself turn a pending home education application into approval. Ask for an expedited review and seek individual advice from an attorney or a Massachusetts homeschool organization if the situation is urgent or disputed. Do not rely on a general claim that filing “in good faith” protects every absence.
If review is delayed
Follow up with the submission date and ask what remains outstanding and who can complete the review. Request the applicable policy and any decision in writing. Silence is not approval, and there is no automatic statewide countdown in this guide that converts a pending plan into permission.
If the school sends an absence notice, respond rather than ignoring it. Explain the actual status of the application and ask to resolve the attendance record. For a denial or persistent disagreement, obtain advice about your specific circumstances.
Request the records that help you begin
Ask how to obtain your child's school records, including current academic reports and relevant support documents. If your child has an IEP or a 504 plan, get individualized advice about services and the consequences of changing enrollment before assuming that school-based arrangements will continue unchanged.
Pennsole's Massachusetts tools can help you save a plan, record submission and approval dates, and track the learning that starts after the transition. They do not submit the plan to your district or grant approval.
Sources and a final note
- Massachusetts DESE: Home Schooling — advance approval, notification, resident-district review, and attendance.
- M.G.L. c. 76, § 1 — approval in advance.
- Care and Protection of Charles (1987) — the plan-review framework.
Reviewed October 8, 2026. General guidance, not legal advice. Get individual help with urgent attendance concerns or a disputed approval.