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Guide

Homeschool Notice of Intent — What to File and Where Nothing Is Filed

Homeschool notice of intent form

There is no national notice-of-intent form. Some states require written notice within a set number of days, one requires an annual affidavit in a short October window, and some require no notice at all — where the useful paper is proof that nothing more is required.

Florida: file within 30 days

In Florida, a home education program is set up by written, signed notice to the district school superintendent of the county where you live, under Florida Statutes §1002.41(1)(a). The notice must be filed within 30 days of starting the program and must include the full legal names, addresses, and birthdates of all children enrolled.

Under §1002.41(1)(b), the superintendent must accept and register the notice and may not require additional information unless the student chooses a district program. No teaching certificate is required. To end the program, file a notice of termination within 30 days with the final evaluation, under §1002.41(1)(c). Keep the stamped copy — it stops a truancy gap.

New York: July 1, or 14 days, plus a plan

New York home instruction is governed by regulation, 8 NYCRR §100.10, not by a homeschool statute. A written notice of intent must be filed with the superintendent of your district of residence annually by July 1, or within 14 days after beginning home instruction during the school year or moving into the district, under §100.10(b).

An Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP) must also be filed for each child by August 15 or within four weeks after you receive the district's IHIP form, whichever is later, under §100.10(c). It names the child, subjects, materials or plan, dates for the four quarterly reports, and who will teach. Put both dates on one calendar.

California: an affidavit, October 1 to 15

California has no notice of intent. Most home-based families operate as a private school and file a Private School Affidavit between October 1 and 15 each year, under Education Code §§33190 and 48222. Its contents are set by §33190. If you start mid-year, the statute states only the October window — filing when the school is established is practice, not a second window in the code.

Texas and Illinois: no notice is required — here is the proof to carry

In Texas, no notice is filed with anyone, by any deadline. Home schools are private schools under §25.086(a)(1), as held in Texas Education Agency v. Leeper, 893 S.W.2d 432 (Tex. 1994). A dated withdrawal letter to the campus is the operative paper. A district's written request for a letter of assurance may be answered — it is not an annual filing duty.

In Illinois, no notice is required either. A home school teaching the branches of education in English is a private school under 105 ILCS 5/26-1, as held in People v. Levisen, 404 Ill. 574 (1950). The state registration form is voluntary and creates no approval. Written notice to the public school is a courtesy, not a filing.

In both states, carry a copy of your dated withdrawal letter and a short statement citing §25.086 and Leeper in Texas, or §26-1 and Levisen in Illinois, that no further filing is required.

What a notice must contain, where one is required

Practical next steps

  1. Name your state type first: filing, annual affidavit, or no filing.
  2. If you must file, calendar the deadline from the law — 30 days in Florida under §1002.41, July 1 or 14 days in New York under §100.10(b), October 1 to 15 in California under §33190.
  3. File, then keep the stamped copy or delivery proof with the date visible.
  4. If your state requires no notice, prepare the withdrawal letter and the carry-proof packet instead of filing a form no one asked for.
  5. Withdraw from the old school in writing on a date that leaves no unexcused gap.

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Rules checked October 2026 — every rule on this page is cited to its source. Verify day counts against your district's official calendar.