Maryland Homeschool Laws

1. Homeschooling under the portfolio option.
2. Homeschooling under the church umbrella option.
3. Homeschooling under the church-exempt school umbrella option.
4. Homeschooling under the state-approved school umbrella option.

Homeschooling under the portfolio option.

1. File a Notice of Consent form with your superintendent 15 days before starting a home instruction program.
2. Teach the required subjects of math, English, social studies, science, art, music, health, and physical education.
3. Provide the required instruction, which is essentially regular, thorough instruction in the required subjects for a “sufficient duration.”
4. Maintain a portfolio of your educational materials, including instructional materials and reading materials, as well as examples of your child’s writing, worksheets, workbooks, creative materials, and tests.
5. Respond to your superintendent’s requests to review your portfolio. The local superintendent can review your portfolio at a mutually agreeable time and place, up to three times a year. (In practice, this usually happens once or twice a year.) If the superintendent reviews your portfolio and determines that your child is not being educated in accordance with the regulations, you must be notified of these deficiencies in your program, and you will have 30 days to provide evidence that you have corrected these deficiencies—otherwise the superintendent may tell you to stop homeschooling. You can appeal a decision of the superintendent to the school board within 30 days.
6. Notify your superintendent of any changes to your homeschool status, whether you stop homeschooling during the school year or switch from one homeschool option to another. You must also communicate with the superintendent at the beginning of each year whether you intend to continue homeschooling the child.
7. Be aware that your local school system cannot impose additional requirements for your homeschool, other than those listed in Maryland’s regulations.

Homeschooling under the church umbrella option. To homeschool under the church umbrella option, you’ll need to find a church umbrella, a school or institution that offers an educational program operated by a bona fide church organization.

1. Select and join a church umbrella before submitting your Notice of Consent (you will need to identify the name of the umbrella you joined on the notice). The church umbrella program must send to the Maryland Department of Education a completed church-exempt registration form and documentation that establishes its bona fide church status.
2. File a Notice of Consent form with your superintendent 15 days before starting a home instruction program.
3. Have the church-exempt school umbrella supervise your instruction (most charge a fee) with pre-enrollment conferences, textbooks and lesson plan review, and periodic conferences with parents.
4. Regularly (annually) verify your involvement in the church-exempt school umbrella program, whether you stay involved in the program, move, stop homeschooling, or switch from one homeschool option to another. Your umbrella program will provide various types of information to the local superintendent based on these communications.

Homeschooling under the church-exempt school umbrella option. To homeschool under the church-exempt school umbrella option, you’ll need to find a church-exempt school umbrella, a school operated by a church that is exempt from state school approval requirements.

1. Select and join a church-exempt school umbrella before submitting your Notice of Consent (you will need to identify the name of the umbrella you joined on the notice).
2. File a Notice of Consent form with your superintendent 15 days before starting a home instruction program.
3. Have the church umbrella supervise your instruction (most charge a fee) with pre-enrollment conferences, textbooks and lesson plan review, and periodic conferences with parents.
4. Regularly (annually) verify your involvement in the umbrella program, whether you stay involved in the program, move, stop homeschooling, or switch from one homeschool option to another. Your umbrella program will provide various types of information to the local superintendent based on these communications.

Homeschooling under the state-approved school umbrella option. To homeschool under the state-approved school umbrella option, your local school must assign a school-based teacher to assist the home teacher and to issue progress reports, mark papers, and grade tests.

1. File a Notice of Consent form with your superintendent 15 days before starting a home instruction program.
2. Regularly (annually) verify your involvement in the umbrella program, whether you stay involved in the program, move, stop homeschooling, or switch from one homeschool option to another. Your umbrella program will provide various types of information to the local superintendent based on these communications.

Here you’ll find websites for any questions you may have about education in the state of Maryland.

• Maryland Department of Education: https://www.marylandpublicschools.org/Pages/default.aspx
• Maryland Education Resources: https://www.maryland.gov/pages/education.aspx
• Maryland State Government – Education: https://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/13sdoe/html/sdoe.html
• Maryland Association of Boards of Education: https://www.mabe.org/
• List of Maryland school districts: https://ballotpedia.org/List_of_school_districts_in_Maryland

Whether you already homeschool in Maryland or are looking to do so, these resources are quite useful if you’re searching for support, co-ops, or answers to questions about homeschooling in your state.

• Central Maryland Homeschoolers: https://www.facebook.com/CentralMarylandHomeschoolers
• Charles County Maryland Homeschoolers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/323794304384219/
• Conowingo-Rising Sun Christian School: https://www.crscs.org/
• Greater Baltimore Christian Homeschoolers: https://gbchomeschoolers.com/
• Home Educators of the Eastern Shore: https://mdhsa.com/
• Homeschooling in Frederick County: https://www.facebook.com/groups/673604079343946/
• Howard County Homeschooling Community: https://www.meetup.com/Howard-County-Homeschooling-Community/
• Maryland Homeschool Association: https://www.mdhsa.com/
• Maryland Catholic Homeschoolers: https://marylandarch.com/ 
• Montgomery County, MD Homeschoolers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/282780518523816/
• OC Homeschool (Ocean City): https://www.facebook.com/groups/288148557902304/
• Severna Park & Pasadena Teen Homeschoolers: https://www.facebook.com/groups/teenhomeschoolers/
• Together Growing in Faith (TGIF) Homeschool Co-op: https://www.homeschool-life.com/md/tgif/
• UMOJA Christian Homeschool Support Group: https://umojachristianhs.wixsite.com/umojahomeschool
• Wellspring Christian Family Schools: https://www.wcfs.edu/
• Western Maryland Homeschool: https://www.facebook.com/westernmarylandhomeschool.homeschool

One of the many benefits of homeschooling is the flexibility to explore! Here are some ideas for amazing–and educational–field trips around the great state of Maryland!

• Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum: Baltimore, MD
• Baltimore Museum of Art: Baltimore, MD
• Baltimore Museum of Industry: Baltimore, MD
• The Baltimore Poe House and Museum: Baltimore, MD
• Blackwater Wildlife Refuge: Cambridge, MD
• Catoctin Wildlife Preserve & Zoo: Thurmont, MD
• Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center: Grasonville, MD
• Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum: St. Michaels, MD
• Chesapeake Children’s Museum: Annapolis, MD
• College Park Aviation Museum: College Park, MD
• Contemporary Museum: Baltimore, MD
• Croydon Creek Nature Center: Rockville, MD
• Crystal Grottoes Cave: Boonsboro, MD
• Discovery Creek – Children’s Museum of Washington: Glen Echo, MD
• Discovery Station at Hagerstown: Hagerstown, MD
• The Flag House and Star-Spangled Banner Museum: Baltimore, MD
• Flag Ponds Nature Park: Lusby, MD
• Fort McHenry: Baltimore, MD
• Fort Washington National Park: Fort Washington, MD
• Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park Museum: Baltimore, MD
• Geppi’s Entertainment Museum: Baltimore, MD
• Historic St. Mary’s City: St. Mary’s City, MD
• iFLY: Nottingham, MD
• Irvine Nature Center: Owings Mills, MD
• James E. Lewis Museum of Art: Baltimore, MD
• Marshy Point Nature Center: Baltimore, MD
• Maryland Science Center: Baltimore, MD
• The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore: Baltimore, MD
• National Aquarium in Baltimore: Baltimore, MD
• National Cryptologic Museum: Annapolis Junction, MD
• National Electronics Museum: Linthicum, MD
• National Great Blacks in Wax Museum: Baltimore, MD
• National Museum of Civil War Medicine: Frederick, MD
• Oakley Cabin African American Museum and Park: Olney, MD
• Oregon Ridge Nature Center: Cockeysville, MD
• Plumpton Park Zoo: Rising Sun, MD
• Port Discovery: Baltimore, MD
• Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture: Baltimore, MD
• Robinson Nature Center: Columbia, MD
• Salisbury Zoo: Salisbury, MD
• Smithsonian Environmental Research Center: Edgewater, MD
• Walters Art Museum: Baltimore, MD