How to Withdraw Your Child From School in Indiana

This form is only for current students of Indiana public and private schools. If your child has never been enrolled in an Indiana school, you do not need to use this form. Create one withdrawal letter for EACH child that has been enrolled in school.

1. Preview the form below and gather the information needed for each child’s school.
2. Complete and submit the form and then check your email. Your personalized letter should arrive within a couple of minutes. Further instructions will be included in the email and the withdrawal letter will be attached. Be sure to check your junk or spam folders if you do not see the email within a few minutes.
3. Print and send your letter via certified mail to the school before you begin to homeschool.

Should you sign a withdrawal form created by your school?

Oftentimes, a school may also ask families to sign their own form that asks for additional information. It may contain basic information, questions about the return of school property (books and/or tech), outstanding lunch fees, etc. Most school-created forms contain basic administrative questions and are not problematic. High school parents will also be asked to sign a form provided by the Indiana Department. of Education (more information below).

If you are presented with a form that contains questions that require more than basic administrative information, contact us immediately. 

READ MORE: Should I sign the school’s withdrawal form?

Registration With the State is NOT Required

Families are often told that they are required to register their homeschool with the Indiana Department of Education to receive a homeschool number. This is not true. 

There is no registration process for homeschools in Indiana and a “homeschool number” serves no purpose.

The Department of Education does give homeschool families the OPTION to report student enrollment. The decision to report enrollment to the state is up to each family and should be carefully weighed based on your specific situation. We are not attorneys and can not advise you whether you should or shouldn’t report. We recommend contacting HSLDA if you have any legal questions.

Withdrawing a High School Student

When a student is removed from an Indiana high school, the school must correctly identify and document if that student is being withdrawn (or transferred) to a nonpublic, non-accredited school (homeschool) or if that student is a drop-out.

When a family seeks to withdraw their student from a public high school, the school will present families with the form WITHDRAWAL TO NON-ACCREDITED NONPUBLIC SCHOOL LOCATED IN INDIANA that should be filled out to acknowledge that they understand Indiana law on home education. 

A school may request to meet with parents, but a formal exit interview is NOT required. Exit interviews are only required by law for parents of student drop-outs. (Indiana Code Title 20. Education § 20-33-2-28.5)

LEARN MORE

Section 10 of House Enrolled Act 1005, added I.C. 20-33-2-28.6, a new section, to law. I.C. 20-33-2-28.6 provides the following: (a) This section applies to a high school student who is transferring to a nonaccredited nonpublic school. (b) Before a student withdraws from a public school, the principal of the student’s school shall provide to the student and to the student’s parent information on a form developed by the department and approved by the state board that explains the legal requirements of attending a nonaccredited nonpublic school located in Indiana. The principal and a parent of the student shall both sign the form to acknowledge that the parent understands the content of the form. (c) If the parent of the student refuses to sign the form provided by the principal under subsection (b), the student is considered a dropout and the principal shall report the student to the bureau of motor vehicles for action under section 28.5(g) of this chapter. The student is considered a dropout for purposes of calculating a high school’s graduation rate under IC 20-26-13-10.

Note: A child is no longer subject to compulsory attendance law after he reaches his 18th birthday. A child who has reached his 16th birthday is not subject to compulsory attendance law if certain requirements are met as described in or IC 20-8.1-3-17 (j) (or IC 20-8.1-3-17.7, if SB 367 is enacted). One of the requirements is that the student’s principal consent. For a student enrolled in a home-based private school, the principal will usually be the mother or father.

Congratulations on your decision to take your children’s education into your own hands! Indiana Association of Home Educators (IAHE) will be here to support you in this journey every step of the way.

Indiana - School Withdraw Form

• YOUR INFORMATION

  Type your information exactly as you want it to appear in your letter. Your letter is created automatically and will not be checked for errors in details or punctuation.

• Your Name*

  First Last

• Child's Name*

  First Last

• Your Address*

  Street AddressAddress Line 2CityStateAlabamaAlaskaAmerican SamoaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaGuamHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNorthern Mariana IslandsOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaPuerto RicoRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahU. S. Virgin IslandsVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingArmed Forces AmericasArmed Forces EuropeArmed Forces PacificStateZip Code

• Your Email*
• Withdraw Date*

  MM slash DD slash YYYY

• SCHOOL INFORMATION

• PRINCIPAL NAME*

  Mr.Mrs.MissMs.Dr.Prefix First Last

• School*

  School Name School District Name

• School Address*

  Street AddressAddress Line 2CityIndianaAlabamaAlaskaAmerican SamoaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaGuamHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaNorthern Mariana IslandsOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaPuerto RicoRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahU. S. Virgin IslandsVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingArmed Forces AmericasArmed Forces EuropeArmed Forces PacificStateZIP

• Consent*

  I certify that all information is accurate, true, and represents only my own family and school district.

• *

  I understand that completing this form does NOT automatically withdraw my child from the public school system and that I am responsible for mailing the Withdraw Form to the school myself.

• *

  I understand that using this form will subscribe me to receive homeschool information and updates from the IAHE.

How I took my son out of school, and what came of it

Over the past 3 years in Russia, the number of children who have switched to this or that form of family education has increased almost 3 times. Do you want to know what those who decide to pick up a child from school and give him a home education are going through?

Hello, my name is Yulia and I am one of those "house-keepers". I am ready to talk about "how I came to such a life" and what I think now, when more than a year has passed since the decision was made and implemented.

“Do you remember how it all started? Everything was for the first time and again”

Seven years ago, I didn’t even think about the possibility of some kind of home schooling. We gladly sent our son to "our" school. The very one where I and my younger sister once studied and about which we have so many warm memories.

Study was easy for the child, but not for me. From the very first days, it became clear: in order for the son to succeed, vigilant control is needed. The requirements were such that the children did not have the slightest chance to cope on their own. Only the whole family, and even then if you include grandparents. How school annoyed me! At night we glued crafts, on weekends we corrected the handwriting and counted the cells. In the parent chat, they constantly fought over money. It was worth complaining to my husband, and he immediately offered an ingenious solution - to hire tutors. But what about, it's time in the beginning.

By the beginning of the 4th grade, what was happening ceased to suit me completely. I tried to figure out what needs to be changed: class, school, approach. But then the unforeseen happened: in the rhythm lesson, the son received a serious injury, which chained him to a hospital bed for a month. After being discharged for six months, he had to wear a corset, for a long time it was impossible to sit, he was only allowed to lie down and stand.

At home education

Children who, due to health reasons, cannot go to school for a long time, are transferred to home education. In practice, this means that you bring the relevant certificates, the educational institution draws up a schedule, coordinates it with the parents, and teachers come to visit you several times a week. Imagining that we would have 4-5 lessons a day 5 times a week at home, I felt that I would go crazy. But it turned out that in order to catch up and finish the year normally (2 more quarters remained), just 2-3 hours of classes with a teacher were enough, and we even had 1 weekday completely free.

At home schooling, the son began to study less, but managed much more. Time spent one-on-one with teachers was spent productively, in fact, it was classes with tutors. It also became much easier with homework: I only had to check them, the child mastered everything perfectly. It was after this that I had a seditious thought: do we really need to go to school? I didn’t come to any conclusions then, and the next year I again watched how my baby was standing, pressing a basket of flowers to his belly, on the school ruler.

“And the fight continues again”

We again pored over the lessons until night: the son spent the prescribed 5-6 hours at school, dined, went to classes in circles, and in the evening it turned out that he was again unable to cope with homework on his own forces. I went to bed after midnight, and in the morning, pale and sleepy, I went to study.

One evening I burst into tears. Because of school, my life was falling apart at the seams. I thought only about the lessons, gave up my hobby, began to raise my voice to my son, my husband and I talked mainly about school matters, with acquaintances - about them. And most importantly, surrounded by programs, textbooks, additional literature, I practically re-learned with my son most of what he had to learn in the classroom.

Enough!

The thought of family education began to visit me with the persistence of a woodpecker breaking under the oak bark for bugs. I work from home, I have a pedagogical education, I already spend a lot of time with my child. So what's stopping me? I was scared.

I was stuck in homeschooling groups, and day after day I tormented my husband with doubts. But what about socialization? What if I miss something? And the exams? What if I ruin my son's life? Aaaaaa!!!

And yet, I saw more and more children on social networks who felt great while being educated at home, their mothers reported on their progress, while I read the next comments and learned with "joy" from my son who is an excellent student that the tribune is the one who sits on the rostrum.

After this revelation, I looked towards the pile of books on the history of the Ancient World, which we did not have time to read because we were biting into the textbook, sighed and went to collect the documents.

Free swimming

According to federal law, you can pick up your child from school for family education at any time, without much explanation to anyone. It is enough to submit an application to the relevant authorities, and from the next day you and only you are responsible for the education of your child.

What's next? I understood that my son was not ready for more or less independent learning, and I didn’t have time to delve into the process enough to take on the 6th grade program in full. Therefore, we looked at what various distance learning schools offer and attached ourselves to one of the popular online platforms.

Everyone soon learned about our “leaving” from school. "How is your homeschooling?" friends asked sarcastically. But I kept silent, because I couldn’t tell them that I had no idea, because it was too early to draw conclusions. Yes, the child began to get enough sleep, I stopped making a plan for the nearest pharmacy to sell motherwort and valerian, the dog, who spent days under the bed in search of a quiet corner, went out to people. But after all, we did not transfer for the sake of this!

What's the catch?

Having exchanged a real school for a virtual one, the son was delighted. At first. Then the novelty subsided, and the need to learn remained. And instead of his mother, a lifesaver, next to him was his mother, the director of a home school. It was already impossible to say that it was poorly explained. It began to dawn on the child that at school he could still somehow escape the attention of teachers, but at home he is the central one, she is the only figure on this stage.

Mathematics lessons became a serious stumbling block: in the online school, this subject was studied strictly according to the program, homework was given tiny. At the same time, it was algebra that was the strength of the son. Until we "went off the rails", he even managed to win the school olympiad several times. Now he believed that he "did the job - walk boldly", and did not plan to take on an additional load in the free time.

At the same time, I realized that we were getting cramped within the online school. At some lessons, my son continued to sour with boredom, and, listening to what was happening, I agreed with him: melancholy-ah! At the same time, in social networks, on channels and in groups, I saw links to fascinating lectures, original methodological materials, books and manuals. The beginning is hard: after finishing a year at an online school, we did not renew the subscription.

What now?

Over the summer, I compiled a program for my son that we follow, taking history and literature entirely on myself, and leaving English at the mercy of my husband. We “scored” the rest of the items from the pine forest, guided by the abilities and perception of our student. So, he “listens” to physics in one school, biology and social science in another, he studies algebra and geometry with a tutor. The son, of course, can whine, sometimes he is lazy, but he pulls himself together. Most of the time he is really interested.

If there is one thing I regret, it is that I hesitated too long. If we had come to family education earlier, we would have spent less nerves. Listening to my acquaintances whose children go to school, the parents of my son's former classmates, every time I am petty glad that this no longer concerns me. But can I advise everyone to do as we do? Absolutely not. And that's why.

- As I wrote above, I have a diploma in pedagogical education (I even worked at the school for several years) and enough free time to delve into the intricacies of education. I am aware of what the Federal State Educational Standard is, teaching methods, how skills differ from skills and knowledge. If you are thinking about family education, but are not ready to delve into the details, then you should trust one of the online schools, since there is a choice now.

- I can, without looking up from work, follow what my son is doing, and I see when he is distracted and succumbs to the numerous temptations that await him in his "free" life: sleep longer, do the task carelessly, or exchange the lesson for an extraneous "vidushechka" . If you have no one to stay with the child during "school time", then you will have to rely only on his awareness and motivation, and these qualities are not characteristic of all children.

— In a general education school, children receive compulsory free education. Family education is financially provided by the parents. Online schools cost money, tutors cost money, textbooks and other books are not cheap either. And not all regions give at least some monetary compensation to those who do not attend school.

- Socialization. If a child does not have a hobby, he does not attend clubs, additional classes, master classes with peers, but only goes to visit "play", he has nowhere to learn how to build working and partnership relations with other people.

I believe that it is possible to transfer a child to home schooling only if you are sure that you will be able to give him at home no less than he will receive at school.

Under what laws can I collect my child's documents from the public school when I need to?

300 ₽

Issue resolved

Hello!

I want to transfer my child from a public school to a private one. The school says that they will not give the child's documents until he has passed the debts in subjects. Based on what laws can I pick up my child's documents from school when I need to?

May 19, 2017, 19:52 , DARIA, Moscow

pick up the child from school

Mikhail Petrov

Lawyer, Saratov

rating 9.4

Good evening 900

You can do this on the basis of Art. 61 of the Federal Law "On Education in the Russian Federation", by virtue of which

1. Educational relations are terminated due to the expulsion of the student from the organization carrying out educational activities:
2) ahead of schedule on the grounds established by part 2 of this article.
2. Educational relations may be terminated early in the following cases:
1) at the initiative of the student or parents (legal representatives) of a minor student, including in the case of transfer of the student to continue mastering the educational program to another organization that carries out educational activities;
3. Early termination of educational relations at the initiative of the student or parents (legal representatives) of a minor student does not entail the emergence of any additional, including material, obligations of the specified student to the organization carrying out educational activities.

May 19, 2017, 19:55

Ivan Agibalov

Lawyer, Moscow

rating 9.8

Expert

Hello Daria.

This is illegal because you, being the legal representative of the child, have the right to demand the issuance of documents to you.

Article 64 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation:

. Protection of the rights and interests of children rests with their parents.
Parents are the legal representatives of their children and act in defense of their rights and interests in relations with any individuals and legal entities, including in courts, without special powers.

In accordance with the Federal Law "On the procedure for considering citizens in the Russian Federation":

Article 2. The right of citizens to appeal
1. Citizens have the right to apply personally, as well as send individual and collective appeals, including appeals of citizens' associations, including legal entities, to state bodies, local governments and their officials, to state and municipal institutions and other organizations entrusted with the implementation of publicly significant functions, and their officials.
Article 9. Mandatory acceptance of an appeal for consideration
1. An appeal received by a state body, local self-government body or an official in accordance with their competence is subject to mandatory consideration.
Article 12. Deadlines for consideration of a written request
1. A written request received by a state body, a local self-government body or an official in accordance with their competence is considered within 30 days from the date of registration of the written request, except for the case specified in Part 1.1 of this article.

What are the chances to withdraw money from there and what is needed for this?

Hello! Provided poor quality dental services - orthodontics. Everything needs to be redone. I don’t want to be treated again in the clinic where they did this to me. Checks in hand, no contract. The management normally does not agree, only fools around and tries to convince me that supposedly everything is fine. There is an alternative conclusion from another clinic and a photo where errors are visible and the conclusion confirms that the problems of the teeth have not gone anywhere. What are the chances to withdraw money from there and what is needed for this?

November 05, 13:39 , question No. 3480246, Irina, Moscow

Family law

For what reason could they refuse?

Hello! My child was denied an extension of the survivor's pension, she is already 18 years old. After college, she entered the university. For what reason could they refuse?

November 05, 08:54 , question No. 3479918, Anastasia, Moscow

Inheritance

Arrived the next day after death at the hospital to pick up documents (passport), things and keys to the apartment

Hello! My name is Marina. My mother, born in 1934, died in hospital No. 40 in Sestroretsk. 30.10. 2022 I am her adopted daughter. I came the next day after my death to the hospital to pick up documents (passport), things and keys to the apartment, get a certificate of death, but I couldn’t do this because my mother’s friend, a realtor, took them before me. I don’t know what to do in such a situation: I can’t get into the apartment without keys, without a passport I can’t start further solving problems. Where do you recommend to go

November 04, 11:41 am , question #3479114, Marina, Moscow

Civil law

I am in the 10th grade, I would like to know if I can pick up the documents from school and then I don’t study anywhere until September , and from September to go to college?

Hello! I am in the 10th grade, I would like to know if I can pick up the documents from school and then do not study anywhere until September, and go to college from September?

November 04, 06:51 , question No.

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