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Home Instruction Procedures for Parents and Guardians

General Expectations

A parent or guardian who chooses to teach his or her child at home must provide regular and thorough instruction during the school year in the studies usually taught in the public schools to children of the same age. The supervision or oversight of this instruction may be done in one of two ways:

Option A – under the supervision of the Montgomery County Public School System; or,

Option B – under the supervision of a nonpublic entity. 

 

The following information outlines the general expectations of these two options.

 

Option A–Home instruction under the supervision of The Montgomery County Public School System.

The parent or guardian will—

  • read the regulations regarding home instruction Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR) 13A.10.01,
  • complete and return the Home Instruction Notification Form 270-34 to the Home School office at least 15 days prior to beginning home instruction
  • complete and return the Annual Notification to Continue Home Instruction Form 270-36 each subsequent year that home schooling continues,
  • provide written notification to the office of any changes in status,
  • maintain a portfolio for each child being provided home instruction, and
  • submit the portfolio(s) for review to MCPS near the conclusion of every semester.

Review Meetings

  • A review team, assigned annually, is responsible for reviewing your child’s instructional program.
  • The team will contact you to arrange first and second semester (winter and spring) meetings.
  • If you fail to submit a portfolio for your required review without explanation and/or an effort to determine a mutaually agreeable time and format, you will be expected to enroll your child in an approved public or nonpublic school as defined in COMAR 13A.09.09.02B (4-9).
  • Current guidelines regarding program reviews can be found here.

Option B–Home instruction under the supervision of a nonpublic entity, registered with the Maryland State Department of Education.

The parent or guardian will—

  • read the regulations regarding home instruction (COMAR) 13A.10.01,
  • complete and return the Home Instruction Notification Form 270-34 to the Home School office at least 15 days prior to beginning home instruction.
  • provide written notification to the office of any changes in status.