Maryland homeschool requirements
To homeschool in Maryland, notify your local school system at least 15 days before starting, then choose a pathway: portfolio review by the local school system (at the end of each semester, no more than three reviews a year) or supervision by an approved umbrella. Either way, verify each year before the school year begins that home instruction is continuing. No statewide standardized test.
Last reviewed June 5, 2026 · corrected September 23, 2026 · Sources below
Maryland homeschool requirements at a glance
- Notice
- RequiredWhere it goes: The local school superintendent or designee — your school system's home instruction office. Every family files the notification form there, whether it chooses portfolio review by the local school system or supervision by an umbrella. When: At least 15 days before starting. Then every year, before the school year begins, verify that home instruction is continuing — with the local superintendent if the school system reviews your portfolio, or with the umbrella that supervises the program (COMAR 13A.10.01.01B(2)). Report any change in your child's home school status during the year (.01B(3)).
- Required subjects
- English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies/History, Art, Music, Health, Physical Education
- Instruction time
- NoneNo statutory days/hours; instruction must be regular throughout the year.
- Testing or evaluation
- NoThe local school system reviews a portfolio; an umbrella sets its own oversight. No statewide standardized test under any pathway. Accountability runs through the local school system's portfolio review or through the umbrella.
- Records
- Yes — portfolio
- Parent qualifications
- Not required
- Compulsory attendance ages
- 5–18Maryland's duty covers a child who is 5 or older and under 18, so it runs through age 17 (Md. Code, Educ. § 7-301(a-1)(1)). A family teaching at home meets that duty through the home instruction route (§ 7-301(a)(3)), which also answers Maryland's separate requirement that a child attend kindergarten the year before first grade (§ 7-301(a-1)(3)). A parent who plans to enroll instead, and wants to hold a five-year-old back a year for maturity, files a written request with the local superintendent before school opens in the year the child turns 5; the school system answers in writing within five working days (§ 7-301(a-1)(2); COMAR 13A.08.01.02-2A).
- Ways to homeschool
- Two pathways
- Law
- Md. Code Educ. § 7-301; COMAR 13A.10.01
- Official source
- marylandpublicschools.org ↗
Do I have to notify anyone to homeschool in Maryland?
Yes. Maryland requires homeschooling families to file a notice. Where it goes: The local school superintendent or designee — your school system's home instruction office. Every family files the notification form there, whether it chooses portfolio review by the local school system or supervision by an umbrella. How: Written notice/consent form. When: At least 15 days before starting. Then every year, before the school year begins, verify that home instruction is continuing — with the local superintendent if the school system reviews your portfolio, or with the umbrella that supervises the program (COMAR 13A.10.01.01B(2)). Report any change in your child's home school status during the year (.01B(3)). The umbrella is chosen on the form, not instead of it. COMAR 13A.10.01.05A excuses an umbrella-supervised family from the rest of the home instruction regulation but keeps Regulation.01B(1)(b) — the signed statement filed with the local superintendent at least 15 days before starting. The umbrella then supervises the program and, under.05C, tells the superintendent each year which of its students are continuing, newly added, or no longer under its supervision.
What subjects does Maryland require homeschoolers to teach?
Maryland requires instruction in English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies/History, Art, Music, Health, and Physical Education. Required under COMAR 13A.10.01; instruction must be 'regular and thorough,' but the parent chooses curriculum and methods.
How many days or hours of instruction does Maryland require?
None. Maryland does not set a minimum number of instructional days or hours for homeschoolers. No statutory days/hours; instruction must be regular throughout the year.
Is standardized testing required to homeschool in Maryland?
No. Maryland does not require standardized testing for homeschooled students. The local school system reviews a portfolio; an umbrella sets its own oversight. No statewide standardized test under any pathway. Accountability runs through the local school system's portfolio review or through the umbrella.
What records do I need to keep to homeschool in Maryland?
Maryland requires these records: A portfolio of materials showing regular, thorough instruction in the required subjects — the regulation's examples are instructional materials, reading materials, and the child's writings, worksheets, workbooks, creative materials and tests (portfolio-review pathway; an umbrella-supervised family keeps what its umbrella asks for). How long, or where they go: Reviewed at the end of each semester, no more than three times a school year (portfolio-review pathway). On the portfolio pathway the superintendent or designee reviews the portfolio at the end of each semester, at a time you both agree to, and COMAR 13A.10.01.01E(3) caps reviews at three in a school year. The list of materials is illustrative rather than a checklist: the regulation says the portfolio includes relevant materials 'such as' those items, and MSDE's home instruction page describes them as items a parent may provide. An umbrella-supervised family is outside COMAR 13A.10.01.01D entirely (.05A) and keeps what its umbrella requires.
Do parents need a teaching certificate or other qualification to homeschool in Maryland?
No. Maryland does not set a general qualification for homeschooling parents.
What ages does Maryland's compulsory attendance law cover?
Maryland's compulsory attendance law covers children from age 5 to age 18. Maryland's duty covers a child who is 5 or older and under 18, so it runs through age 17 (Md. Code, Educ. § 7-301(a-1)(1)). A family teaching at home meets that duty through the home instruction route (§ 7-301(a)(3)), which also answers Maryland's separate requirement that a child attend kindergarten the year before first grade (§ 7-301(a-1)(3)). A parent who plans to enroll instead, and wants to hold a five-year-old back a year for maturity, files a written request with the local superintendent before school opens in the year the child turns 5; the school system answers in writing within five working days (§ 7-301(a-1)(2); COMAR 13A.08.01.02-2A).
What are the ways to homeschool in Maryland?
In Maryland, families homeschool under one of two pathways: portfolio review by the local school system and supervision by an umbrella — an MSDE-approved nonpublic school, a church-exempt nonpublic school, or a church-operated education ministry (COMAR 13A.10.01.05).
Is homeschooling legal in Maryland?
Yes. Homeschooling is legal in Maryland, as it is in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. To homeschool in Maryland, notify your local school system at least 15 days before starting, then choose a pathway: portfolio review by the local school system (at the end of each semester, no more than three reviews a year) or supervision by an approved umbrella. Either way, verify each year before the school year begins that home instruction is continuing. No statewide standardized test.
How to get started in Maryland
Sources for Maryland
Every requirement above comes from our review of Maryland’s rules, checked against these sources on June 5, 2026 and corrected on September 23, 2026 after re-reading the official source for what changed. Homeschool law changes, and a state can amend its rules between our reviews — read the official source before you file anything or rely on a date here. How we review state requirements.
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States that share a border with Maryland:
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