Withdrawing From School 2
You may fit into one of the following situations:
If you withdrew your child in the spring and plan to resume schooling at home in the fall, the above formal withdrawal procedure can certainly be completed over the summer.
If your child's withdrawal occurred during the school year, you may wish to wait until contacted by your local public school officials. If you receive some belated contact about your child's withdrawal, including a truancy notice, it is a simple matter to explain your lack of experience with this legal detail. You can offer to supply the necessary correspondence for the public school official's file. We recommend replying in writing right away and not waiting and hoping they will go away. Generally, they will not.
If You Are Contacted By the School:
After all the steps are completed, you still may be contacted by the schools in writing, by phone, or in person at your home.
If officials phone you, politely ask them to put their questions to you in writing so that you can respond in writing. Explain that by doing so both parties will have a written record of the questions and answers. This will also give you plenty of time to research your best response or to contact a support group leader for advice.
If a truant officer or a police officer comes to your door, it is very important that you assert your 4th amendment rights and do not let them in unless they have a signed search warrant! Read our truancy page.
If they contact you in writing, they will probably send you forms to fill out. These forms have been called various things over the years: “Statement of Assurance”, “Home School Registration Form”, “Nonpublic School Registration, Enrollment, and Staff Report”.
These forms are all voluntary. We do not recommend that you fill them out.
Arguments against registering as a homeschool can be read here. We have more details on the Home School Registration Form here.
Writing a Letter:
Be sure to write an error free professional letter on your school letterhead or contact your curriculum provider if you have been so instructed. If you do not have letterhead for your school, then an error free letter, neatly typed on plain paper will suffice. You must keep copies of all correspondence on file.
Transferring Children From a Private School to Private Homeschool:
Illinois law requires no action on the part of parents when withdrawing their children from a private or parochial school. However, once again, common sense dictates that some written notification be given to the private school, if only to state that the child will be attending a different private school. Many private schools routinely notify public schools if notice of enrollment elsewhere is not received. It is definitely in your interest for that not to occur.
The legislation on which these recommendations are based can be read at: