Maine asks for one notice a year, and from the second year on, that notice carries a copy of last year's assessment. You pick the assessment from five options in the law, and only two of them are tests.
Verified against primary sources November 2026. Laws change; sources are linked at the bottom of this page.
Within 10 calendar days of starting home instruction, send a written notice of intent to your local school officials and the Maine Department of Education. It names the parent and child, gives the start date, and promises at least 175 days of instruction a year in the listed subjects plus an annual assessment. Then on or before September 1 of each following year, file a letter saying you will continue, with a copy of one of five forms of annual assessment. One submission through the state's Home Instruction Portal, or one paper form sent to the superintendent's office, covers both offices. Maine sets no hour count and no parent qualification.
The standard Maine homeschool, under 20-A M.R.S. 5001-A(3)(A)(4). You notify your local school officials and the commissioner, teach the listed subjects for at least 175 days, and file an annual assessment with each renewal. This is what the rest of this page describes.
A child may instead attend a private school approved for attendance purposes, or one the Department of Education recognizes as providing equivalent instruction. Attendance counts only if the school files a certificate of the child's name, residence, and attendance with your school unit. Those schools have their own rules, which this page does not cover.
Send a written notice of intent to provide home instruction to the school officials of the school unit where your child lives and to the commissioner of education at the same time, within 10 calendar days of the beginning of home instruction. One submission through the Home Instruction Portal, or one paper form to the superintendent's office, counts for both.
The parent's or guardian's name, signature, and address; the child's name and age; the date home instruction will begin; a statement that the program will give at least 175 days of instruction a year in the listed subjects; and a statement that the program will include an annual assessment using at least one of the five options. The Department of Education says the age may be given in years instead of a birth date, and a physical address is required, not a PO box.
English and language arts, math, science, social studies, physical education, health education, library skills, and fine arts. Maine studies in at least one grade from 6 to 12, and at one grade level from 7 to 12, your child shows proficiency in using computers. The Department of Education says there is no hourly requirement, and that days your child attended school before starting home instruction count toward the 175.
On or before September 1 of each following year, file a letter with your local school officials and the commissioner saying you intend to continue, and enclose a copy of one form of annual assessment of your child's progress. The options are: (1) a standardized achievement test given through your school unit or through other arrangements the commissioner approves; (2) a test written by your school unit's officials to fit your child's program; (3) review and acceptance of your child's progress by a named person who holds a current Maine teacher's certificate; (4) review and acceptance based on, but not limited to, a portfolio of your child's work presented to a local homeschool support group whose members for this purpose include a currently certified Maine teacher or administrator; or (5) review and acceptance by a local advisory board chosen by the superintendent, made up of one school unit employee and two home instruction tutors. Options 2 and 5, and a test given through the school unit, must be agreed to by the school officials before you submit your notice.
Keep copies of the information you filed until home instruction ends, and make them available to the commissioner on request. Directory information you file is confidential and not open to the public unless you allow it in writing or a judge orders otherwise.
A child still of compulsory school age must be enrolled in a public school or another equivalent instruction option. The receiving school decides the placement, and at the high school level the principal decides how much your child's prior home instruction counts toward the state's learning standards.
With written approval from the superintendent, your child may enroll in specific classes at the local public school, and with the principal's approval may join cocurricular activities. Your child may also try out for extracurricular activities under the same eligibility rules as enrolled students. Approval for classes and cocurricular activities may not be unreasonably withheld.
| Within 10 calendar days of starting | First year only: send the notice of intent to your local school officials and the commissioner, by the portal or on paper to the superintendent's office. No assessment is due yet. |
| July 1 | The Department of Education counts the school year from July 1 to June 30. |
| Before you file | If you plan to use a test given through your school unit, a school-made test, or the local advisory board, get the school officials' agreement in advance. |
| Spring and summer | Complete the year's assessment: the test, the certified teacher's review, the support group portfolio review, or the advisory board review. |
| On or before September 1 | Every year after the first: file the letter of intent to continue with a copy of last year's assessment. |
The law says within 10 calendar days of the beginning of home instruction. The Department of Education puts it as within 10 days of withdrawal from school, or by September 1 if you are starting with the new school year. No assessment is due with a first-year notice.
A standardized achievement test given through your school unit or another arrangement the commissioner approves; a test written by your school unit's officials for your child's program; review and acceptance of your child's progress by a person with a current Maine teacher's certificate; review and acceptance based on a portfolio presented to a local homeschool support group that includes a certified Maine teacher or administrator; or review and acceptance by a local advisory board of one school unit employee and two home instruction parents or tutors. A test given through your school unit, a school-made test, and the advisory board each must be agreed with the school officials in advance.
No. The Department of Education says the portal is optional. You may send a paper form, or your own letter, to the superintendent's office as long as it has all the required information. Send paper to the superintendent's office only, not to the Department as well.
The Department of Education says yes: if your child finished the school year in home instruction, the assessment for that year is still required, with a note saying your child has left home instruction and the date.
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Make a free parent accountReference information reviewed August 2026 against primary sources (statutes, NCAA and Common App published requirements). This is general information, not legal advice; requirements change, so verify anything load-bearing for your family against your state's current law.