Mississippi asks for one short form a year, the certificate of enrollment. Starting with the 2026-27 school year it is due August 15, a month earlier than the old September 15 date many guides still print.
Verified against primary sources November 2026. Laws change; sources are linked at the bottom of this page.
Each year, file a certificate of enrollment with the school attendance officer where your child lives, by August 15. The form asks for your child's name, address, phone number, and birthdate, your name, address, and phone number, your school district, a simple description of the education your child is receiving, and your signature. That is the whole legal duty. Mississippi sets no testing, no required subjects, no hours, and no records, and the statute says the state has no authority over a home instruction program's curriculum or operation.
The route Mississippi homeschool families use. Being educated in a legitimate home instruction program is one of the listed exceptions to public or nonpublic school attendance. Legitimate means a program not set up to avoid or get around the compulsory attendance law.
A child may instead attend a legitimate nonpublic school. For those children, the appropriate school official completes the certificate of enrollment and signs it, giving the school's name and address.
The parent, guardian, or custodian of a compulsory-school-age child in a home instruction program completes a certificate of enrollment. The Department of Education's Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement prepares the form, and the Department says it must be completed for every year your child is homeschooled.
The certificate goes to the school attendance officer where your child lives on or before August 15 of each year. This date took effect July 1, 2026; before that it was September 15. If the attendance officer finds you out of compliance, you have ten days after written notice to comply.
The law says the form is designed to obtain the following information only: your child's name, address, telephone number, and date of birth; the parent's name, address, and telephone number; the school district where your child lives; a simple description of the type of education your child is receiving; and the parent's signature and the date signed. The school district item was added in 2026.
If your child was enrolled in a public school within 15 calendar days after the first day of the school year, you may later enroll your child in a legitimate home instruction program and send the certificate of enrollment to the school attendance officer, and you are in compliance.
The statute says nothing in it gives any state agency the right or authority to control, manage, supervise, provide for, or affect the operation, management, program, curriculum, admissions policy, or discipline of a home instruction program. It also protects the parent's primary right to choose the child's education.
| After the school year ends | The Department of Education says to wait until the current school year has ended before enrolling your child in home school for the next one. |
| By August 15 | Return the certificate of enrollment to your school attendance officer, or email it to homeschool@mdek12.org. Keep a copy. |
| During the year | Nothing is due. Mississippi sets no testing, hours, records, or reports for home instruction. |
| If you start mid-year | Send the certificate of enrollment to the school attendance officer when you move your child from public school to home instruction. |
| If you get a notice of noncompliance | You have ten days after the school attendance officer's written notice to comply. |
By August 15 of each year. Senate Bill 2103, signed April 8, 2026 and in effect since July 1, 2026, moved the date from September 15 to August 15. The Mississippi Department of Education's home school page also says August 15.
To the school attendance officer for the area where your child lives. School attendance officers work for the Mississippi Department of Education, not for your school district. The department's home school page also accepts the completed form by email at homeschool@mdek12.org. Keep a copy for your records.
Yes. If your child was enrolled in a public school within the first 15 calendar days of the school year, the law lets you later move your child to a legitimate home instruction program and send the certificate of enrollment to the school attendance officer at that point, and you are in compliance.
The Department of Education's home school page says you must wait until the current school year has ended before enrolling a child in home school for the upcoming school year. File after the year ends and by August 15.
No. The statute requires only the certificate of enrollment. The Department of Education recommends keeping a portfolio of work samples and a log of books and materials, but that is advice, not law. The 180-day school term in the statute does not apply to nonpublic schools, a category the law defines to include home instruction programs; their term is the number of days each school requires for promotion from grade to grade.
Usually not. The compulsory age starts at six by September 1. A five-year-old is covered only when enrolled in a full-day public school kindergarten program.
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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.