Starting homeschool mid-year in New York: the 14-day rule

Checked against 8 NYCRR 100.10 and NYSED's Home Instruction Q&A on 2026-10-07. Your district may have its own forms and process.

You can start home instruction after the school year has begun. NYSED: "The district must respond to a letter of intent and to the submission of an IHIP at any time during the school year."

The letter of intent: within 14 days

100.10 says parents who start home instruction after the start of the school year, or who move into the district after it starts, "shall provide written notice of their intention to educate their child at home within 14 days following the commencement of home instruction within the school district." See what to include in the letter.

Then the usual timeline

From NYSED's Q&A:

• "Within 10 business days of receiving the letter, the district must furnish the parent with a copy of C.R. 100.10 and an IHIP form for each child."
• "Within 4 weeks of receiving it, the parent must submit the completed IHIP to the district."
• "Within 10 business days of receiving the IHIP, the district must notify the parent whether it complies with the requirements of the regulation or give written notice of any deficiency."
• "Within 15 days of receiving a notice of deficiency, the parent must submit a revised IHIP which corrects the deficiencies."

Fewer quarterly reports

NYSED: "The number of reports should be proportional to the period of home instruction." Its example: if you start at about the end of the district's first reporting period, "the parent would schedule three reports during the remainder of the year." Put the dates in your IHIP (see quarterly reports).

Leaving a school

100.10 doesn't set a process for leaving a public or private school. Ask the school and your district how they handle enrollment records, and keep copies of what you send.

The kit's deadline calendar has a note for mid-year starts, and its letter-of-intent form has a box for a mid-year start, plus the IHIP, quarterly report and assessment forms.

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Sources

• 8 NYCRR 100.10(b)(2) and (c) (text via Cornell LII)
• NYSED, Home Instruction Questions and Answers, "Commencement of Home Instruction During the School Year"