How do I write the withdrawl letter

[kewb]

We are finally going to withdraw our children from school and bring them home but I have no idea what to say in the letter. Do I simply state that we are withdrawing our children from school and quote the law? We live in NJ.

Thank you for your help.

[simple living mama]

Make is short and sweet. You do not have to give excuses as to why you want to homeschool. Simply state you would like to bring your child home to school them for the next year. That's all.

[AnnR33]

You might seek out your state's homeschool laws and see if there is a standard form that needs filled out. Then you might not have to write a letter, but rather, just fill out the form.
I agree though-keep it short and only the basics-name, address, school attended, and as of x date you are pulling them from full time enrollment to homeschool. Sign and date and keep a copy.

[Lillian J]

I know nothing about NY law, but in California, the letter would be from the school - whether it's a commercial private school or your own home based private school - so here in California it would read like this sample composed by the HomeSchool Assn. of CA to give people an idea of how simple and direct it should be:
sample withdrawal letter. You probably have very different details to incorporate into it, but I think the simple and direct, informative, language is a good policy.

I like the "This letter is to inform you that" approach a lot better than the "I would like to" approach, because you don't want to seem to be asking any kind of permission or approval.

- Lillian

[SagMom]

I'm in NJ

I wrote something like, "Please be advised that we are withdrawing (name of children) from school for the purpose of homeschooling." That should be all you need.

If they try and tell you you're required to do more, you could send them a copy of the DOE's guidelines (http://www.state.nj.us/education/gen...homeschool.htm )which make things pretty clear.

hth

[hula]

I found sample letters online for my state (Illinois). It suggests to first send a letter from the parents, then a separate letter from the school (on your homeschool letterhead) within 14 days requesting a copy of records.

Here's the withdrawal sample:

Dear Principal's Name:

This is to inform you that as of date, our child, child's full name, will be withdrawing from attendance at public school's name. Child's
name will be transferring to your home school's name, which is a non-public school.

Child's name will receive instruction in the branches of education taught in the public schools and in the English language. All
instruction will be in compliance with the requirements of Chapter 105, Section 26-1 of the Illinois School Code, commonly known as the Compulsory Attendance Law.

And the request for records:

Dear Principal's Name:

This is to notify you of the enrollment of child's name in your home school's name as of date.
In compliance with Chapter 1, Section 375.75 of the Illinois Administrative Code, we are writing to request that a Certified Copy of
child's name's records be forwarded to us.

This letter also meets the requirements of Section 2-3.13a of the Illinois School Code as changed by Public Act 093-0859 requiring written notification of successful transfer of the student.

Your prompt assistance in this matter will be appreciated, as it will enable us to complete our files.

[Dakota's Mom]

Hey Kathy,

I would just say that you are withdrawing your children from school in order to homeschool them. Period. You don't need to quote the law or anything else. The more brief you keep the whole thing the better off you are. If they give you any hassle, that is the time to quote the law. But don't look for trouble. They shouldn't have any problem with it. After all, there are no requirements here. Fortunately, for us, Dakota never attended school here so we didn't have to do anything.

Kathi

[Lillian J]

Originally Posted by Dakota's Mom

You don't need to quote the law or anything else. The more brief you keep the whole thing the better off you are. If they give you any hassle, that is the time to quote the law. But don't look for trouble.

That's what I'd think too. The only reason some people might want to quote the law in California about the issue of providing records is because so many school clerks and/or authorities aren't aware the law requires them to pass on the cumulative records, so they sometimes just ignore that request. However, in California one would never quote the laws that apply to the issues of homeschooling legalities. Lillian