Maryland homeschool law for high school: graduation, diploma and records

Educ. § 7-301(a)(3) exempts from public school attendance a child receiving regular, thorough instruction during the school year in the studies usually taught in the public schools to children of the same age, and § 7-301(a)(4) exempts a child who has completed such a program. The home instruction procedures are in State Board regulation COMAR 13A.10.01, and a local school system may not impose requirements beyond those regulations.

Md. Code Ann., Educ. § 7-301(a)(3), (4); COMAR 13A.10.01.01F

The law as of September 29, 2026.

Maryland at a glance

As of September 29, 2026

Notice to the state: Notice every year
Under every option the parent must sign the MSDE-prescribed form consenting to the regulation's requirements and submit it to the local superintendent at least 15 days before home instruction begins. Before each later school year the parent must verify continuation with the superintendent or with the supervising umbrella, and must report any change in status during the year. Umbrella schools separately verify their continuing, new and departing students with the superintendent each year.COMAR 13A.10.01.01B; COMAR 13A.10.01.05A, C, D
Records the law asks for: Depends on the option
Under the portfolio option the parent must maintain a portfolio showing regular, thorough instruction in the required subjects, including relevant materials such as instructional and reading materials and samples of the child's writing, worksheets, workbooks, creative materials and tests. For college courses the parent may give the superintendent the college report card or transcript instead of portfolio materials. Umbrella families follow the supervising school's requirements, and the regulation sets no retention period.COMAR 13A.10.01.01D; COMAR 13A.10.01.05A
Testing or evaluation: Depends on the option
Portfolio option: the superintendent or designee reviews the portfolio at the end of each semester at a mutually agreeable time and place, with no more than three reviews a year, and a parent notified of deficiencies has 30 days to show they are being corrected. No standardized test is required under any option; on request, a home-instructed child may take the public school's regularly scheduled standardized tests. Umbrella options: the regulation sets supervision components instead (periodic parent conferences for church umbrellas; progress reports, marked papers and graded tests for approved nonpublic schools).COMAR 13A.10.01.01D, E; COMAR 13A.10.01.02; COMAR 13A.10.01.03B
Graduation requirements: None set by the state
Maryland sets no graduation requirements for home instruction; COMAR 13A.03.02 governs the Maryland High School Diploma awarded by public schools. If the student enters a public school, the local superintendent evaluates placement and any credits to be awarded toward graduation.COMAR 13A.03.02.09B; COMAR 13A.10.01.04
Diploma: Issued by: parent or supervising umbrella (practice)
MSDE says completing a home instruction program does not lead to a Maryland High School Diploma, which public schools issue after COMAR 13A.03.02 requirements are met, or which may be earned by examination (GED) from age 16. No statute or regulation provides for a homeschool diploma; a diploma from the parent or umbrella program is practice.MSDE, Home Instruction Fact Sheet (2022); COMAR 13A.03.02.09B, D
Compulsory school ages: 5 to 18: each child who resides in Maryland and is 5 years old or older and under 18 must attend unless an exemption applies; a parent may request a one-year delay for a 5-year-old based on maturity.Md. Code Ann., Educ. § 7-301(a-1)(1), (2)

The legal options for homeschooling in Maryland

Home instruction with portfolio review by the local school systemThe parent files the MSDE-prescribed consent form at least 15 days before starting, teaches the required subjects on a regular basis, keeps a portfolio, and permits the local school system to review it (up to three times a year). Basis: regulationCOMAR 13A.10.01.01
Home instruction supervised by a church school or bona fide church organization (umbrella)The program may instead be supervised by a school or institution operated by a bona fide church organization that provides preenrollment conferences, independent-study materials and periodic parent conferences, in which case the local portfolio review does not apply. MSDE lists church-exempt nonpublic schools and education ministries of bona fide church organizations as supervisors under this route. Basis: regulationCOMAR 13A.10.01.05A(1); MSDE, Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Home Instruction in Maryland (rev. June 9, 2022), Q11
Home instruction supervised by a State-approved nonpublic school (umbrella)A nonpublic school holding a State Board certificate of approval may supervise the program by providing independent-study materials and assigning a school-based teacher who issues progress reports, marks papers and grades tests; the local portfolio review then does not apply. Basis: regulationCOMAR 13A.10.01.05A(2)

What Maryland law means for your transcript

For state aid, MHEC asks that a home-school curriculum be identified with grades on an official transcript and that the program be supervised by an approved or registered entity (MHEC 2025-2026 manual).
If the student enrolls in a public school, the local superintendent decides by evaluation which home instruction work earns credit toward graduation (COMAR 13A.10.01.04).
College courses may be part of the home instruction program (COMAR 13A.10.01.01C(2)); listing them separately with the college's grades is practice.
Public school graduation credits under COMAR 13A.03.02 do not bind home instruction; using them as a model for course counts is a choice, not a requirement.

College admission and state aid for Maryland homeschoolers

MHEC's Office of Student Financial Assistance treats home-school students as eligible for certain state aid programs if the entity that supervises the home instruction and sets the curriculum holds a Certificate of Approval or is registered to supervise home instruction with MSDE, and the curriculum is identified with grades on an official transcript; students still in high school are not eligible until they finish. This is agency policy in the 2025-2026 manual.MHEC Office of Student Financial Assistance, 2025-2026 Financial Aid Office Manual, Home School Eligibility

Recent changes to Maryland homeschool law

No change to the instruction exemption in Educ. § 7-301 or to COMAR 13A.10.01 was found for 2023 to 2026; the official COMAR history shows the regulation last amended effective August 12, 2019. MSDE's regulatory review evaluation report (September 30, 2025) recommended opening COMAR 13A.10.01 for potential amendment or repeal, but no amendment has been adopted. 2026 bills HB 1043 (athletics) and HB 1528 (extracurricular activities) received House hearings and were not enacted.

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What we could not confirm

These points could not be checked against the statute or regulation text, so treat them with care:

HSLDA reports that MSDE has taken the position that a church umbrella program cannot issue a valid diploma because it is not a school; I did not find this in an MSDE document.
HSLDA states its opinion that the 15-day advance filing rule is unenforceable; the regulation text says the form shall be submitted at least 15 days before home instruction begins.
I could not confirm whether a proposed amendment to COMAR 13A.10.01 was published in the Maryland Register during 2026; the official COMAR administrative history lists no amendment after August 12, 2019.
The MHEC home-school eligibility rule comes from the Office of Student Financial Assistance manual; I did not locate the underlying statute or regulation.
MSDE's home instruction FAQ (revised June 9, 2022) and fact sheet (2022) are older than this review; they were read for their descriptions of the regulation, not relied on for recent changes.

Sources

General information about Maryland law as of September 29, 2026, not legal advice. Laws change, so check the statute before you rely on it. Found an error? Email [email protected].