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State guide

Microschools in Maryland

The legal pathways, operator types, funding programs and licensing agencies Maryland recognizes, with links to the state code and agency pages that set the rules.

Sources last checked August 29, 2026·19 sources, 13 from law and government·See every source

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Which operator model are you in Maryland?

Answer below. You get a ranked list of the operator models that fit here, what each would mean for you, and what would change the answer. A ranking of fits, not a licensing determination.

1. Who holds legal responsibility for each child's education?

Determines your operator model.

2. Ages served

Used for regulatory routing and market targeting.

3. Children with disabilities

May trigger state licensing requirements.

4. Days per week
5. Daily hours
6. Instructor credentials
7. Is your program's mission explicitly religious or faith-integrated?

Distinguishes a Religious Community School from a secular private school. Leave blank if it doesn't apply.

8. How will your program be accredited or authorized?

Operating under an established school's umbrella points to an Umbrella School Satellite. Leave blank if it doesn't apply.

9. How will your program be funded?

Some statutory micro-models require no tuition or no public funding. Leave blank if it doesn't apply.

10. How many students do you expect to serve?

Some statutory micro-models cap enrollment (for example, Iowa's 4-student Independent Private Instruction). Leave blank if it doesn't apply.

0 of 6 required questions answered.

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This is general information, not legal advice. We're not attorneys. Maryland law and agency rules change, and how they apply depends on how your school is built: the ages you serve, your hours, and who holds legal responsibility for each child's education. Before you open, read the state rules linked on this page, talk to the agencies that administer them, and get advice from a licensed attorney in Maryland.

Compulsory attendance

Legal pathways Maryland recognizes

How a family satisfies compulsory attendance outside public school. Your operator type maps to one of these, and the statute linked on each card is what defines it.

Private School

Md. Educ. Code § 7-301; Md. Educ. Code § 2-206; COMAR 13A.09.09 (Educational Programs in Nonpublic Schools); COMAR 13A.09.10 (Educational Programs in Nonpublic Schools and Child Care and Treatment Facilities — the chapter for nonpublic schools receiving state funds to provide special education)

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Read the source:mgaleg.maryland.gov ↗marylandpublicschools.org ↗marylandpublicschools.org ↗mdrules.elaws.us ↗ed.gov ↗

Home Instruction

Md. Educ. Code § 7-301(a-1); COMAR 13A.10.01.01 (Home Instruction Program)

Parents conduct the instruction themselves, provide regular, thorough instruction in studies usually taught in public schools, and submit to local superintendent portfolio reviews twice per school year (a sampling of materials, evaluations, and work product). The family is fully responsible for compliance.

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Read the source:mdrules.elaws.us ↗marylandpublicschools.org ↗peoples-law.org ↗

Home Instruction Umbrella

COMAR 13A.10.01.05 (Home Instruction Under Supervision of Nonpublic School or Institution)

The supervising entity annually verifies its list of supervised home-instruction students with the local superintendent and notifies the superintendent of students added, removed, or changed during the year. This is Maryland's most-operator-useful pathway for microschools supporting home-instruction families.

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Read the source:law.cornell.edu ↗mdrules.elaws.us ↗marylandpublicschools.org ↗

For founders

Operator types in Maryland

What each type is, and who to talk to. The requirements to hold each designation are set by the statute and agency pages linked on the card; read them before you choose.

Independent Private School

A full-stack private school operating under a Certificate of Approval from MSDE per COMAR 13A.09.09. You assume full legal responsibility for enrolled students, maintain records, issue transcripts and diplomas, and families satisfy compulsory attendance by enrolling with you. A Certificate of Approval satisfies BOOST's approval-or-registration gate -- one of four eligibility requirements -- and supports formal credit-transfer recognition.

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Homeschool Cooperative

A shared-resource model where each family files its own Home Instruction Notification with the local superintendent under COMAR 13A.10.01.01 and your co-op provides programming, space, and curriculum support. Each family conducts its own instruction, maintains its own portfolio, and submits to the local superintendent's twice-per-year portfolio review.

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Umbrella School Satellite

Maryland is one of the few states where the umbrella model is statutorily established and widely used. The supervising entity handles annual verification with the local superintendent, eliminating the parent's direct twice-per-year portfolio review.

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Certified Tutor Practice

Home instruction under COMAR 13A.10.01 must be conducted by the parent/guardian or a designated adult relative (for parent-directed) or under the supervision of a qualifying nonpublic entity (for umbrella).

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Read the source:mdrules.elaws.us ↗law.cornell.edu ↗

Childcare Preschool Program

Family child care homes and child care centers each have their own licensing rules, staff ratios, training requirements, and facility standards.

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Early Childhood, Office of Child CareWho licenses this type

Check before you open

Could childcare rules apply to you?

!

In Maryland, childcare licensing is administered by Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Early Childhood, Office of Child Care. The governing rules are cited as COMAR 13A.09.10 (Educational Programs in Nonpublic Schools and Child Care and Treatment Facilities — the chapter for nonpublic schools receiving state funds to provide special education); COMAR 13A.15 (Family Child Care); COMAR 13A.16 (Child Care Centers); Md. Educ. Code §§ 9.5-301 et seq. (family child care) and 9.5-401 et seq. (child care centers).

Agency and rules:marylandpublicschools.org ↗ed.gov ↗earlychildhood.marylandpublicschools.org ↗onestop.md.gov ↗earlychildhood.marylandpublicschools.org ↗

Common triggers. Not a complete list:

  • caring for children below the state's compulsory school age
  • parents drop off and leave
  • before- or after-school care, or full-day hours
  • care in a home rather than a school space
  • the number of unrelated children in your care

Childcare rules can reach school-age children as well as preschoolers, and a microschool that fits a pathway above can still fall under them. Only the agency can tell you whether your program needs a license. Ask them before you open, and confirm with your attorney.

For families

Funding programs

Looking for money to start a school?

Grants and loans that aren't tied to one state, each linked to the funder's own page.

See the national list →

The state programs that can pay toward tuition or expenses at a program like yours. Award amounts, eligibility rules and application windows change often, so plan from the program pages, not from this summary.

Voucher

Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today Scholarship Program

Administered by Maryland State Department of Education, BOOST Advisory Board

Award amounts vary based on household income, student academic level, and school tuition; the BOOST Advisory Board sets the base award and the additional special-education award amounts in June/July. Priority is given to prior-year BOOST recipients and their siblings. Administered by MSDE BOOST Advisory Board. CLAWBACK: if a student leaves mid-year the school must prorate the award by days enrolled and refund the balance to the BOOST Program.

Amounts, dates, thresholds and licensing status are left to the linked sources.

Award amounts, eligibility rules and application windows change often. Check the program pages before you plan tuition or enrollment around them.

Program pages:marylandpublicschools.org ↗marylandpublicschools.org ↗marylandpublicschools.org ↗marylandpublicschools.org ↗

Calendar

Where to find Maryland dates and deadlines

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We don't publish filing windows or due dates. A wrong date can cost a school year. These pages set them; check them directly, and again before you file.

Legislation

Law changes in Maryland

Show

Bills the Maryland legislature passed that touch microschools, learning pods or education savings accounts, each read before it is listed. The sections above describe the law as we last verified it; a law listed here may change them.

Our search found no enacted bills on microschools, learning pods or education savings accounts in Maryland. A search can miss things, so this is not a statement that nothing changed.

Bill data from LegiScan LLC, CC BY 4.0. Updated Sep 26, 2026. Every law listed was read before it was listed. Read the act on the legislature's site before you rely on it.

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Verification

Sources

Every source this page draws on, split by who published it. Check which group a link is in, and who published it, before you rely on it.

Law and government publications (13)

Government-published — which is not the same as state-published. Most are this state's own code, regulations, agency and legislature pages. Others are federal, and some of those only SUMMARISE this state's rules rather than setting them; a few are city or county government. A summary of the law is not the law, and neither a federal nor a local page is a source of state obligation — so check who published any you rely on.

Unofficial reproductions of the law (5)

Private publishers reproducing this state's statute and regulation verbatim. Faithful, and often the only free full text where a state runs no official code server — but not the official record, and not maintained by anyone the state answers for. Where exact wording decides something, confirm it against the state's own publication.

Supporting sources (1)

News coverage, program directories, advocacy and association publications. Useful context, and listed so you can see what this page drew on — but they are not the law and they are not the state speaking. This list is not mapped claim by claim, so if a specific fact matters to a decision, confirm it against a government source rather than assuming it came from one.

Explore nearby state guides

Founders often compare pathways, funding programs and operator types across nearby or high-demand states before choosing a launch path.

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General information only; not legal advice. The MicroSchool Lab is not a law firm. Consult a licensed attorney in Maryland and the agencies linked above before opening a school. Sources last checked August 29, 2026.
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