Homeschooling is
indeed legal all throughout America and even in
other parts of the world. This is good for parents
who prefer to be hands-on when it comes to the
education of their children. Still, parents do
not have free rein all throughout because there
are state regulations surrounding homeschooling
- and these can differ from one state to another.
Thus, if you are considering homeschooling your
child, it would be wise to educate yourself about
these state regulations.
Homeschooling
has long been treated as a legal alternative in
all states in America. At present, 2/3 of this
population of states has implemented specific
laws and regulations when it comes to the authorization
and regularization of homeschooling.
There
are similar laws and regulations to some extent.
However, there are certain differences that should
be noted because these would have a great impact
on how you would go about your particular homeschooling
program for your child. Here are some of those
regulations that you need to keep in mind.
No
Notice
For
this state regulation, this would indicate that
the state does not require you, as parents, to
contact the state for regular reports and updates
of your child's homeschooling progress. This means
that the state is somewhat lenient when it comes
to monitoring the progress of homeschooled children.
Each of these No Notice states still has its own
set of specific regulations though. Texas, in
particular and being a No Notice state, requires
the homeschooling family to treat their homeschool
as a private school. Your homeschool operations
then would be carried out quite like the way a
private school's operations would be carried out.
More importantly, homeschooling in Texas would
require parents to teach the following subjects:
math, good citizenship, grammar, spelling, and
reading.
Low
Regulation
Homeschooling
parents in low regulation states are required
to notify the states of just of the status of
their children's homeschooling education. That
is all they need to notify about - the status.
Each state will still have its own regulations,
depending on the preferences of the states themselves.
To
give an overview, California, being one of the
low regulation states, actually offers four homeschooling
options that are considered legal, namely using
a private tutor, qualifying as a private school,
enrolling in an independent study program that
is offered by a public school, or enrolling in
a satellite program that is offered by a private
school.
Teacher
certification is mandated only if parents opt
to do the teaching on their own as private tutors.
However, if you decide to hire a private tutor
instead, then you do not really need to conform
to a specified number of hours or days in attendance.
Case in point, the homeschooled child is only
required to log 175 days for each school year,
with roughly 3 hours' worth of instruction and
school activities for each day.
If
you choose to declare your homeschooling program
as your very own private school, then you need
to send official notice to your state still. Case
in point, you need to file yearly affidavits and
present these to the Superintendent of Public
Instruction. However, if you choose to enroll
in an independent study program offered by your
local public school, then there is no need to
present official notice anymore because your enrolment
itself would already be your notice.
Moderate
Regulation
In
moderate regulation states, homeschooling parents
must notify the states of their children's progress,
providing test scores and even professional evaluation.
Similarly, moderation regular states will still
have specific regulations. To give an overview
of these regulations, here are the legal options
offered to homeschooling parents in Florida, namely
establishing and operating a homeschool and qualifying
and operating as a part or subsidiary of a private
school corporation.
By
definition, a private school corporation is comprised
of an incorporated group of homeschooling families
based within a particular state. Homeschooling
parents are required to fine a notice of intent
to the local superintendent. This, however, is
not required yearly and there are no attendance
requirements for the homeschooled children. All
that you need for attendance is a total of 180
school days per year and it is up to you how you
spread these days out, as well as the number of
hours you dedicate to homeschooling for each day.
No
subject requirements or teaching qualifications
are mandated; just the maintenance of a portfolio
of school records and teaching materials. This
portfolio should also be matched with just one
of the following options:
-
A certified teacher should administer a standardized
test
-
A certified teacher evaluates the student in terms
of progress "
-
A licensed psychologist evaluates the student
in terms of IQ and EQ"
-
The student is evaluated by the state itself using
other means approved beforehand
High
Regulation
In
high regulation states, homeschooling parents
are mandated to send notifications, including
achievement test scores, professional evaluation,
teacher qualification, state approved curriculum,
and the like. As needed, home visits might be
conducted to assess the academic environment at
home for evaluation. There are still specific
regulations per state but in New York, which is
one of the prominent high regulation states, only
one legal homeschooling option is offered. This
is the establishment and the operation of a home
school.
As
parents, you then need to file annual notices
of your intentions with your local school superintendent.
Apart from that, you also need to submit your
IHIP or Individualized Home Instruction Plan.
As for attendance, a log of 180 school days must
be established; or, this figure could be spread
out over 900 school hours for grade 1 through
grade 6. But for grades 7 and onwards, a total
of 990 school hours is required.
Homeschooling
parents do not really need to provide teacher
certification here. However, attendance records
should be maintained and annual assessment tests
and quarterly reports should be filed with the
local superintendent. More importantly, the student
must reach a percentile rank of at least 33, to
maintain the operations of the homeschool program.
Otherwise, the program itself may be placed under
probation.
