Do You Know Homeschooling Laws for Your State?

The responsibility for education falls to the state government. All states maintain homeschooling laws either directly or indirectly. The homeschooling laws are drawn up by the states lawmakers in the state legislature and then enforced by organizations like the State Board of Education. If you really want to homeschool your children then you must be up to date on your states homeschooling laws.

Parents will find that the state laws governing homeschooling will fall into four main categories.

Attendance required courses

Record keeping and reporting

Assessment

Minimum number of hours per day and number of attendance per year

The penalties both criminal and civil are stiff to all who violate these homeschooling laws. You will find laws and penalties apply to both the parents and children.

There are a number of courses that are mandatory for students like reading, national and state government including science. Another requirement most states have is that homeschooling must be in the English Language. Another requirement in the area of record keeping and reporting is all homeschooling parents must notify the public school superintendent of their intent every year. It must include the statement that parent meet the states standards for eligibility to teach. You will need to maintain the schedule of attendance courses taught and provide reports on the children’s progress every year.

You will even find homeschooling state law requires some form of assessments. Some states require they be performed by nationally recognized testing or by a review of your child's academic work by a competent professional.

Here is how the one state sets handles its requirement in this area:

Assessments are based on a nationally standardized achievement test and they are intended to:

Be administered by a certified teacher or a person mutually agreed upon by the parents and the superintendent. It can be a person duly authorized by the publisher of the test to administer the exam also.

The purpose is intended to measure proficiency comparable with other students of the child's grade. A score at or above the 25 percentile shall be considered reasonable proficiency for the child's performance.

As an alternative to the test described above, the parents may provide a narrative written by a certified teacher, or other person mutually agreed upon by the parents and the superintendent, of a portfolio of the child's school work. Or the parents may provide an assessment agreed upon by the parents and the superintendent. The parents are responsible for all costs of the academic assessment, except the parents may have the testing done free of charge by participating in the public school testing program.

Is Home School Legal

With the poor quality environments of the public school system more and more parents are choosing home schooling for their Child's education. Home schooling is legal in every state in American, but each state has its own home school requirements. If you want to get homeschooling status, you will need to know what your state requires.

How to Find Home Schooling Requirements

When just starting out home schooling, you should contact the local school board for help in making sure you comply with all the states home school requirements. It is a good idea to do this before you start to teach the kids at home. It is a good bet, you're not the only family who will be home schooling their children. Most likely in your community, the school districts will have all the information you'll need.  It's simply an issue of registering and following the necessary guidelines.

The States Have Their Own Home School Requirements

Each state sets its own home school requirements for children to be home schooled. There are regulations are in place to ensure that minimum state educational standards are being met. And they should not be viewed as being restrictive. Even if you plan to provide a wonderful and excellent education, there is no certainty that the next person will.

States That Do Not Have Home School Requirements

Idaho, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Texas are states that do not require any notice for home schooling. The home school requirements in California, Alabama, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah are similar and merely state that children being home schooled report this to their home state and no other follow up is necessary. In most of the cases no further follow up is required after this. At first, you might think that it would be better not to have home school requirements. But, school curricula are usually set up in a specific way to meet particular goals. By setting up your homeschooling program in such a way that it mirrors the schooling provided by your states public schools, you will be giving your children the same core knowledge required.

The Special Requirements Home Schooling States

In order to home school your child in Colorado, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Oregon, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia you have to provide notification. Follow up, periodic testing and evaluations will be administered by your local school district. They do this to determine your compliance with state educational standards and your child's progress.

The Stricter States for Home Schooling are

These states have home school requirements are stricter than for public schooling. Rhode Island, Massachusetts, North Dakota, New York, Vermont and Pennsylvania are among these. They monitor the home schooled child's progress closely. Their school districts require their own approval of the curriculum. Sometimes the parents must have teacher qualifications. There are instances in which state-mandated visits by school officials may be made. And of course, the home schooled children are tested and evaluated frequently.

The Home Schooling Choice

Home schooling can be a very rewarding choice for your family, if you keep in mind that it comes with great responsibility for your child's academic development. Whatever decision you make with regard to home schooling, it's important to ensure that you comply with your state's home school requirements prior to starting home schooling for your child.

Facts About Home School Resources