Here in Florida the homeschool laws are incredibly laid back. We just have to submit a little form every year signed by any teacher we chose who evaluates our portfolio. Essentially we just show some of our work,talk about field trips and projects,and fork over a small fee. The actual form that goes to the state only requires the signature. I know some states have intense curriculum requirments and stuff,how is it where you folks are?
I live in Illinois and there are virtually no regs. You have to teach using the English language and teach typical classes, like math, English, science, etc. That is it! No paperwork, no registration with anyone, nothing.
huh, terrapin - i thought the school district specified who had to review the portfolio. cuz if that's all there is to it, my mom's a teacher... she wouldn't cut us ANY slack though, except for maybe the fee
thats how it is here.. well, we have to keep some kind of log showing that i did my work, and got atleast 8 hours of learning a day, but by law we dont have to show it to anybody.
No rules or regs at all where i live in England - my mum just wrote a letter to the Education Authority de-registering me from my school, and voila, completely out of the school system and free to learn how i want. No check ups or anything. Score!
Ohio's laws are similar to Fl, send in a form signed by a certified teacher of your choice, every year. They require a "brief outline of intended curriculum" But cannot legaly hold you to it ir use it to deny you. In our state you are not asking for approval, but notifying them of your intent. They do ask for a lot af stuff but by law aren't allowed to ask for copies of anything. I know a lady who homeschooled her kids all the way through highschool without even having a diploma or GED, but as they are not allowed to ask for copies, they never questioned her. We have been working with school districts for 6 years to make sure they comply with their rules.
Missouri Homeschool Laws Compulsory School Age: 7-16 Attendence: 1000 hours per year 600 hours in required subjects 400 of 600 must be in home location Required Subjects: Reading Math Social Studies Language Arts Science Teaching Qualifications: None Notice: None is required, but parents "may" provide a signed, written declaration of enrollment to the county recorder of deeds within 30 days establishing the home school, and on September 1 of each year thereafter. Filing is completely optional. Record Keeping: Subjects taught Activities Samples of Work Evaluations Written log, showing attendence Testing: None Required ***you "have" to keep records, such as attendance, but that's really just to cover your back in case someone accuses you of not teaching your kids or something; i know several families who have homeschooled throughout high school, and noone has ever asked to see records. ***at this time, a homeschool graduate must still get a GED to be considered a high school graduate. Lots of people are fighting this, as when applying for a job, checking the GED box looks alot worse than the Highschool Diploma box, but i guess that's the trade-off for lack of stricter regulations
Here is a website you can see what the requirements are for each state http://www.hslda.org/laws/ I live in a a red or highly regulated state. We circumvent by using homeschooling material that is tied in with a statewide charter school. I hate that I have to answer to some sort of system that includes a teacher and administrators, especially since my kids are scorching the standardized testing by 2 to 3 grade levels. I am thinking of moving to Idaho after my wife completes college since we are from the west and love it. It is one of the least regulated states. Texas has no way of verifying anything according to what I saw.
we're lucky, we live in Ontario. all i have to do is write a letter to my local board of education every september stating i intend to educate my children out of the public school system. they, in turn, assume the children will be given a good education and don't ask for curriculum, reports, etc. and... in turn again, they offer no resources or help. it's all a bit of a catch-22. i'm not sure if i would have had to write a letter each fall if my kids weren't registered for public school in the first place though (i pulled them both out fairly early in the game). i would prefer to have them completely out of the system and not have to write letters informing anyone of where my kids will be educated, but i suppose i have to follow the laws... and since they are pretty uninvasive, i can do that. i couldn't live anywhere with stricter laws. -z
In Colorado the laws are the same, but we have to have them tested on the odd years (3,5,7,9th grade) to ensure they are at the right level. I guess it isn't too bad, but the testing is kind of a hassle. We also have to commit to at least 4 teaching hours a day for so many days out of the year.
We just register with a homeschooling school board and we are okay. They need to be tested at grade 3 , 6, and 9, but we are also able to do an alternative testing. Our homeschooling school board called Wisdom is GREAT! They support our unschooling style of learning and we have a great facilitator. When he comes for our twice a year visit, we just chat about each others families and fill out the forms of what she is doing. Pretty easy I feel.
south dakota is alot like oregon, have to be tested every 2 years here when i was in it but now its only like 3 grades.
hi were getting ready to move back to PA in 2 weeks. i am planning to homeschool. i've looked into alot. I am prepering the affidavit list of objectives medical forms and plan to send off tues. I was wondering about testing issues for 3 grade. and portifolio samples. I plan on doing the testing and keeping work samples for the portfolio. But i also read by law they can not ask to see the portfolio or place requirement on testing. I was also wondering about special ed students. I read you need special approval on these curriclium.
I had my kids at home in Fl but if you want to put them back into the school system, they put them back into the grade they left. Whatever I did teach them at home didn't count. They said because I wasn't a certified teacher. I had to go to work and didn't have a choice to put them back into the system.
I have homeschooled in NH & AZ...AZ was ALOT easier. Arizona Legal Home Schooling Options: 1 Option: 1 Legal Option: Establish and operate a home school Attendance: None Subjects: Reading, grammar, math, social studies and science Qualifications: None Notice: File a affidavit of intent with the local superintendent within 30 days of the start (even if instruction will be delayed until age 8) or end of home schooling Recordkeeping: None Testing: None So if ya register a child for homeschool in Kindergarden...then ya NEVER have to go to the superindentence office for anything including testing . ONLY time AZ requires testing is when or if ya decide to put them back into public school. They never really check to see what subjects you are teaching.
