- What Has Your State Government or Local School System Got to Do with Homeschool?
- Determining the Legal Requirements in Your State
- Determining the Legal Requirements for Your School System or Local Government
- Notifying the State About Your Homeschool
- Documenting Legal Requirements for Your Homeschool
- Monitoring Legal Activity Regarding Homeschooling
- The Absolute Minimum
The Absolute Minimum
The good news about the legal requirements for homeschooling is that most states are quite reasonable and you can usually comply with requirements with little additional activity. When thinking about homeschooling in your state, remember the following points:
All states have various regulations that govern education in those states, including homeschool education.
The types of regulations you will have to deal with vary widely among the different states. At the "low" end are states that don't require you to even provide notification about your homeschool. At the "high" end are states that require you to submit to some form of oversight. In all states, homeschooling is legal and you cannot be prevented from teaching your kids at home as long as you comply with the state requirements. Using the HSLDA Web site, it is easy to determine the regulations in your state.
In states that require some form of oversight by local school officials, you need to determine exactly what is required of you. You can do this directly with the officials who will have oversight of your homeschool. Most of these officials will be reasonable as long as you are cooperative with them.
If you live in a state that requires notification of your homeschool, make sure you file the proper paperwork by the deadline.
Keep a legal documentation file for your homeschool that includes copies of any and all documents relating to your compliance with government regulations. In addition to helping you understand exactly what you need to do, this file will be very helpful should there ever be some sort of legal challenge to your homeschool.
You should keep any eye on significant legislative and legal activity that might impact your homeschool. Again, the HSLDA is a great source for this information.