Homeschooling Requirements

If you're considering homeschooling your children next school year, now is the time to check into the homeschooling requirements under which you'll be expected to operate.

Not only will you find federal regulations governing homeschool practices, but individual states have also enacted homeschooling requirements that will affect steps you'll have to follow when homeschooling your children.

State homeschooling requirements will include things like:

• Compulsory attendance ages
• Required number of days of instruction
• Required subjects
• Teacher qualifications
• Standardized testing, whether or not it is required and if so how often and who can administer the test
• Alternative statues allowing for home schools

It is important to check your state's laws regarding homeschool requirements, and it is equally important to check ahead when moving from one state to another to be sure that you are in line with the new state's laws. For example, some states don't require teacher certification, but others do. Some will require you to keep attendance and send it in, while others don't require any record keeping.

States that have the strictest homeschool requirements are:

The following are a sample of current requirements for homeschooling in the state of New York:

• Must submit your intent to homeschool to the district superintendent by July 1 each year. If you are in the middle of the school year when you move to the state, you have to submit your intent within 14 days of your start date.
• Must fill out an Individualized Home Instruction Plan form by August 15
• Maintain attendance records
• File quarterly reports
• File an annual assessment
• Achievement tests can only be administered by qualified person

For complete details down load the New York laws analysis available through HSLDA.

In Vermont, a written enrollment notice has to be sent to the commissioner for each child you homeschool. This notice contains:

• Child's name and age
• Town of legal residence, phone numbers and names of parents and/or guardians
• Assessment of progress from the previous school year (for each child)
• Signatures of legal guardians

Along with this notice, a detailed outline of the course of study must also be submitted for each subject.

While standardized testing is not required, the Commissioner of Education allows the local school districts to have the authority to ask for an evaluation to measure the child's progress. Along with this, Rhode Island requires the following:

• A school committee from the town where you live must approve your home-instruction plan but along with that the parent must make sure that:
  • The homeschooled child attends class for a period substantially equal to local public schools
  • Must keep attendance
  • Must include required subjects and the teaching of these subjects must be "thorough and efficient."

Homeschool parents in Pennsylvania have to file a notarized affidavit before they start to homeschool. This procedure must be followed every year with the affidavit filed by August 1. It should include:

• Name of parent as well as the name and ages of the children being schooled (complete with address and phone number)
• Outline objectives for each subject
• Evidence that the classes are being taught in English
• Certification that the person teaching (and all other adults in the home) have not been convicted of specific crimes within a five year period.

Documentation is also required annually pertaining to what the children are learning. For more details, view the Pennsylvania laws analysis available at HSLDA.

Homeschooling in Massachusetts falls under private education. How the child is taught must be approved before you start homeschooling and the superintendent or school committee have the right to examine your teaching plan including curriculum, textbooks and lesson plans.

Homeschool parents in North Dakota are required to keep records of their child's education including assessments and progress. They must also file their intent to homeschool each year at least two weeks before homeschooling begins. It's the teacher qualifications that really make North Dakota stand out from other states. A parent who plans to teach in North Dakoda must be one of the following:

• Certified to teach in North Dakota
• Have a baccalaureate degree
• If you have a high school diploma or your GED, you will have to be monitored by a certified teacher during your first two years of homeschool teaching.

For more on this check the North Dakota laws analysis at HSLDA.

While you may be in compliance with homeschool laws this year, it is important to stay informed. Laws can change and along with it the requirements and responsibilities placed on the homeschool parent and/or student may change. If you're not careful, you could be found non-compliant. As a homeschooler, it is your responsibility to stay informed. If possible hook up with other homeschoolers in your area to stay connected locally and visit the Home School Legal Defense Association website regularly to stay current on homeschool issues.

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