Homeschooling: Making it Legal.

      Making it Legal:

*note if your students are registered with a public cyber charter school, such as K12, you do not have to worry about this post.

      Different states have different laws, so it's important to find out where your state stands as far as what the  requirements are to register your school and students. (When I say "your school" I am referring to your homeschool.) The first people we contacted was HSLDA. We registered with them and in the beginning, asked them many questions. http://www.hslda.org/ 

The next website we found to be invaluable was AskPauline.com  http://home.comcast.net/~askpauline/index.html  In our state we have to hand in to the public school 2 forms: 

One, a notarized form which in a nut shell states that you, the parent or guardian will be responsible for the child's education and well being. http://home.comcast.net/~askpauline/hs/docs/basicaffidavit.pdf

The second paper which we must hand in to the school board, together with the above (notarized) affidavit is a form stating your educational objectives for each individual child whom you are homeschooling. She has some examples for you to choose from on her web site. You can print out a form from her website, or you may choose to make your own.     http://home.comcast.net/~askpauline/hs/homeschoolaffidavit.html#objectives 

This may look complicated but it's really not. In total you have two pieces of paper, one notarized, which you need to hand in for every child being homeschooled. Again, look up the requirements for your state. In our state, if the child was never in school before, you do not have to register them until they reach age 7. After that and every consecutive year thereafter you must make sure to re-register them before Aug 1st.

At the end of your homeschool year, you need to bring in a few more pieces of paper to show to a representative of the public school. We met with a very nice representative in a park, the kids played with other homeschool kids and families while we spoke and showed a simple portfolio of their work, and our attendance form. (again, you can find more information on askpauline.com.) It was fun and very laid back. They understand that if you are going through the incredible effort and taking on the awesome responsibility of homeschooling your kids, (and I mean awesome!) you are probably a responsible parent who deeply cares about her child's education.

Good Luck and have fun!

                                                                                                                       photos by Mendel