Homeschooling without living in a district?

[recremaicila]

Hi ~ I'm not a homeschooler but I have a question ~

Is there a way to legally homeschool, without registering as homeschoolers with a school district? What about a family that has become nomadic due to a foreclosure, & need to homeschool, in part, because they don't meet the requirements to send their child to school (proving residence, etc.) ~ must they register the child in a school district to homeschool also? They are in NY state but that is subject to change....

What might happen if they didn't ever register, but just went ahead teaching their child at home/ or home on the road & never sent them to school? Would unregistered or "illegal" homeschooling cause a problem for a child when it came time to apply to college, or if & when they settle down somewhere, if they decide to enroll in public school again.

Could they get arrested for having a school age child who isn't going to school or registered as a homeschooler ~ or have their child/ren taken away?

I know there are people homeschooling who don't have a fixed address ~~ I don't know how else you could educate your kids, if you move around a lot...

I'm grateful to say this isn't about me & my family having this problem ~ I was asked to get information for someone else, b/c they aren't online right now ~ Anyway, please bear in mind, I won't have control over their choices or anything. Just looking for other people's experiences & how they can work it out, if possible! Thanks!

[Satori]

It varies by state but rarely do you need to register with the district if your HS'ing. Many people just file a PSA, problem solved

[jrabbit]

Generally, even if you are living a nomadic life, there is a need to establish a home-state of residence for government purposes (driving license, insurance, income tax, etc). Once the state has been established, you would then have to fulfill *that* state's requirements for homeschooling. http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp

For example: we are hoping to live in an RV full time, on the road sometime in the next year or two. When we do, we will continue to list Texas as our primary residence because there are no state income taxes and homeschool is not regulated. We don't have to register our kids anywhere or take tests. But the hope is that we won't actually live *in* Texas, at least for a couple years - during which time we will decide where to settle down.

However, if we were not already Texas residents, I don't know what the rules would be for declaring it as the primary residence: some states require property ownership or residence for a specific period of time in order to declare residency.

Not sure how this helps because I am not familiar with the laws of New York.

[Momma Aimee]

Originally Posted by recremaicila

Hi ~ I'm not a homeschooler but I have a question ~

Is there a way to legally homeschool, without registering as homeschoolers with a school district? What about a family that has become nomadic due to a foreclosure, & need to homeschool, in part, because they don't meet the requirements to send their child to school (proving residence, etc.) ~ must they register the child in a school district to homeschool also? They are in NY state but that is subject to change....

What might happen if they didn't ever register, but just went ahead teaching their child at home/ or home on the road & never sent them to school? Would unregistered or "illegal" homeschooling cause a problem for a child when it came time to apply to college, or if & when they settle down somewhere, if they decide to enroll in public school again.

Could they get arrested for having a school age child who isn't going to school or registered as a homeschooler ~ or have their child/ren taken away?

I know there are people homeschooling who don't have a fixed address ~~ I don't know how else you could educate your kids, if you move around a lot...

I'm grateful to say this isn't about me & my family having this problem ~ I was asked to get information for someone else, b/c they aren't online right now ~ Anyway, please bear in mind, I won't have control over their choices or anything. Just looking for other people's experiences & how they can work it out, if possible! Thanks!

iot all depends on the state. About teh "registering"

A lack of paper trail would like not be a big problem under high school for a child starting back into public school, but high school is going to be credit based and while i assume you could get a scdhool to work with you to test the child and place correctly -- they might be behind on graduation beacuse of not having credits.

I would think for college you might also have isses. I know colleges are more and more willing to work with homeschooled teens and accept ACT scores and portfolios and so on in luie of high school transcripts, but some documentation is going to be necessary at that point.

But the "do you have to register" and "what you have to legally provide the state / school distrcit" is a state by state issue.

http://www.hslda.org/laws/default.asp

as for "neglect" and so on -- educational neglet can be part of a neglect case ... as can anything; just depends on the case. I don't expect it would be the single reason, but when i was a foster momwe hada case of neglect adn one elment was the 11 yo inablity to read and shoody school attendance -- the parents clamied 'homeschool" but could not show anything they had done with the children (books read as a family, journals, anything). Again i would think that owuld vairy by state and by actual case. Being homelss is NOT definded as neglect.

[One_Girl]

If they are wanting to do public school but are worried they can't because of residency issues then they can talk to the school about what they can do. There are ways for people who are homeless to send their kids to school. If they just want to homeschool I think that depends on the state. Where I live you don't have to register at all, but in some states you do.

[Momma Aimee]

Originally Posted by One_Girl

If they are wanting to do public school but are worried they can't because of residency issues then they can talk to the school about what they can do. There are ways for people who are homeless to send their kids to school. If they just want to homeschool I think that depends on the state. Where I live you don't have to register at all, but in some states you do.

True, I didn't think of that. The public school where i take my son for ST has sings posted with a confidental number for a child or parent to call, and notes also that the parent or child can talk to any staff member in complete confidince also --

not having a home is not going to stop a child from going to PS if that is what the parents want (just like being homelss in and of itself is not cosidered abuse or neglect).

[blessedwithboys]

i always thought that if a child was registered with a private school, registering as a HSer was not necessary. are there any umbrellas that dont actually charge tuition, but exist just to provide the needed documentation?

[zeldamomma]

Originally Posted by blessedwithboys

i always thought that if a child was registered with a private school, registering as a HSer was not necessary. are there any umbrellas that dont actually charge tuition, but exist just to provide the needed documentation?

Umbrella schools are only legal in some states. I don't think New York is an umbrella school state.

I *think* you might be able to use a family member's address as a permanent address for homeschooling.

[recremaicila]

Thanks ... it looks as if the parent(s) or legal guardian has to prove they own or rent a place in the school district, in order to go there. It is definitely possible that the school might work with them, considering the situation... but they've only been staying in each place for around a month or so (give or take) before moving on, so far always to a different district.... Probably just a matter of time before it will be in a different state, I believe that's what they are planning.

I'll just pass on the info to them.... nothing I can really do about it anyway.

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by recremaicila

Would unregistered or "illegal" homeschooling cause a problem for a child when it came time to apply to college, or if & when they settle down somewhere, if they decide to enroll in public school again.

My kids homeschooled until they were 10 and 12 and now attend public school. We did not need to show any paper work related to homeschooling when they registered for school. No one has ever asked to see any documentation proving that we stayed within the law while homeschooling.

It may be different in different places, but most schools have other things to worry about.

[Fairy4tmama]

Originally Posted by recremaicila

Thanks ... it looks as if the parent(s) or legal guardian has to prove they own or rent a place in the school district, in order to go there. It is definitely possible that the school might work with them, considering the situation... but they've only been staying in each place for around a month or so (give or take) before moving on, so far always to a different district.... Probably just a matter of time before it will be in a different state, I believe that's what they are planning.

I'll just pass on the info to them.... nothing I can really do about it anyway.

I work with Homeless children and they have a right to go to school/and or register with a SD regardless of inability to prove residency thanks to the Mckinny-Vento act as to the homeschooling laws in new york I am not well versed.

[Dakota's Mom]

How close to Jersey are they? We have no laws here to deal with. If you want to homeschool your kids, you do. No one to report to, no tests to take. In New York you have to file a letter of intent, file quarterly reports, and I think get curriculum approval and testing. I know for sure that you have to do the first two things. If they have a place where they receive mail, that can serve as the home address whether they live there or not.

Kathi

[recremaicila]

Jersey sounds great, I will find out if they know anybody there.

& Thank You for the link to the Mckinney-Vento Act. That might be more of what they are looking for, I think I'll look stuff up along those lines & print it out for them.

[pampered_mom]

NAK. New York's homeschool groups - http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/...al/NewYork.htm
Maybe one of the groups locally might be helpful?

[phathui5]

If by nomadic, you mean homeless, the school isn't allowed to discriminate against the family.

[recremaicila]

Oh, I meant to come back here again -- sorry

Anyway -- I would define their situation as being homeless, but I don't think they see it that way (or would use that word). They no longer own a house and are living with whoever is allowing them to stay, for short or longer times here and there.... in any case my calls aren't being returned atm, so I guess it's not my business.

If/when I hear from them again, I'll pass on the other info you guys provided, thanks. Soon it will be summer vacation around here, the high school is out already in fact (other than going in for exams). Don't know if the family are in NY any more, anyway, b/c we've been out of touch for a few weeks now.