How's the hs law where you live?

[anythingelse]

[Linda in Arizona]

Arizona has great HS laws. You have to sign an offical paper saying that you are taking responsibility for your child's education. That's it. No records, no tests, nothing. Homeschoolers can be involved in school activities such as band and sports.

[erika]

I think Texas is pretty flexible in hs laws. One of the homeschooling guides (don't remember which) that I checked out of the library summarized the laws state by state.

good luck.

[rsps]

In California you can either set yourself up as a private school (file a form- R4 with the state each year) or enroll in a Independant Study Program at either a public or private school. Requirements would vary depending on which school you enrolled in. Filing the R4 with the state is usually no problem, but in some school distrcits they are trying to say that it is not a legal way to homeschool, so there could be problems. Here in San Diego the local authorities are supportive of homeschooling.

[sleepies]

may i ask why you don't do or want to do record keeping?

i am all for people being home schooled, but always thought it was a good idea for the state to "check" and make sure they are actually "homeschooling".

just curious

my son's best friend is homeschooled.

i live in illinois too.

not homeschooling, but like i said, we are friends with people that do. but they keep records and stuff.

[anythingelse]

[teachermom]

We homeschool in texas and I have to say it's one of my favorite things about the state. We are counted as private schools ... the gov. stays out of it. I live in central tx and there are tons of great support groups. If you can take the heat it's a good place to be!

[Ryan]

Homeschooling in NJ is extremely easy. There is no registering, no checking curriculum, no tests, nothing. Just don't show up for school. Because my children are young I keep minimal records in the event that we move to a stricter state. I will probably keep more in terms of a portfolio as they get older, just in case, but we have no plans on moving out of state. We are very happy with the homeschooling climate here.

[rsps]

[i]
rsps~~I thought from reading CA law that if you register as a private school it is actually outside the law based on the fact that a home school is not legally a private school there. Is the district you live in San Diego ignoring that or do they pursue case by case to enforce the R4 rule? [/B]

Legal opinion differs on whether a home school can be legally run with an R4 as a private school.

If you ask the current state superintendent of instruction she'll say no. The one before her said yes.

Here's a link for more info:

http://www.hsc.org/legal.html

A section of this discusses the legality of the private school option.

Generally in CA hte polical climate right now favors homeschooling and the R4 option. If you are concerned that might change in the future there are several "private school programs" you can enroll in that let you do minimal record keeping etc. And they list you as an enrolled student. check out: http://www.bayshoreeducational.com/ for more info about one.

[anythingelse]

[sleepies]

i think the reason some states "check up" on you is this:

more in the past then now:

people use to take their kids out of school to make them work on the farm or in the workplace somewhere

that is why they have the laws in some places. the laws may be outdated today though. no idea.

just wanted to share that. i really don't think the state is doing it to spy.

[lilyka]

Yeah the states are spying. They loose money, lots and lots of money when your kid is not in scholl. Plus educators think thier job is really important and feel that if you take your child out of school you are dissing them. Also, many feel that because they had to go to school for 4-6 years to this job, if you haven't gone to school for education than you probably don't know how to teach. The list goes on, but it is mostly a power trip. Same thing as midwives and Dr.

In South Dakota we don't have to keep records, thank goodness, we would really have to fudge to come up with four hours everyday for 190 days. We have to take standardized tests three times (2nd, 4th, and 6th) but that is kinda a joke. The way the law is written Madeline will be taking the 2nd grade test when she is almost 9. No sweat. We can also pick whichever test we want and I am pretty sure we can bring it home. Other than that noone in my town has been harassed. We are the biggest city in the state (yes, that is pittiful) so most students blend in. In smaller towns where one family is homeschooling they are more likely to stick out and get harrassed.

i like the atmoshere here but wish we could move back to Texas, where I first learned about the wonders of homeschooling. Where I knew more homeschooling people than I did public schooled people (and I went to a public school). I love TX.