Homeschool friendly states - Page 2

[unfrozncavegrl]

Alaska!

[sweetsensation]

kittywilbur,
What part of KS do you live in?
I think KS is a pretty decent hsing state b/c there are no reporting requirements, but I have never lived in another state while hsing. There are quite a few hsing organizations as well, especially here in Wichita and an unschooling group in Salina that is very active.

Annah

[granolagina]

Indiana

I noticed that my state has not been mentioned yet. Indiana is so easy. All I do is keep an attendance sheet so I can show we do 180 days per year. That is all. I don't even have to turn in the sheet. They don't tell you how long a day is either. You are not required to register as a homeschooler. You are considered a private school.

[Tav Mom]

Arizona!! The laws are so nice. All you have to do is register. There is lots to do out here and tons of groups. No pressure.

[paquerette]

Originally Posted by Lillian J

California is wonderful for homeschooling - a variety of choices and lots of freedom. Lillian

Really? I wrote off California a long time ago because I heard that you had to be a licensed, qualified teacher in order to homeschool. Did they get rid of that?

[Lillian J]

Originally Posted by paquerette

Really? I wrote off California a long time ago because I heard that you had to be a licensed, qualified teacher in order to homeschool. Did they get rid of that?

That was never the case. I don't know how that rumor ever got started. There have always been options - here's a link to them.
-Starting your own private school. Private schools in CA do not need to have credentialed teachers - not the Montessori or Waldorf or Catholic or anything else, and not a home based one either. This is a very popular option, and it's not a matter of being a "loophole" either - the state is well aware that we do this, as are county offices of education.
-Signing up with a state financed program, such as a charter school or in a local public school's program. The oversight varies greatly, from very loose to very controlling.
-Hiring (or being) a tutor who has a credential.
-Signing up with a private school that is not public - in other words, an umbrella program.

That said, there's a court case going on right now where the legality of homeschooling in some of those situations is being questioned - but it's not underway enough to even try to get into it here and now. All the state organizations (which include lawyers well versed in the homeschooling laws) and HSLDA are teamed up to brainstorm and work on it - and I really think they'll be able to fix the problem before it goes much further. If it should get to be a problem, I'll certainly post here about it, but it's really hard to imagine how it could get too far. Lillian

[NatrlCatholicMama]

Georgia is very, very friendly. You send in a sheet monthly marking how many days you did school (and of course, everything in a homeschooler's life is educational, so it all counts) and once every three years you take a standardized test of you choice - which never gets reported to the state. You're just required to keep the results.

There are gazillions of hs'ing support groups of all kinds, hs'ing days at all many public facilities (from baseball to water parks), everyone who hosts field trips caters to hs'ers as well, and I never get weird looks (at least in the last 5 years), b/c everyone knows several people who hs.

[spruce]

Another vote for Alaska!

Not only can you go indy here with no issues, if you do decide to HS, you can join any one of a number of HS (they call them "Correspondence") organisations, and get a yearly stipend of around $1500 per student, plus a computer bonus, plus internet access bonus.



love, penelope

[mommato4]

I just moved from AL to FL.
First, FL is must easy as far as the laws go and homeschooling seems to be a norm.

In AL, the laws were a pain and lots of paperwork. And definately not a norm. People looked at you like you had 3 heads when you told them you homeschooled

[mamaofthree]

ARIZONA!
Just a notice of intent to homeschool.


H

[ChinacatPoppins]

Originally Posted by granolagina

I noticed that my state has not been mentioned yet. Indiana is so easy. All I do is keep an attendance sheet so I can show we do 180 days per year. That is all. I don't even have to turn in the sheet. They don't tell you how long a day is either. You are not required to register as a homeschooler. You are considered a private school.

I too homeschool in SE Indiana and LOVE it! I was surprised by the great co-ops, support groups, and homeschool organizations. Local libraries, museums, and community centers cater to the homeschool movement. So Indiana!

[nicolelynn]

I am 26, dh is 24 and we were both hs our whole lives. California was perfectly fine when I was growing up. Most of our friends were part of a "private school" homeschool group and filed affidavits with the State, but my Mom rebelled against that and we never filed for one. I did standardized testing ONCE in 5th grade, but we got by just fine without reporting our business to anyone. We also did not live in fear and went out in public during school hours. Several times we were questioned by strangers, to which we would reply, "life is school!" and they would laugh. We never had any serious issues, though.

My dh, brothers and I finished highschool at age 16 by taking the California High School Proficiency Exam (equal to the GED but you can take it in the 2nd semester of "10th grade"). My friend flunked it, but went on to community college and became a CNA by age 17, and is now going on to be an RN (she was just nervous as it was her first big test outside of her kitchen classroom).

We had a great network of hs friends, and being a big tourist area we actually didn't get that many funny looks being out during the day as there are tourist kids everywhere. We have access to so many things living in the Palm Springs, CA area....the mountains a 1 hr drive, the beach a 1.5 hr drive, Joshua Tree National Monument 30 mins away, museums and places galore for field trips in the San Bernardino, OC and LA areas just a days drive away.

I wouldn't change a thing about my hs experience growing up in California.

[htcamommy]

Louisiana is VERY relaxed on their homeschooling with two different ways to report ( "homestudy" which requires you to send in a sample of what your children did that year & allows you to receive TOPS scholorship for your child after graduating and "private school" which requires you to report NOTHING). I live in the Baton Rouge area and we have a huge homeschooling community here. We have a football team, softball, baseball, cheerleading, basketball, golf team, and track.

[Missa]

Hi,
I personally think Texas is awesome! No troubles or worries or glitches for us! Plus it's just an awesome state

In Minnesota I had to jump through some hoops, not too horribly bad though but I wouldn't call it easy. You have to test your child once a year using a test and time that you and the superintendant agree upon, okay what if you can't agree? And if you or your husband don't hold a degree you have to submit quarterly report cards. My husband has a degree so we didn't do that and we left the state before we got to the yearly testing part too. Glad to be in Texas!

[Cajunmomma]

I'll second Louisiana.

[ElisMomma]

Anyone know about WA?

[JamieCatheryn]

KY is pretty easy, you need notice of intent, an attendance sheet and some brief quarterly progress report in any form, mostly kept for your own records.

[Marcee]

Washington is a very easy state to HS in. You have to file your letter of intent, have either 1 year of college or you can take a HS course, you need to keep a copy of the immunization or exemption letter on file, and take a standardized test once a year. But other than that they pretty much leave you alone.

[spruce]

Are there any other states that do homeschool reimbursements the way AK does? My DH is itching to move and I really need to find out the ins and outs of homeschooling in any state he might choose (with his job, it could be anywhere). I think I heard Oregon does? Or was it Colorado?

We've really come to rely on our stipends to pay for curricula, lessons, and supplies. I'd hate to lose that.

love, penelope

[homemommy]

I've homeschooled in both Minnesota and Arkansas.

In MN, I had to send in progress reports each quarter with grades -- I can't remember if I had to keep a portfolio, but I know we did not have to test.

In AR, I have to send in a Notice of Intent to Homeschool which describes the curriculum I plan to use for each subject as well as how many days, hours, weeks, months I am homeschooling. I also have to send in a signed waiver form each year. Also, grades 3-9 have to test each Spring.

Compared to other states mentioned in this post, I would not recommend AR.