[holyhelianthus]

Put me at ease, please!

I keep stressing about HS in CA. I know it is one of the more strict states with regards to HS laws. See DH and I are young. We are 23 and expecting babies 4 and 5 this summer. Because of that we get a lot of flack in what we do and don't do. Our age is always touted as a reason for "concern". I DO NOT want my kids going to public school. When they are older that's a different story but no way for elementary age. I am telling you I have nightmares about it (DH and I went to school in this area and it's not the best, lets just say).

I am wondering how involved the "authorities" are in the HS process in CA. Are HS families bullied and checked up on? We don't have anything to hide or anything but like I said we have been given the run around so many times for different things because of our age.

 

[SoCaliMommy]

California isn't stict really according to Home School Laws they are

Quote:

are a state with low regulation: State requires parental notification only.

PDF talking about the application process http://www.hslda.org/laws/analysis/California.pdf
You can file as a private school which i hear if pretty simple, you have to come up with a name for your "school".

I'm sure someone else will add more, i'm just researching and thinking about not sending my daughter to public school for 1st grade in the fall.

 

[briansmama]

It's not hard to homeschool here at all, and actually, there are a lot of resources! The library system is great, the weather is great so homeschool groups are often active and offer field trips, there are a ton of environmental programs that the kids can get involved in, and there are active homeschool park days in many areas, especially in places where the public schools are known to be less-than-stellar.

You can file the R-4 and establish yourself as a private school. It's really as easy as filing a few papers, I'm told.

You can go through a free charter school if you want access to resources such as curriculum, enrichment classes, etc.

Remember, you don't even have to do anything until your child is 1st grade age. K is not mandatory (yet).

Oh, and about your age, you know, I was 25 when I had ds1 and many people tried to tell me what was best, and in the end, I just realized that people are always going to want to do that. Just remember that no matter how old you are, if you love what you're doing and you know why you're doing it, that's all that matters!

 

[AJP]

HS in CA is easy (I mean the legal part, not that HS itself is always easy). These groups can help, lots of info about the legal part on their websites:
http://www.hsc.org/
http://californiahomeschool.net/

We file as a private school (it's not called R-4 anymore, it's PSA for Private School Affidavit), no problem, no interference from the state, we're just supposed to keep a minimal amount of stuff on file (attendance records and the like) but don't have to report to anyone. Charter home-study programs can also be great for some families, it depends on the charter how much they want to dictate the specifics, and if you use one of those you also get a stipend from the state to spend on materials, classes, etc. from approved sources. If you sign your kids up with a home-study charter, you are volunteering for more requirements from the state and management from the school in terms of what your children study when, standardized testing and stuff, which doesn't apply if you choose the PSA option.

Don't get stressed about it, really. Find some local groups to connect with and talk to real families using different options to help figure out what's best for your family.

 

[holyhelianthus]

Thanks for all the help!

I'm not at all stressed about actually homeschooling (should I be?

) just the legal issues around it. Basically I am worried my kids will be forced to go to school

 

[AJP]

Quote:

Originally Posted by magstphil Basically I am worried my kids will be forced to go to school

Unlikely in the extreme. The law is on the side of HS in CA, and there are lots of legal options.

 

[Lillian J]

I don't know where you got the idea that CA is one of the strict states for homeschooling, but I sure hope it wasn't someone going around telling people that. If it is, please set them straight and send them to these pages or print them out for them: http://www.hsc.org/legal101.html
Every once in awhile I used to hear about someone or some group getting homeschoolers all upset about problems that simply don't exist. There's no such thing as "homeschooling" in the eyes of the law, however - it's a term that isn't covered - but that doesn't negate the fact that you can establish your own private school and enroll your own children in it.

California is homeschooling heaven! Anyone who gets hassled is someone who's going through a custody dispute,* someone who hasn't bothered doing anything to cover their legalities, or someone seriously suspected of child abuse of some sort - not someone who's just following the simple laws. *Edited to add - that doesn't mean that someone involved in a custody dispute is not going to be able to homeschool, but simply that she or he could conceivably need to convince a court that it's a good thing for the children involved.

I used the private school option all the way through after first starting out in a little public school program. I knew the staff down at the county office of education and used to take them literature about homeschooling that they'd hand out - if someone called there to ask about homeschooling, they gave out my phone number. There were homeschoolers all over the state who had that kind of relationship with school officials. The state organization I belonged to had a great relationship with legislators and people inside the department of education. There were a couple of different officials there at the CDE at different times who had a negative attitude about homeschooling and always gave newspaper reporters their own opinion in such a way as to make it sounds as if it were the law - but we always publicly stated right back that it was only their opinion, and that we had ours backed by lots of evidence that it was perfectly legal for homeschoolers to establish private schools for their own families. And the state didn't try to hassle people about it - so they knew perfectly well that we were right.

And now, it's been made even more clear that it's legal after an incident awhile back caused by one of the few exceptional reasons I mentioned above. There have been a few incidents over the years where some local district tried to hassle homeschoolers - and let me tell you, it's not a pretty sight to them when homeschoolers and lawyers from all over the state and are right back in their face, so it's always been quickly dropped.

If you follow the law and should ever find yourself hassled by anyone - which is terribly unlikely - just get in touch with HSC, which has a legal team of homeschoolers who are also attorneys, and it will be settled immediately, because there's simply nothing illegal about homeschooling in CA through your own private school.

So don't ever feel nervous about homeschooling in California - the law gives you incredible freedom there.

- Lillian

 

[Bird Girl]

We homeschool in CA and it is very easy. We're part of a public homeschooling charter, but if you don't care about getting free curriculum and classes and don't want to take the yearly achievement tests, it's very easy to file as a private school. The only people in CA who have had legal troubles are those in which the parents could not agree about homeschooling, and a judge had to intervene, as a part of a divorce/custody settlement. For families in which both parents are on board, there's nothing at all to worry about!

 

[MyLittleWonders]

Yep, hs'ing in CA is very easy. Once a year you file your PSA on-line, print out a hard copy, print up a calendar from Publisher to "keep attendance" (lol), and write a little "course of study" (mine is very bare-bones: for instance this year I typed the same as last year - "Second Grade Course of Study: language arts, math, science, history/social studies, art, home economics, pe - because over the course of a year, we touch on all those subjects no matter how informally or formally). That's it. I keep it all in a binder. But, there's no one to bother you. There's no school district to have to check with; no schools to get permission from; no one to file lesson plans with; it's easy. Definintely look into either CHN or HSC, linked above. They both have links for finding others in your area. Look and see if EMH Sports offers PE classes near you, as you'll come in contact with many other hs'ing families (I think they do as they are based out of Temecula). But, please don't let anyone scare you into thinking that hs'ing in CA is hard or a reason to worry about anyone forcing your children into public school.

 

[oceanbaby]

We homeschool in CA and it is super easy. We file our R-4 every year, and that's it. We've never heard a peep from anyone about it. I do keep the required records just in case (my resume, an offered course of study that I copied from the World Book site, and a one sheet form that has the whole school year on it and each week I check off the days). Nothing to worry about.

 

[Lillian J]

Not only that, but the requirement for keeping a record of attendance only requires that you keep track of days absent.

Lillian

 

[smurphygt]

I agree, CA is homeschooling heaven! It's much easier to homeschool here then it has been in other states our family has lived. Filing the yearly affidavit is not difficult at all and we run into fellow homeschoolers just about everywhere we go. It's hugely popular in my area.