Cleveland Homeschooler

How to Complete Your Homeschooling Notification

I’m going to start this post out with a big ol’ disclaimer – I am NOT a lawyer/HSLDA representative or other expert-type person. I AM a homeschooling mom in the state of Ohio and simply want to share my experience with the annual notification paperwork, in case it helps others. I hear from a lot of new homeschoolers who are often confused and overwhelmed by the legal aspect of homeschooling. Ohio is a pretty middle-of-the-road state in regards to their requirements for homeschoolers – there are many states with fewer requirements and a few states with more requirements. So, chances are, even if you’re homeschooling in a different state, many of the steps I’m going to lay out here will be similar to your notification process. This is a handy map that shows where each state falls in regards to their requirements.

Whether you are new to homeschooling or just new to the state you’re now living in, the first step is to become familiar with the specifics of the laws regarding homeschooling in your state. One good place to do that is this site – you can also check out my page  “Ohio Law,” which has links to helpful sites as well.  Talk to other homeschoolers in your area for their advice and most importantly – Don’t Panic! Even if you live in a state with a somewhat high level of requirements, if you simply file your paperwork each year, you’ll be fine.  Think about it – the public schools are getting your tax money but not your child and the costs that go with them – why would they put up a fight about your deciding to keep them home?

When it comes to your homeschool notification, there are a couple of important things to mention:

• You are notifying the school district you live in of your intention to homeschool – you are NOT asking permission. You have the right, under every state’s laws to educate your children at home. It is legal in this country. Say a prayer of thanks for that and move on.

• You do not need to notify until your child is six years old.  For instance, I have a son who turned six in June and this will be my first year adding him to my notification paperwork. Yes, I’ve already been homeschooling him, but the school district doesn’t care until he’s six.

• Grade level is irrelevant. Maybe your six year old is technically doing second grade work, or you have a 10 year old who is doing third grade work. It doesn’t matter. You fill in the child’s birthdate on your form and supply a list of curriculum materials. Each subsequent year of notification you will include a copy of standardized test scores OR portfolio assessment (more on those later).  Again, don’t panic, as your child only needs to show reasonable progress.  For instance, a child only has to score better than the 25th percentile on the standardized test. Sad? Yes. But the low standards of the public school system may be why you’re homeschooling in the first place.

• The curriculum outline/book list you include just has to show that you’ll cover all the recommended subjects and does NOT have to be what you actually end up using all year. We homeschoolers are notorious for tweaking our curriculum as the year goes on. The school district just wants you to show some kind of plan. I basically take their outline of required subjects and fit my curriculum list to that. For example:

C. Mathematics

1. Teaching Textbooks 3 and 5

2. Life of Fred

3. Modern Curricula Press Math A

Now – for a good walk through of the steps, including links to the basic forms you can print and use, you can check out this Steps for Notification from the PEACH homeschool group website. Again, this is for my state of Ohio, and I am NOT an expert! If you have any questions or comments – ask away! And I’ll do my best to get them answered.

If this is your first year of homeschooling, or even just your first year of homeschooling in your state, then you’ll fill out the notification form, include a curriculum list and that’s it. Every following year you will do the same thing and also include a copy of standardized test score OR a portfolio review assessment. In my school district, I usually get a letter from the superintendent a few weeks before the start of school that is a reminder to notify if I’m homeschooling for another year. Ideally, you’ll want to send your notification in within three weeks of the school year starting, the exception being if you’ve recently moved, of course.

Should you encounter any problems with your notification, such as not receiving your letter of excused absence, or being asked for additional information, etc… then find an experienced homeschooler and get their advice. There are any number of support groups, both online (Yahoo Groups) and in person, and people are more than happy to answer any questions and give advice based on their experience. If you’re really in a bind, then many homeschoolers get a membership to the HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) and turn to them for help. The important thing to remember, though, is that if you’ve read through your state’s requirements and complied with them – you’re fine. You are NOT asking permission – you are NOTIFYING that you ARE homeschooling. You are basically calling off for your child for the whole year – one long, excused absence. If you’ve sent your notification, and are actively homeschooling your child while keeping some kind of record of it, then you’ll be fine.

And once you have received your letter back from the school district, don’t forget to use it to get discounts! Read this post to learn more about that.

I hope everyone’s year is off to a good start!

~ Dori