Different States Establish Their Own Home School Requirements
Fed up with the existing public and private schooling many parents have turned to home schooling for educating their children.There are a number of reasons parents are taking this step, but they still must meet the education requirements established by their current state. Of course some states are have more rigid guidelines than others on the subject of teaching at home. Just about all states have some kind of guidelines related to homeschooling that must be met before parents can start home schooling their children in lieu of traditional forms of education.
Ten states have virtually no set guidelines for home schooling curriculum, depending on the type of home school being set-up. If a family chose to set-up a home school then they would be under no official guidelines whatsoever to provide reporting on their child's educational progress.
Some States Have More Rigid Rules
Of all the states in the country there are at least six states that ave home schooling requirements that mirror those of traditional schools. These guidelines mandate a school year of at least 175 days with school days of at least four hours. Teachers involved with the home school have to have at least a college degree and/or teaching certificate. In any case the first two years of home schooling have to be under the supervision of a certified teacher.
Many of the state's home schooling requirements include record keeping similar to those required by traditional schools. These records would include at the least a list of classes taught, their kid's progress in each of them and of course an attendance record. This could also include the taking of standardized tests throughout the school year, administered by a certified teacher with the results shared with the superintendent of the local public school system. Some states require that parent's notify the public school system of their decision to home school their children.
In Summary
Supporters of home schooling feel that having home schooling guidelines requirements are merely a way to discourage parents from making that choice. Opponents of home schooling feel that home schooling requirements are in place to make sure the children receive the best education possible. No matter what your stance for home schooling is it is at least agreed to be a viable educational resource from public and private school systems.
Terry Graves discusses home schooling requirements so you can understand it. Learn how home schooling works. To receive more information visit the home schooling resource website.
Published February 4th, 2008
