What Are My State's Home Schooling Requirements?

Author: Preston Mane
As the standards of public education deteriorate all over the US, homeschooling children becomes all the more important for their future success and character development. Home schooling requirements as mandated by law vary from state to state. Many parents who are starting homeschooling for their child do not know of all the requirements for their state, and for such parents we bring to you this overview on state law requirements for homeschooling.



Guidelines and regulations for homeschools are set by every state and local government. Even though such guidelines may seem unnecessary, they are placed so that any unfortunate abuse of a child may be brought to the notice of the government; keeping that in mind these are well-intentioned and in many cases are well-executed too.
State Home Schooling Requirements
If you start a home school for your child, most states will require you to notify the local school board that you intend to home school your child. In a few states, including Texas, Alaska, Missouri, Illinois, and Oklahoma, Indiana, Michigan, Connecticut, New Jersey and Idaho, you do not need to inform anyone about your intention to home school your child. You may start without any interaction with any part of the state government.
There are states which require you to notify only the county board of education. These states are: Delaware, Kentucky, Alabama, Kansas, Montana, Wyoming, Mississippi, Wisconsin, Nebraska, California, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada.
The states with the tightest regulations for homeschooling are the following six: Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and North Dakota. They require that the parents show their qualifications to the state before proceeding with homeschooling their children. The qualifications etc that you may have to show include achievement test scores or professional evaluation; apart from that you may have to get your curriculum approved by the state, may get visited by state officials at the home and satisfy other state-specific requirements.
The rest of the states have moderate requirements regarding home schooling. They may require the parents to send the test scores, or get a professional evaluation of the children. To get more exact information you should contact your local school board office. You can also get more information from the local offices of the Home School Legal Defense Association. If you get in some other legal trouble, the people at this organization would be happy to hear from you.
Why Comply With Home schooling Requirements?
It is important that you know and comply with the exact and current homeschooling requirements for your state. A good working relationship with the local government is for the benefit for all - at the end of the day, they too want your child to get good education. Also, if you not get the approval of the local government, the home schooling of your child may not be deemed legitimate. This will make it difficult for your child to get into many universities that require state approval of the high school that the student attended. This can prove a heavy price to pay for what is actually just a bureaucratic formality for you. So, in conclusion, make sure you follow all of the home schooling requirements set out by your state government.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/what-are-my-states-home-schooling-requirements-3754925.html
About the Author
Go to my website to learn more about home schooling requirements and other US homeschooling laws.