FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about Homeschooling & Notification
1. Is homeschooling legal? In July 1989, the Ohio State Board of Education adopted Rules for Excuses from Compulsory Attendance for Home Education. These rules are contained in Chapter 3301-34 of the Administrative Code and were distributed to all school superintendents.
2. Who may homeschool? The parent/guardian is primarily responsible for homeschooling the child, but may delegate teaching, or some portion the teaching, to a grandparent, tutor, friend, etc. The parent is fully responsible for the education of the child. To teach your children you basically have to have a high school diploma or its equivalency. If you do not have this, there is a provision that allows you to home educate under someone else's direction (see the section,What Information am I Required to Supply?).
3. Do I need to notify for kindergarten? Children between the ages of 6 and 18 years of age are of compulsory school age and must be enrolled in an educational situation. Check with your school district regarding the cutoff date by a which a 6-year old must be enrolled. If your child is not six by the cutoff date, then you don't need to notify for kindergarten, and thus won't have to worry about providing an end-of-year assessment with your notification for first grade.
4. How do I get permission to homeschool? You don't need to ask for permission. Home education is a legal excuse from compulsory attendance in Ohio. It is equal to other educational options. You therefore do not ask the superintendent for his/her permission or approval to home educate, but instead notify them of your intention to homeschool your children. This is an important differentiation, because the superintendent does not have authority, if you are compliant with the required notification information, to deny a parent's intent to homeschool.
5. When do I need to notify? If you are going to homeschool for the upcoming school year, it is the practice in Ohio to notify your superintendent of your intention to homeschool by the first day of the start of your school district's new school year. If your child is not enrolled, or your superintendent notified that you will be homeschooling, you may be liable under truancy laws. The superintendent has 14 days to respond to your home education notification. It is not necessary that you wait for his/her response to begin homeschooling
6. Can we start homeschooling midyear? Currently there is no set start date for homeschooling. You may begin at any time during the school year; you don't have to wait for the end of a quarter or semester, or for the beginning of the school year. Once you notify the superintendent of your intention to home educate, you do not need to wait for his/her excuse from compulsory attendance to begin homeschooling. The superintendent has 14 days to respond.
7. Can the superintendent refuse to allow me to home educate? If you are compliant with the required notification information, the superintendent may not deny your notification. The superintendent has 14 calendar days in which to notify you in writing of either compliance or non-compliance with the regulations. The information you are required to provide may not be exceeded by the superintendent. If you receive notification of “non-compliance,” the superintendent may only ask for information which is incomplete or missing, not additional information. For instance, the superintendent may not ask for grade level or that you provide a copy of the textbooks' table of contents, because these are not required in the regulations. If the 14 days has come and gone, and the school district then contacts you, you are under no obligation to provide any further information, and can request your excuse from compulsory attendance.
8. Who should I send my notification to and should I just mail it? The regulations stipulate that the notification of intention to homeschool be sent to the superintendent of your school district of residence. Mail your notification form via certified mail, return receipt requested. If hand-delivering, be sure to obtain date and signature of the person receiving your notification. Keep copies of all your notification paperwork because they are legal documents.
9. Is there a certain form I should use? You may use the form supplied by the State Department of Education if you wish, but it is not required. The state form only asks for what is required and is therefore appropriate for use. It is suggested that you not use the form provided by your school district because local school districts frequently require more information than is necessary per the regulations. You may devise your own form if you wish, or notify by a narrative document.
10. What information am I required to supply? You are required in the regulations to supply the following information:
1. school year for which notification is being made;
2. name and address of parent;
3. name and address of person teaching the child, if other than the parent;
4. full name and birthdate of the child/ren;
5. assurance that the required topics will be included:
(a) language; reading, spelling, and writing;
(b) geography, history of the U.S. and Ohio; and national, state and local government;
c) mathematics;
(d) science;
(e) health;
(f) physical education;
(g) fine arts, including music; and
(h) first aid, safety, and fire prevention;
6. brief outline of intended curriculum (provided for informational purposes only);
7. a list of textbooks, courses, OR other basic teaching materials (provided for informational purposes only);
8. assurance that the parent will provide 900 hours of home education;
9. assurance of the teacher's (parent's/designated party's) qualifications:
(a) high school diploma; or
(b) certificate of high school equivalence; or
c) standardized test scores that demonstrate high
school equivalence; or
(d) other equivalent credential found appropriate by
the superintendent; or
(e) lacking the above, the home teacher must work
under the direction of a person holding a baccalaureate degree from a recognized college until the child/ren's test results demonstrate reasonable proficiency or until the home teacher obtains a high school diploma or certificate of high school equivalence.
10. the signature of the parent, which affirms the information provided.
11. Does my child have to take an achievement test? When you first start homeschooling, you notify the superintendent and no baseline testing needs to be submitted nor can it be requested by the superintendent. If you intend to continue homeschooling, the next year when you submit your notification you will also submit an end-of-year assessment. You are required to supply an assessment together with your notification; do not send them separately. Make sure to put your child's name and birthdate on the assessment so that should it get lost from the notification, they can match them back up. The purpose of the assessment is to show whether your child needs remediation. The standard used is “reasonable proficiency”, which means an overall composite score of at least 25th percentile. The standard for the written narrative, or portfolio review, is “progress in accordance with the child's abilities”.
There are three methods of assessment from which to choose:
(1) results of a nationally-normed standardized achievement testing, (the Ohio Proficiency Test is not a nationally-normed test and would not comply under this option); OR
(2) written narrative prepared by:
(i) an Ohio-certified teacher, who has reviewed a portfolio of samples of the child's work; OR
(ii) other person mutually agreed upon by the parent and superintendent; OR
(3) any alternate assessment mutually agreed upon by the parent and the superintendent.
Only the overall composite score from the achievement test needs to be supplied--not the detail. If you choose the written narrative, there is a form, “Academic Assessment Report”, that provides the necessary information. Your homeschool support group can provide the names of Ohio-certified teachers who can perform portfolio reviews and will provide you with this form.
12. May superintendents require parents to meet with them in order to review their proposed educational programs? or to evaluate progress? No. Parents are required to provide the district written notification and end-of-year assessment.
13. Do I have to keep a log of time spent homeschooling? Do I have to maintain lesson plans? 900 hours of home education does not mean 900 hours of instruction. You are not required to track time or maintain lesson plans. You are only required to submit your intended curriculum for the year, for informational purposes only, not for the district's judgment of adequacy. If you make changes from your intention, you are not required to submit those changes.
14. Should I provide more information than is requested? We suggest that you provide only what is required by the regulations, no more and no less. Parents provide more information than necessary for a number of reasons. For instance, it is easy to send a photocopy of the achievement test scores with the subtests on the same page. Or, you may feel that it is desirable to assure the district that your curriculum is thorough or your children's test scores high. But the school district's proper role is clerical--to check off what needs to be provided, and not to evaluate it from a judgmental perspective. To provide more than is required raises the bar for everyone. The districts become used to receiving more information than is required, which may ultimately result in increased regulatory requirements that could prove intrusive and an infringement on parents' primary right to educate their children.
15. Should I call the school district with questions? First call your homeschool support group with questions. Not everyone in the school district is well versed on regulations pertaining to home education, and even with good intentions, they may pass on mis-information that results in your being out of compliance, or providing more information than is necessary. There are also homeschool advocates in our area that can help you with more thorny issues like truancy or a school district exceeding its authority. Your homeschool support group can help you get in touch with them.
16. How can I stay abreast of legislation that may affect our homeschooling freedoms? Send an email to hsalerts@aol.com and you will be sent local legislative alerts. The Home School Legal Defense Association is also an excellent organization from a national perspective.