about homeschooling/cyberschool?

Question

does homeschooling cost money? How much? How long do you have to do it for each day? does the person homeschooling you have to be certified?

Does cyber school cost money? how much? how long to do you have to do it for? is there a big waitinglist?

i live in PA. thanks.

Answer 1

Each state is different, so the best place to start is www.hslda.org
they will have the rules and laws concerning homescholing for your state.
For example, the person from Georgia said to contact the Dept. of Education.
Well, here in Texas you would never do that. In some states the states provide cyber school for free, but here in Texas, state approved "cyber school" is the most expensive route you can go, costing close to $2000, and that is buying your books off amazon at a discount.
Some states provide books for you, and in others, (like mine) you are on your own.
I've spent anywhere from $50 to that painful 2 grand on a year's curriculum for one child over the last five years.
Another site to get a good handle on what homeschooling is all about, including descriptions on different types of homeschooling, and lists of curriculum providers, is: homeschooling.gomilpitas.com

Answer 2

If you do just basic homeschooling under your homeschooling laws, it will only cost what you decide to purchase. You can get a lot of stuff at the library or second hand, but even a number of homeschooling programs aren't that expensive--many far less expensive than what you'd pay for a private school.

How long you have to do each day depends on what you want to do. Some places do require that you log in a certain number of hours. In PA, you need to log 990 hours for middle and high school. Of course, that would be for an entire year, not if someone were to start mid-year.

There are three ways to homeschool in PA. Check out the information here http://hslda.org/laws/default.asp?State=PA . If it were your parents doing it, they either need a high school diploma (well, just one would) or if you go through an 'umbrella school' (option 3), no qualifications are needed.

Cyberschools do cost money if they are not publicly funded for where you live. It looks like there are at least a few cyber schools in PA and I just found one that is a charter school http://www.go2pacyber.com/School/ourschool.aspx . Other than a possible registration fee, I don't think it should cost anything as charter schools are publicly funded. Oh, just found something that says there are 11 charter cyber schools in PA. So you could definitely do something that way. I doubt there's a waiting list, although there would be an admissions process. You would have to talk to them about the structure, or visit websites to see how it all works.

Answer 3

PAVA ( PA Virtual Academy) is free. It is a public charter school. They use K-12 curriculum. I think the cut off date was the end of January for this year though. We use OHVA which is Ohio's version of the same school. They both use K12. I am schooling 3 children through this method and we love it. They also provide us with a computer, printer, all books, and a small reimbursement for internet services.

Answer 4

In Georgia, home schooled children are supposed to spend 4 and a half hours a day in "class", 180 days a year. In Georgia, you have to be a high school graduate to home school your own child.

The cost averages around $1,000.00 for materials bought new, but can be much less if you buy used materials / books. Or, you can design your own curriculum. There are many, many home school curriculums available.

You ought to be able to look up your states requirements on the Department of Education website.

Good Luck!

Answer 5

What state do you live in? Try K12.org it may be free depending on your state.