In California, how hard is it to start homeschooling after a child is enrolled in public school?

Question

My son in going to be starting first grade. For K I had him enrolled in a charter school which provided a homeschooling program. He did well but his dad thinks we should give the public schools a chance (again) and not do homeschooling next year. I'm having issues with this because he did really well with the homeschooling. DH said that if there is any problem we could just start homeschooling again; however, I would like to homeschool w/o the help of a charter school if we do go back to homeschooling.

Answer 1

Not a problem. A growing number of us have come to homeschooling after our kids attended school for a time. The key is to have a support system, including (I suggest) joining a statewide group such as HSC, CHN or CHEA, and joining a local support group. In California we are fortunate to have a variety of options for educating our children outside of the classroom.

The Homeschool Association of California has an article on their website about the special situation of withdrawing a student from school in order to homeschool. http://www.hsc.org/chaos/legal/special_situations.php

Basically, there are two parts:

1. You the parent, notifies the school that your child is transfering to another school, just the same as if you were moving, enrolling in a private school, etc. They may have papers for you to sign, books to return, etc. Do not neglect this step, unless you wish to subject yourself to accusations of truancy.

2. As the director of your own private school, you can then send a request to the old school for the student's cumulative records. Here's a sample letter:

http://hsc.org/chaos/legal/cfile_letter.php


In CA, there is no homeschool statute. Do not tell the school you plan to "homeschool" because legally that is not what you will be doing. The school bureacracy may not know how to process that. They would be correct to say "Homeschooling is not a legal option in CA." The legal and technical situation is that your child is attending a private school, if you are homeschooling independently. Of course, I'm assuming you are following the private school guidelines, such as submitting the PSA in October, keeping required records. All these issues are covered in depth at the HSC website.
www.hsc.org

The four legal options for CA homeschooling families are more succinctly stated in the HSLDA CA legal analysis:
1. Establish your own private school.
2. Hire (or be) a credentialed tutor.
3. Enroll in a public school or charter school ISP.
4. Enroll in a private school ISP.

http://www.hslda.org/laws/analysis/California.pdf

If you want someone to talk you through the process or recommend local homeschool support groups, there are county contacts listed on the HSC website as well.

Happy Learning!

Answer 2

Which is harder in which way? If you homeschool your child, you will be able to tailor everything to her abilities and let her go her pace. You could find appropriate resources at her level, and the only difficulty would be in helping her with that and establishing a routine/style. Personally, I believe if you are willing to give your daughter an education that meets HER needs, instead of the school's structure which is designed to meet the GOVERNMENT's needs, it will be far better for her in the long run. Repeating grades has been shown to usually be detrimental--they don't even allow it where I live except for Kindergarten or in cases where the child is obviously immature. In the majority of cases, the kids don't do any better the 2nd time around in a grade. (Truly!) The things they didn't get the first time don't miraculously become clearer because they're still being show in the same way. Try to connect yourself with a homeschool group in your area and start asking these same questions and anything else that pops up. You might be able to even find a group in Yahoo Groups. You'll be able to connect with other parents, make some friends for both you and your daughter, learn about resources, events, activities, etc. Even if you decide to not go through with it, you'll be far better informed!

Answer 3

It should not be difficult at all, since he is still young, but the jo jo effect you are talking about can make for some difficulties since there is no stability when they go back and forth.

You and your husband need to discuss this, and be on one page, and support each other, home schooling is about family, and a life style as well.
I would not like the idea of a charter, virtual, or umbrella school either.
Home schooling is about having the choice of teaching method, and content of the materials, as well as the time and place of instruction.
Correct me if I am wrong but are home schools in California not considered private schools?
If so why would you need a charter?
Enrolling him in a charter means he is still a public school student, he just does the work at home.
For all state requirements, and information on this go to;
http://www.hslda.org/

My question would be why wait until there is a problem, would it then not complicate things further?

Answer 4

Just remember to file you R4 Affidavit in October should you decide to homeschool him without the use of an ISP or charter school http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ps/rq/affidavit.asp

Best of luck, whatever you decide :)

Answer 5

My family is very educated on the California schooling program.

A) Please dont let your child be homeschooled, no matter how smart they are, they wont get ahead because they wont have social skills
B) The Public School system sucks. It is the WORST in the nation. If you plan on sending them there, move away like my family did.
C) Private School is 30,000 yearly there, but its great lessons in everything. This is the way to go if you got the $$$