How many children/young adults homeschool has been checked into by law officials?

Question

when doing homeschooling how often do the public schools really go to individuals homes to verify work is being done?Judges,law officials,etc... check up on parents and students?Can homeschoolers just be taught a cirriculum to pass the G.E.D. test when they turn 17 years if age?

Answer 1

Why should they be checked on by law officials? I haven't seen too many judges going into public schools to make sure that kids can read and do math...which, by the way, many can't. (Police officers are there on a regular basis, though...but I really doubt they're checking on schoolwork, if you know what I mean.)

There are different laws in every state, and homeschooling families are required to abide by those laws. In many states, homeschooled kids are required to take the same tests as public and private school kids (and the homeschooled kids often do a lot better on them). There are also several states that require annual and semi-annual evaluations for each child - which again, often go very well.

In other states, homeschools are considered private schools, and the public school system has absolutely zero input on what they do - the same as they have absolutely zero input on what other private schools do.

Homeschoolers have to abide by (at least) the minimum curriculum requirements set forth by the state - our kids have to be able to read, write, do math, etc. at an appropriate level. There are many different curriculum providers that help us with this.

The difference is, our kids can be taught in the way that makes the most sense to them as individuals. Because I'm not trying to teach 32 kids at once, I can teach my son according to a tailored curriculum. He can learn at his own speed, according to his own interests, and develop his own projects. Because of this, he's way above grade level in nearly every subject.

Statistically, homeschoolers take the top percentages in standardized testing and are accepted into many of the top (and most competitive) universities in the country. They are also, statistically, more involved in their community, in politics(a higher percentage of homeschooled adults vote on a regular basis than nearly any other group), and in service to others. Seems to me we're doing pretty darn well without the government interference, thanks :-)

(By the way - homeschoolers don't have to take the GED. The get diplomas and transcripts just like anyone else. Many of them go on to be judges, law officials, doctors, and business owners...and successful ones, at that.)

Answer 2

It depends on where you live, but in general, you're not checked on at all, except for in some instances, mandatory testing. Where I live, you need to meet with a teacher twice a year. They don't test your kids or anything; they just write down what your kids have been learning. In some places, there is absolutely no contact with anybody. Usually the public schools have nothing to do with homeschooling. And judges and law officials don't have anything to do with homeschooling.

As for your last question, do you mean they can do nothing until age 17, then study to do the GED? Probably not. If you meant can you just do your studying then when you're 17, do the GED, if you want. Homeschoolers can obtain high school diplomas, if they wish, but it's not necessary to get into college.

Answer 3

Ah, well in my commonwealth homeschool is on equal footing with private school, but with all the rights and protections of a home. In KY, they may not come into my home with out a search warrant, period. I am required to keep records of attendance and grades and to teach the basic subjects that are taught in all schools in the state. It is up to me how those subjects are taught and when. I am required to school for the same number of days per year as any other school. The law is written to be a bit vague about why the state may ask for my records. Basically it says, "If we think we ought to check you out, we can". But there must be a reason to suspect that I am not really schooling or my child is not being cared for in some way. Now, I may fax my records, give the information by phone, or meet them in my home (if I choose) or in their offices to discuss my records. I do not know personally anyone who has been investigated. But I have had the school board lose my letter of intent and send me a stern letter. I know now to ALWAYS make them sign for the letter of intent.

To answer your other question; You could do that, just as any public school student is allowed to do that. But, why? There is so much else you could do with homeschool. The GED is really scraping the bottom of the barrel education wise.

Answer 4

YOu need to check your state laws for homeschooling. In some states, the public school system can NOT interfere in ANY way with homeschoolers.
If your state laws say they CAN, make sure they are following teh state laws for homeschooling.

In my state GA kids who want to get GED do not have to take classes at all. What is done is the people who give GED gives the student a 'pre test' to see if they can pass. If not, the student will have to try later to get the GED.
In GA there are free GED classes to help the student pass the tests to get a GED.

Answer 5

Never, I am not sure where you are going with this question, or what the purpose of it is.

Home schooling is a legal; in all 50 states I may add; as a viable alternative method of pursuing an education.

School officials have no say in the matter what so ever, nor do they have the right to check on anyone who home schools when they are in compliance with state law.

In our state the law clearly states that we; the parents; are solely responsible for the time, place, method, instructional materials, and testing if we choose to do such.

The only thing we are required to do is notify the county of our intend to home school.

Parental rights ensure that we have the right to direct the upbringing, and education of our children.

Judges, or any other law enforcement official do not check on parents, and students or request to see the instructional materials.

There is no "curriculum" to study for a GED, there are practice , and study materials to prepare for it, and a pre-test to see if you are ready to take it, but this test is for anyone who would like to take it, home schooled or otherwise.

If you find out that you need extra practice you can choose to take classes wherever they are offered, or do an independent study in that subject.

Many youngsters have taken the test when they turn 16, because they looked for an alternative way to obtain a diploma since they did not feel the conventional school was meeting their educational needs.

Home schoolers sometimes choose to take it because they are getting ready to start college; it is not at all an exception for them to start college classes at age 16.

Answer 6

It really isn't that often. The only time they check is if someone reports a child that might be outside a lot during the school day, but nowadays kids have all kinds of different schedules it is hard to know who is off track and who is on. I would think in smaller towns it might be easier if they are in a Traditional school year. If you want to know of any cases that has actually gone as far as court- etc. you need to check out the homeschool legal defense website.

www.hslda.com

Answer 7

It's not the PS's unless in a state/county they have oversight. In most states, HS'ers are technicall private school students, so they can't do anything. It'd be like going to the Catholic school student's home.

Who usually does show up, when someone wants to cause trouble (family member, neighbor, non-custodial parent), it's child protective services.

In most states you do not even have to let the representative in your door. Nor do you have to show records.

A HS'er could just do the minimum to pass the GED, but IMO, that's not a very good course of action. That's not "true" HS'ing - it's a cop out.

The majority of states only have truancy laws to age 16. Some start at age 5, some at 7.

Answer 8

Well, I don't know whether I should be insulted by your question or just ROFLMAO.

No, our education is not checked up on by law officials. Here the law says homeschoolers 'must have educational objectives' and 'sufficient resources to follow them through'. Beyond that, we're not compelled to follow the national education guidelines, study any of the core subjects, take any tests or meet any minimum learning standards. As my mum was once told: 'the law says you're supposed to provide your kids with an education but nowhere does it say what that education should be'.

Our parents don't have to register us as homeschoolers or tell anyone in any sort of authority that we are being homeschooled. As far as I know, our local school board does not know I, nor any of my siblings, even exist.

Hence it's pretty hard to see what it is or how it is, in your opinion, law officials should be checking up on us.

(BTW it's 'curriculum'. I don't 'get' why so many people spell it incorrectly as cirriculum.)

Answer 9

I look of home schooling laws.I thought about homeschooling my daughter in Missouri you can start at 6 years.All you have to do is look up the state laws and they can tell you more about anything that needs to be answer.

Answer 10

I don't believe homeschoolers should be "checked up" on.

I get to raise my kids for the 1st five yrs of their lives and no one comes to check up on me to see that I am teaching them what they need to learn, feeding them and clothing them properly, and taking care of them the way they need to be taken care of.

Then the magic age of 1st grade hits, and because I choose to continue to keep them learning at home, people get suspicious? Suddenly I'm no longer trustworthy to raise my own kids and should be checked up on by authorities?

Puh-lease. If I were a bad, uncaring, neglectful, or abusive parent, if I did not take an active interest in my child's growth and development and wasn't capable of helping my child progress, then I shouldn't have had 5 whole years to screw up before someone checked up on me.

If someone has a legitimate concern about a family-- any family, homeschooling or not-- that they are neglecting or abusing their kids, they should call CPS. People should not be judged and harrassed by authorities as long as they've been law-abiding citizens and have not raised any red flags.

As for the whole "what if they're not doing it right" thing-- there are lots of reasons why that doesn't wash. You can't judge how a family runs their lives at home to how an institution runs their business.

Not to mention, a child who is struggling with homeschooling won't necessarily do better if his parents are judged bad homeschoolers and he is taken away and put in school. Someone who is 1 or 2 years "behind" their grade average in homeschooling isn't necessarily that way BECAUSE of homeschooling; homeschooling might have been the very thing keeping them on a slow but steady track. If the same child had been in school he might have been 3 or 4 grades behind. People forget that there is no garauntee that a homeschooled child would have succeeded better in school-- there are plenty of schooled children who are failing and falling behind, we all know schools don't have a 100% success rate.

For some reason, though, people expect homeschooling to have 110% success rate, or they put it down. Homeschoolers are expected to be held to a higher standard of success or they are considered screw-ups. If a homeschooled child is not clearly socially and academically superior to their peers, they chalk it up to bad homeschooling. Homeschoolers are not allowed, for some reason, to struggle in math or to be shy without drawing all kinds of unkind remarks and judgements. If schooled children are not socially and academically superior, if they have trouble in math or are so shy they sit by themselves every day at lunch and have no friends, if they are overly-agressive or learning disabled, it's not a big deal-- everyone is different, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. They're allowed to have faults. Progress can be defined in so many different ways; homeschoolers are dealing with individual personal progress, not just what can be measured rotely against any arbitrary standards set up to judge an institution.

People should only be checked up on if there is good reason, like someone suspects parents of neglect or abuse, not for their lifestyle choices "just in case"-- that's treating someone like they're guilty until they can prove themselves innocent.

I fully admit that I think there are probably some bad homeschooling families out there... just like there are some families who bring their baby home from the hospital and are bad parents. But our government is not supposed to be in the habit of butting into the lives and affairs of private citizens without first having a reason for concern.