| Formalities: Registering Your Child With The Public School Or Umbrella School |
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| Once you have decided to how you will homeschool your child, the next step is learning the laws of your state. In our state (Tennessee) we can register our child anytime between the ages of 5 and 7 years of age. We must register our child by August 1st each year or we may be charged a late fee. Registration with the Public School System is free, however, the public school will require your child to be tested periodically, and may even evaluate our record keeping. As a unschooler, I want more flexibility in our life, we travel, don't necessarily have school each day ect., so we don't like the idea of registering with the public school. In our city, we have the option of registering under an Umbrella School. In this case, it is a Christian umbrella school. There are no alternatives for non-Christians in this area (The Bible Belt). We will register with the Umbrella School because they do not involve themselves in our business. We can chose our type of homeschooling, our curriculum, or even chose to have no curriculum...we just have to pay $40 per child per year to be registered...and we also are required to hand in records twice yearly, showing the subjects that our child studied during the semesters. Studying the choices in your state carefully will help you to get off on a good start with your childs education. |