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- In 1993, the Ohio Board of Education sent a letter to all Ohio superintendents, answering many of their questions about Home Education. Click here to read this letter.
- Is homeschooling legal?
Yes! The state says that the primary right when it comes to education belongs to the parent, not the school! The Administrative Code gives all the information any Ohio parent needs to begin homeschooling. - When do I start homeschooling?
Your child had already started learning when he/she was born. In that sense, you've already started. However, the state's Compulsory Attendance laws take effect the same year the child turns six by September 1. (Please note, this is one year later than when they would normally go to Kindergarten. Kindergarten is not mandatory in Ohio.) Your beginning-of-year notification for your student who is of Compulsory School Age must be received by the Superintendent by the first day of classes in your district.
You may start homeschooling in the middle of a school year. The same notification procedure is used. There is usually a bit of controversy over when the actual removal from classes may take place. Some schools try to require that the student remain in classes until the parent receives their "approval" letter from the Superintendent. But, remember - you are not asking them if you can homeschool, you are notifying them that you are homeschooling! There is no legal reason to continue sending the child to school once notification has been made. - Where do I get an application to homeschool? There is no such thing. You do not have to "apply" to homeschool. The state has already said you may, you just have to notify the proper school official. Blank notification forms are available here. You may get one from your superintendent's office, although they tend to ask for more information than the state requires you to give them. You may even make up one of your own, as long as it includes all the information required by the Administrative Code.
- Isn't curriculum expensive? Some of it is. Video courses and the like can cost a lot of money. Some are quite reasonable. However, you are not required to use any certain curriculum - nor are you required to use a commercial curriculum at all! Library and Internet resources are valid teaching tools. Books and other materials can be found from many different sources. Most homeschooling parents who keep their eyes peeled for bargains (at thrift stores, library book sales, yard sales, etc.) pay less for one year of homeschooling than most public school parents pay in fees for their child's "free" education.
- Don't you need a high school diploma to go to college? No. As homeschooling has gotten more and more popular, colleges are publishing their criteria for homeschoolers in their regular catalogs. Just check the "admissions" portion of the college catalog or web site. If it isn't already published, chances are that the college already has a standing policy regarding required elements from homeschoolers. Even if your homeschooled student isn't close to college age yet, you may want to start checking into what the colleges want - many of them will want information representing all four years of "high school." That way, you can keep that information filed away as it is completed, and you won't be spending so much time trying to assemble it all when your homeschooled senior starts filling out applications.