There are general requirements that are set up at the federal government level, however the public education is set up primarily on the state and local level of the government. Involvement from these agencies varies from the regulations that have been established regarding public education.

These regulations set from the state, federal government will greatly affect the process, and procedures you will need to follow in your home schooling process.

So, to meet the legal demands of home schooling, do the following:

• Know the laws.


• Find an accredited home school program.


• Talk to the school district and have them review your curriculum to ensure it meets the law requirements.

There are complications that can occur from the failure to follow the home schooling guidelines and legal demands of the government. The consequences can be any where from warnings, fines, and the in ability to school your children from home.

Many of the regulations you will be asked to comply with are very similar to the alternative school regulations.

In some cases the local schools in your area may try to dictate the curriculum that they suggest your child to follow.

If there is reason for concern with your process of home schooling or if you just have questions about the legal demands you must meet as a home schooler, there is a place you can contact for support.

The Home Schooling Legal Defense Association or HSLDA is the best place to have many of your questions and concerns answered. This non-profit organization helps to defend and advance in the constitutional rights of parents who want to home school their children.
You can go to their web site to visit http://www.hslda.org, which is the home page of the HSLDA. There are several areas on this site that you can visit in order to obtain the information about the legal demands and other options.

Here is a basic list that you would find about the requirements:

Legal Option Notification to the school board
Attendance This is the same as a public school
Subjects Same as a public school curriculum
Qualifications No specifics, however there needs to be a basic education ability
Notice There does needs to be a notice to the school or school board
Record keeping This is for your records only
Testing For your tracking of the progress only

It would be a great idea to contact your local school board to obtain your state legal demands and criteria, in order to make sure you maintain the right structure and requirements for your home school environment.

They can also lead you in the right direction toward funding or tax cuts in addition to other resources or seminars you may be able to have to help further the success of your home schooling.

It is better to be safe rather than trying to back track and start the process over. There are also some test that may be required as time goes by to make sure the progress of your child's education is staying up with the other children in your area.