So you’ve decided to homeschool. You’ve thought through your WHY, you’re confident you can do this without messing up your kid, and you are ready to take action. You grab a stack of books, pencils and highlighters, and head outside for a day of basking in educational bliss with your eager children, just as you always imagined it would be. But wait!

There’s a little more to it than that. And I’m not just talking about setting reasonable expectations for what your school day will look like (we’ll talk more about that later)! You have some legal details to work out.

The legalities

Every state has different requirements for un-enrolling your kids from public school, if they have already been enrolled, and if this is your child’s first year of formal schooling you will still have to report your intent to homeschool. You can find these on your state’s department of education website. Search for homeschool requirements and follow the procedures. Many will require you to fill out an online form – some of those will have specific dates for filing. Some states do not require children to begin formal schooling until 6 or even 7 years old.

For extra help in finding the laws in your state, take a look at the Home School Legal Defense Association’s (HSLDA) search tool.

For more details on homeschool law, you can find some great summaries at Coalition for Responsible Home Education.

Different options

The most straight-forward and widely available option for homeschooling is private or independent study. This simply means you are choosing and planning all of your instruction, and you are keeping any records your state requires (some require only attendance reports to be kept on file, others require a portfolio of student work). In this option you have the most freedom and flexibility to teach your child what and how you think is best, but you also have the most responsibility to ensure you are meeting state guidelines. This option, in most states, has limited oversight into what you are actually teaching, so this is where planning and research on your part will be very important!

Another useful, but less available, option is enrolling in a homeschool umbrella. This could come in the form of a charter school with a homeschool program, church-based groups, or some other homeschool program that is considered an option in your state. These are not what we call “co-ops”, where parents join together to share in the teaching of some subjects. Homeschool umbrellas will often have rules and regulations they must follow, and instead of reporting your attendance and work samples to the state, you would report to the umbrella instead. Remember, these programs vary extensively across the nation so you would research options that are close to you, beginning with the Home School Legal Defense Association website to help identify what legal options you have.

Another thing to note is that some public charter schools have homeschool programs, allowing you to enroll as you would in a public school but retain most of the control over your child’s education. The benefit here is that you may have an assigned teacher that can answer your questions and guide you, and you may have financial or material resources available for your use. You also may be able to take advantage of a few on-campus courses once or twice a week. This type of schooling becomes what is known as hybrid-schooling. The trade-off is that you are usually required to meet with your teacher monthly and submit work samples for review. These programs are not widely available across the country.

For high school students, you will need to pay particular attention to your state’s course requirements, as you will need to create your student’s transcript for approval and a high school diploma. This information is available on your state’s department of education website. You can also get tips and templates for record-keeping and transcripts here.

Unless you choose to homeschool under an umbrella that has their own legal defense, consider a membership to the Home School Legal Defense Association. It’s not a requirement, but it can be reassuring to have a legal resource to guide you through.

It’s also important to note that if your child would or does receive special education services in public school, those services do not carry over once the child is un-enrolled. States and districts differ widely on what services they will provide to homeschooled students, however some will offer the option of part-time enrollment to receive those services while on campus. You will need to talk to your district directly to determine what may be available to you.

Find community support

Remember that if, at any time, homeschooling ceases to be an option for you, there is nothing stopping you from re-enrolling in your local public school. Life happens. Sometimes we can’t be home to teach our kids because of jobs or family dynamics. But I encourage you to seek help and ask questions if you are just feeling overwhelmed with teaching your kids – there are lots of people and resources out there that can help you find your groove before giving it up altogether. And review your WHY from Step 1. Sometimes we (myself included) need a reminder of why we are doing this, and that reminder is enough to help us refocus and recharge.

Whether you are homeschooling on your own or enrolling in an umbrella program, there may be groups in your area that you can join to meet with other homeschooling families. These can be as basic as playgroups and meetups, or more complex like co-ops, which are designed to have families share the duties of teaching different subjects to the whole group of kids. You might meet for science taught by one parent of the group this week, and cooking taught by a different parent the next week. Then there are more sophisticated learning centers that offer a wide variety of classes taught by dedicated teachers, and these will generally charge tuition. Again, all of these options are location specific so you’ll need to research them in your area. Try searching for homeschool groups on Meetup, Facebook, and just a regular ol’ Google search.

Sometimes we need a reminder of why we are doing this, and that reminder is enough to help us refocus and recharge.

After you have checked your state’s legal requirements, filled out any necessary forms, or enrolled in your local homeschool umbrella option you can consider yourself an official homeschooling family! Congratulations! The next steps include choosing curriculum and materials that you will use. But before we get too far, we’ll be talking about the styles of education that are out there, so you can see where you fit. Knowing how you will teach and what you want your kids to learn will help you narrow down the vast array of choices you have when it comes to curriculum!

After all this, what questions do you have about starting a homeschool? Remember, we haven’t gotten into choosing materials yet, so what do you still want to know about the very basics? Let me know in the comments!