Readers Forum:
I am doing research for homeschooling, as is my dad. I found a lot, but I cannot figure out how to have your schooling accredited. And who to call to start homeschooling.
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How Do You Get Homeschooling Accredited? February 23rd, 2010 | Tags: Accredited, Homeschooling: All Things | Category: FORUM, Homeschooling: All Things 6 comments to How Do You Get Homeschooling Accredited?Leave a Reply |
I’m trying to figure out why you need it to be accredited. An accredited diploma is not what gets you into college. Thousands of homeschool students go to college each year and most of them do not have accredited diplomas, but they have taken either the ACT or SAT and received a high enough score to be accepted by a college.
You really need to find out what the laws are in your state, as each state varies. There are a lot of Yahoo homeschool groups for different states, different cities, even different areas in cities. The state groups would be a good place to start asking questions. They can point you in the right direction, answer general questions about the law and what you’d be required to do in your state *and* probably point you in the direction of local homeschool groups where you can find local classes and other homeschoolers to hang out with. Good luck!
I hope you are not mixing up what the word “accredited” really means. A lot of folks who are just beginning to research home education think “accredited” means “legalized” but it does not.
“Accredited” means that you pay an accrediting agency to inspect your home school. If you pass their inspection, you will be accredited. There is not a state in the Union that requires this. In many states, having your home school accredited it is not even an option.
There are a handful of states that require you to either be “approved” by the local superintendent or they will require you to be a member of an approved homeschool organization. But even if you are approved, that does not mean you are accredited. They are different things. Approval to conduct a legal homeschool is not accreditation.
If you want to graduate from an accredited school and also go to school at home, then with very few exceptions, you will have to register with either a public or private school that has online or correspondence courses. That is not parent-controlled home education or the traditional home schooling. That is taking classes at home from a school that determines the agenda for your education.
To begin homeschooling, you need to find a copy of the law that applies to your place of residence and then comply with it.
Typically you don’t get your own personal program accredited. However you can enroll in accredited distance education programs. Being enrolled in an accredited program is not required by law in most states (as far as I recall AL is the only one that requires it).
You don’t mention where you live, so I can’t tell you who to call (if anyone). In some states you don’t have to notify anyone. In others you must file the paperwork and wait for approval. Most states fall somewhere in the middle of the 2 extremes.
You can check A to Z for the laws in your area: http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/
If you are doing research about homeschooling, just call your local school board office and ask for information about that for your locale. That is a beginning.
Go to HSLDA.org and find out the laws for your state.