May is Homeschooling Awareness Month, and it might be dawning on you that you want to be a homeschooling family as well.
In years past, there was a stereotype of those who homeschooled, but that stereotype is giving way to a more diverse group of families. Recent data in a working paper titled “Who Homeschools, Really?” show growing racial diversity: while most homeschoolers are white, 15% are Hispanic, and 10% are Black. Likewise, it’s not just the religious families who are homeschooling; almost a third (31%) never attend any religious service. And while many associate homeschooling with conservatives, one in four homeschooling families are liberal Democrats.
If you’ve never seen yourself as part of the homeschooling stereotype but are getting interested, you are not alone.
Below, we look at policies and resources that might help you as you begin exploring homeschooling.
Learn the law
Individual states create policies for homeschooling, and there is some variation among them. You can learn more about the laws and requirements in each state by checking out the Homeschool Laws by State map created by the Home School Legal Defense Association. It highlights whether a state requires you to give notice that you’re homeschooling (most do), mandates certain subjects be taught, requires assessments be given, establishes teacher qualifications, mandates immunizations, and more. Here is Utah’s profile, which shows that Utah has a very freedom-focused and flexible homeschool law. The map tool is for those seeking to comply with traditional homeschooling laws. Most likely, however, each state education agency will have the most up-to-date information.
When it comes to finances, some states provide state-funded scholarships that help families pay for curriculum and materials to educate their children at home. To check out if your state has any of these types of programs, you can check out this School Choice Across the United States research tool created by EdChoice, which allows you to search by state and learn about specific programs like education savings accounts, tax credit scholarships, or more.
In fact, you can even check if you qualify for funding from any of these programs. A brand-new Education Funding Finder tool created by Learner provides users with a free eligibility check. It asks which state you’re in, how many kids are in your family, their ages, your income bracket, and other usage-related questions. Then it populates the funding you are eligible for, the application window, and more.
The federal government does not create homeschool law. That said, recent policy changes allow 529 plans to be spent on homeschooling expenses.
Join a community
While homeschooling can be an independent endeavor, it’s also a grassroots, community endeavor with strong networks to support families. In fact, many people find resources, ideas, co-ops, and more through online community groups on various websites and social media.
In Utah, there are groups like the Utah Homeschool Education Association (UHEA) and the Utah Christian Homeschool Association (UTCH), which provide families with resources, information on conventions, co-op lists, and even aspects you might not think of, such as graduation ceremonies and more. Other groups that have useful communities include The Home School Mom, the Home School Legal Defense Association, the Flourish Family Homeschool Network (for under-resourced families in Georgia), and other popular social media groups.
Finding group support can help families navigate laws, policies, and questions and address challenges they are facing. Many have walked this path before, and many more are joining in. There is no need to feel alone or feel like you’re starting from scratch.
Consider your education plan
At this point, there are so many homeschool materials, both online and hard copy, for scope and sequence documents, curriculum, one-off lesson plans, and more, that the issue is more about what to choose among so many options rather than not having access to options. There is even some free online curriculum through Khan Academy, The Good and the Beautiful, Education.com, and more.
Families are utilizing artificial intelligence to assist them, like using ChatGPT to create lesson plans (A prompt could be, “Create a lesson plan on photosynthesis for a 6th grader that likes hands-on activities.”) or offer personalized tutoring to help a student with a subject beyond the parent’s subject matter expertise.
Some states mandate which subjects must be taught, so you may even be able to find a curriculum based on the requirements in your state and then personalize it through other means or technologies.
Depending on the laws of the states, some families are required to test their students. Others simply may want to do so. In that case, families can research a variety of tests and assessments to use along the way.
Doing all of this requires some amount of organization. For those who are organized or for those who struggle and need a helping hand, there is support through discussions about record keeping (from grades to attendance or instruction hours (if required) to test scores to creating a transcript at the end of high school) and online systems available that help families schedule and adjust their year, month, or week of lessons.
Considering these aspects doesn’t require that the decisions be set in stone immediately, but they can guide families through the conversations they will have and the potential requirements they will need to meet.
Conclusion
Gone are the days when homeschooling was a mystery or an isolated experience. Organic communities, education entrepreneurs offering unique services, and new public policies to help families financially are now available for families that want to homeschool. As these options improve and change the culture, public policies are likely to follow to make the environment even stronger for the next generation as well.
Sutherland Institute policy intern Sydney Dean contributed research to this article.
