Since home schooling my son with autism, I’ve had numerous parents contact me asking how the process begins. In other words, what do you have to do in order to home school your child?
The process isn’t as bad as it sounds. Paperwork, policies, regulations and more acronyms are part of the process, but like anything else when it comes to special needs, you become accustomed to it. The added bonus is, once you’re prepared and have done it initially, the work is lessened, as you reuse the documentation (as a template).
Regulations and policies will differ depending upon where you live, but for the most part, the process is similar.
First you need to notify your public school that you intend to home school. In New York, where I live, parents send a required “Letter of Intent”. The contents are near common sense and the title says it all.
In your “Letter of Intent”, you basically state you intend to home school your child for XYZ school year. You’ll need to include information about your child, such as age, name, address, home school district, birthdate and grade. You may need more or less depending upon your school’s requirements, so be certain to check with them.
Your home school district is the main partner even when you home school. The district is responsible for providing you legal information and tracking your child’s education, so put them on your speed dial, because you’ll be communicating with them throughout the year. Tip: when you have a question or need a resource related to home schooling, your school district can be the first point of reference.
The next document you need is called an “Individualized Home Instruction Plan”, which spells out what, where, and how you will be teaching your child. Additionally, when you plan to report grades and attendance is noted in the IHIP, as is how you plan to conduct any required testing.
These documents are submitted to the district and, more often then not, parents are provided with grading forms and dates for submission. They will be similar to that of a report card or progress report, by way of placing a grade for each subject and a description of material covered for that marking period.
There is some research involved, especially when drafting an IHIP and even more so if, like me, you find yourself deciding to home school with little time to prepare. The biggest challenge for me was determining methods and materials to teach.Â
Online youÂcan find many samples of both documents and you’ll even find templates by State, that include required standards and subjectsÂpre-filled to save you time and decrease the likelihood of error.
Your school district will let you know if you are missing anything (required documentation) and advise you if your plan does not meet the standards. When this happens it is called non-compliance, and parents will be given aÂshort period of time to revise their instruction plans toÂcomply with regulations.
I know a lot of home schooling families and I’ve never heard of non-compliance occurring, butÂit’sÂworth mentioning nonetheless.
The best thing you can do, and this is talking from experience, is not panic or procrastinate. If you’re unsure where to start or what standards you have to meet, then network with other home schooling families in and around your area.
The Internet provides countless websites andÂgroups dedicated to helping new home-schooling families, so resources are anythingÂbut limited.
The easiest part of home schooling isÂtheÂrecord keeping and initial documentationÂrequired. You will not need another letter of intent and you revise the IHIP once a year, so once it’s done, the work is finished for quite some time.
I hope this helps anyone wondering how to start home schooling, and I wish you the best in your endeavor!Â
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