In your opinion and experience, which state is the EASIEST to homeschool in?

[Halcyon]

Just curious! :)

[Jennifer in MI]

Michigan couldn't be easier! No reporting, no testing, no nothing!!

[ElizabethB]

Texas!

 

But, I've never actually lived there.

 

Arkansas was easy for the ages my children were, but later you do have to take a test, but there is no penalty for failing.

 

California was much easier than I expected given the news articles I had read. Also, reading the legalese, I thought I was going to have to do more than I ended up doing, I asked here and got an answer in English as to what I actually had to do.

[Pamela H in Texas]

Texas. No one knows we exist.

 

HOWEVER, that also makes it the easier to do nothing in which is what a LOT of "homeschoolers" seem to choose these days :(

[kewb]

New Jersey

No testing, no attendance, no record keeping, no reporting, nothing.

[Halcyon]

New Jersey

No testing, no attendance, no record keeping, no reporting, nothing.

 

Wow. Fl is a bit like that, if you enroll in an umbrella school. You just have to report attendance, so a bit more than NJ.

[Avila]

Illinois is also VERY easy.

[rwjx2khsmj]

In Indiana you have to keep an attendance log but you don't have to show it to anyone unless requested to do so.

[Paintedlady]

Illinois is also VERY easy.

 

I agree. No testing, reporting, etc...

[JFSinIL]

Illinois hands down.

[clarkacademy]

Indiana

[snickelfritz]

Oklahoma. It's another "absolutely nothing required" state. And nothing means no reporting, no testing, no letters..... Our school district doesn't know we even exist. Plus, homeschooling is protected in our state constitution.

[Jennifer in MI]

Oklahoma. Plus, homeschooling is protected in our state constitution.

Nice!!

[jld]

Illinois. Hats off to Dorothy Werner & Co. for the excellent work they did getting a very reasonable law passed in the early years of homeschooling!

[Mosaicmind]

Indiana; we have no reporting, testing, ect.... Yes we keep attendance but I don't know what for no one checks up on us. I will be moving to KY soon and I have read that I just need to file a letter of intent to teach each year, but nothing else. Seems easy to me. I don't mind them knowing we are here, but don't stick your nose in my business.

[Red]

Michigan

[melissel]

Michigan couldn't be easier! No reporting, no testing, no nothing!!

 

NJ too...

 

ETA: Oops, kewb beat me to it :lol:

[bookfiend]

North Carolina is a notification state. We are required to keep attendance, yearly standardized test scores and immunizations records on site. Any reporting is voluntary. NC is a great state for homeschooling with a large HS community.

[DarlaS]

Michigan couldn't be easier! No reporting, no testing, no nothing!!

 

:iagree:

 

As far as my local school district knows, I don't even have kids. :001_smile:

[ProudGrandma]

Nebraska is pretty easy too...we do have to report our intent to homeschool every year, and fill out a few very simple forms, but we don't have to keep track of anything or test either. I am happy.

[mollies73]

I'm so jealous of those from easy homeschool states. Pennsylvania is a headache.

[laughing lioness]

South Dakota. Home of the Libertarian. Bring yer gun!

[Rhonda in TX]

HOWEVER, that also makes it the easier to do nothing in which is what a LOT of "homeschoolers" seem to choose these days :(

 

I have one homeschool friend who's kind of flaky, but she has a new baby that's thrown her for a loop, and she's had plenty of years where they were very productive. Every other homeschooler I've met takes it very seriously. I don't think I've met anyone who does "nothing".

[meet me in paris]

Texas. No one knows we exist.

 

HOWEVER, that also makes it the easier to do nothing in which is what a LOT of "homeschoolers" seem to choose these days :(

 

Michigan couldn't be easier! No reporting, no testing, no nothing!!

 

New Jersey

No testing, no attendance, no record keeping, no reporting, nothing.

dude. I am totally in the wrong place. :blink: Maryland bites.

[HSMom2One]

Oregon is pretty easy so far, and we've been at it for three years now. We were required to file a letter of intent with ESD initially, and then there is testing for grades 3,5,8 & 10. I've heard some of my long-time home school friends say they don't know why testing is required because there seems to be no accountability in place. I do plan to have my dd tested this year though, just to play it safe.

 

Blessings,

Lucinda

[TracyR]

I'm so jealous of those from easy homeschool states. Pennsylvania is a headache.

 

We just live in the wrong state. I agree. Pennsylvania is a huge headache, yet not impossible either.

[Melissa in Australia]

Victoria , Australia is pretty good. You just have to sign a stat. dec. at the beginning of the year stating that you are going to teach the 9 key subjects, and that is it.

 

 

 

 

I have met homeschoolers who don't do much schoolwork.

[Guest mrsjamiesouth]

Does anyone get a Tax Break for Homeschool supplies?

I keep looking at moving to an easy Homeschool state One day.

Georgia isn't the worst, but we do have to do intents, attendence monthly, tests every 3 years, and an end of the year report on what you accomplished (but you don't have to turn this one in).

[angela in ohio]

Michigan couldn't be easier! No reporting, no testing, no nothing!!

 

Yep, you just don't send them to school. I don't think it can get much easier. :001_smile:

[coralloyd]

Arizona! All you have to do is send in the affidavit of intent and your done.

[mom4him]

I don't know about a lot of other states but I do know that SD is very easy. We have to file an exemption form every year and do tests in 2,4,8,&11th grade. We are required to teach Math and LA through 8th grade but never really any checking or record keeping required.

I do keep a daily record of what we did that day or if we took it off why but that is not required by the state but recommended by the HSLD.

[SilverMoon]

Nevada is pretty easy, but a non-reporting state would be easier. We send in a notice of intent once, with an intended course of study (glorified book list), and that's it. That process doesn't have to be repeated unless we change addresses.

[cylau]

I know a lot of my friends in California file R4 (?) as independent and they never need to get tested and nobody ever checks on them.

 

However, if you need a lot of support, in California, we have many free public charter schools for homeschoolers. They give you free money to buy curriculum and enroll in homeschool fun classes. Some even have academic classes for those who don't want to teach certain subjects, eg, history, science, writing etc. They are all free if you enroll in the school. The catch is that they will hold you accountable. You have to submit work samples every 5 weeks or so. They also want you to test, because that's how they get their money.

 

In California, we have more and more homeschoolers, because we don't get enough funding in public schools. The classes are big as the result.

[brehon]

North Carolina is a notification state. We are required to keep attendance, yearly standardized test scores and immunizations records on site. Any reporting is voluntary. NC is a great state for homeschooling with a large HS community.

 

See as someone who lives in TX this would just stink. We report nothing, ever. And we need to keep nothing to show anyone - voluntary or not. We don't ever have to engage in the standardized test mess. Of course, I'm just responding to the legal aspect - 'What must I do to be in compliance with state law?' - not 'Should I keep some records at the high school level so my kid will have something to show for X number of years work?' or indeed 'Should my kid take the PSAT/SAT/ACT to apply for uni?' [obviously, the answer in both cases is yes]

 

I think any state which does not require ANY hoop jumping ranks in the easiest state to homeschool catagory.

[KidsHappen]

Well, I have schooled in a lot of them and I would have to say that TX and OK rule in the easiest department. OK has the right to homeschool written into their constitution and TX has practically no requirements or restrictions.

Edited February 25, 2010 by KidsHappen

[mommyrooch]

See as someone who lives in TX this would just stink. We report nothing, ever. And we need to keep nothing to show anyone - voluntary or not. We don't ever have to engage in the standardized test mess. Of course, I'm just responding to the legal aspect - 'What must I do to be in compliance with state law?' - not 'Should I keep some records at the high school level so my kid will have something to show for X number of years work?' or indeed 'Should my kid take the PSAT/SAT/ACT to apply for uni?' [obviously, the answer in both cases is yes]

 

I think any state which does not require ANY hoop jumping ranks in the easiest state to homeschool catagory.

 

:iagree: Oklahoma is the only state in the entire nation that actually has the legal right to homeschool written into our constitution. We have absolutely NO restrictions. We don't have to report intent, attendance etc. and we have absolutely zero testing requirements, EVER!! We fly completely under the radar. As far as the state of Oklahoma is concerned homeschool kids here do not exist. There is no record of them in the system either by intent, attendance, testing etc. (unless of course they were in the public school system at one point) Otherwise, there is no record of any homeschooled kids here nor has one ever been required. Personally, I like it that way. ;)

[Miss Sherry]

Texas. No one knows we exist.

 

HOWEVER, that also makes it the easier to do nothing in which is what a LOT of "homeschoolers" seem to choose these days :(

I think it is just getting to be a little more common for people who are not really homeschoolers to call themselves homeschoolers. But I would not want to label anyone in particular because they could actually BE homeschoolers with a different educational philosophy, such as the"better late than early" type of homeschoolers who delay formal academics but are involved in a lot of hands on learning and serving others from an early age. I think we can be quick to judge others when we do not know what they are all about.

[Miss Sherry]

:iagree: Oklahoma is the only state in the entire nation that actually has the legal right to homeschool written into our constitution. We have absolutely NO restrictions. We don't have to report intent, attendance etc. and we have absolutely zero testing requirements, EVER!! We fly completely under the radar. As far as the state of Oklahoma is concerned homeschool kids here do not exist. There is no record of them in the system either by intent, attendance, testing etc. (unless of course they were in the public school system at one point) Otherwise, there is no record of any homeschooled kids here nor has one ever been required. Personally, I like it that way. ;)

No, I don't think that is true. I think it is also written into the state constitution of the state of WA.

[_io]

Idaho. No reporting, no attendance, no testing, no letter of intent. Just don't send 'em to school.

[keptwoman]

Victoria :D

[Annabel Lee]

Alaska. Just don't send them - they'll be completely off the grid, or enroll in an umbrella program much like what the PP from CA described above complete w/ support, funding, & freebies. You can have it any way you like it here. :)

[Laurel]

Oklahoma. It's another "absolutely nothing required" state. And nothing means no reporting, no testing, no letters..... Our school district doesn't know we even exist. Plus, homeschooling is protected in our state constitution.

 

:iagree:

[DawnM]

We moved to NC and while it is very true that there are many hsers here and we have a great group, I HATE that we have to test or take attendance. CA was easier.

 

Dawn

 

North Carolina is a notification state. We are required to keep attendance, yearly standardized test scores and immunizations records on site. Any reporting is voluntary. NC is a great state for homeschooling with a large HS community.

[Mom2absh]

Another vote for NJ!

 

J

[StartingOver]

Texas - you do nothing.

Alaska - again Nothing.

Montana - I only sent in one sheet with kids names - age related grades - address and phone number.

 

I have RV'ed through many other states over 5 years, but never stayed long enough to change my residence from one of the above states.

[mommyrooch]

No, I don't think that is true. I think it is also written into the state constitution of the state of WA.

 

It is true. See this link. It is the legal analysis for the state of Oklahoma. http://www.hslda.org/laws/analysis/Oklahoma.pdf The second paragraph clearly states that Oklahoma is the only state that includes such a provision in their state constitution.

 

Note on the bottom of the analysis there are no teacher requirements, no reporting, no testing, etc.

 

I also looked up WA and there is nothing written about the right to homeschool being written into the state constitution. WA also seems to have quite a few regulations like teacher requirements. ANY regulation in my opinion doesn't make a state very homeschool friendly compared to states that have zero regulations.

[delaney]

Total side note but does that effect the way colleges view a homeschooled student? I just wondered if they take an education from an "easy" state less seriously than the tough states? Just wondering!

[kesmom]

When I attended a hs workshop last year, the speaker said that in TX we do have to send a letter of intent to the school. Is this incorrect?

[Dmmetler]

TN is a moderately tough state, (not only is registration required, but testing is mandatory in certain grades, and if your child is too far behind, the district then can apply restrictions), but there are quite a few umbrella schools which fall under the Church Related Schools laws and avoid a lot of this. That's what we're doing. I'm not afraid of my DD taking the state test, and in fact plan to do yearly testing, but it's the principle of the thing.

[Orthodox6]

Texas. No one knows we exist.

 

HOWEVER, that also makes it the easier to do nothing in which is what a LOT of "homeschoolers" seem to choose these days :(

 

:iagree: Freedom confers responsibility. Many here demand the former, but disregard the latter.