Oklahoma homeschooling

[Shawna in Texas]

My cousin is moving in a couple months across the state and doesn't want to enroll her kids in their school for whatever reason (my sister says there was some bullying issues). She wants to enroll them when she moves though, so she wants to homeschool for a couple months. She called the school and they said the children would need to be tested and would need to score high on these tests to be enrolled. She doesn't want to do that. Is this true? How easy is it to homeschool in Oklahoma?

[snickelfritz]

Is she moving to a small town? I live in the Tulsa area and I know people who go back to public school easily. They may test, but require them to score " high?". Hah!

 

Homeschooling in OK is easy. No rules. No testing. No checkups or registering. They suggest you get 180 days. The school district doesn't know we exist and they don't want to know we exist.

Edited August 18, 2010 by snickelfritz
Stupid auto-correct

[fhjmom]

My cousin is moving in a couple months across the state and doesn't want to enroll her kids in their school for whatever reason (my sister says there was some bullying issues). She wants to enroll them when she moves though, so she wants to homeschool for a couple months. She called the school and they said the children would need to be tested and would need to score high on these tests to be enrolled. She doesn't want to do that. Is this true? How easy is it to homeschool in Oklahoma?

 

I am not from Oklahoma but I don't see how they could deny her children enrollment in public school :confused: . How old/what grade are her students? It sounds like they been enrolled in public school up until this year, so if they have credits up until now, the school couldn't hold them back no matter how they placed on a test, could they? It doesn't make sense to me.

[KidsHappen]

OK is the easiest state in the union as far as homeschooling is concerned. The right to do so is written into their constitution. There are no if, ands or buts. A PS also has to take any child in their district that wishes to go. They may require placement testing by they can't refuse to take the child. High school is a little more difficult because although they are required to take the child they are not required to issue credit based on HS work which could delay graduation.

[Shawna in Texas]

Is she moving to a small town? I live in the Tulsa area and I know people who go back to public school easily. They may test, but require them to score " high?". Hah!

 

Homeschooling in OK is easy. No rules. No testing. No checkups or registering. They suggest you get 180 days. The school district doesn't know we exist and they don't want to know we exist.

 

Yes. From one small town to another. I knew that it was easy to homeschool, but the testing thing through me off. What test?

 

I am not from Oklahoma but I don't see how they could deny her children enrollment in public school :confused: . How old/what grade are her students? It sounds like they been enrolled in public school up until this year, so if they have credits up until now, the school couldn't hold them back no matter how they placed on a test, could they? It doesn't make sense to me.

 

I think one is going into 2nd and the other going into 5th or 6th. They've always been in public school.

[snickelfritz]

I don't even know what the tests would be. When I taught at an unaccredited private school (also very common) they just always said the only downside was the public school might require testing to place their grade level. I don't know anyone who has ever taken this test. I have talked to a high school guidance counselor from one of the large area schools. Her caution is that kids entering in the middle of high school can have problems with their credits not being allowed unless they can pass ....Clep??? Tests. But before 9th, that wouldn't be an issue.

 

If she wants to homeschool, it's easy. If she wants to enroll them, sounds like she needs to be prepared to pitch a fit.

[Chrystal]

SAT placement tests. That's what my older two took when they registered for private school after 2 years of homeschooling. Of course, they blew the test out of the water, but I think mostly the school just wanted to make sure that they were functioning at grade level.

[Miss Marple]

My cousin is moving in a couple months across the state and doesn't want to enroll her kids in their school for whatever reason (my sister says there was some bullying issues). She wants to enroll them when she moves though, so she wants to homeschool for a couple months. She called the school and they said the children would need to be tested and would need to score high on these tests to be enrolled. She doesn't want to do that. Is this true? How easy is it to homeschool in Oklahoma?

 

 

Are these high school level students? If so, it is true that they must be tested. One cannot just enroll after 9th grade in the ps here. According to one counselor, the tests are too hard for their own students to pass. So, even if a student has completed 9th at home and wishes to enroll in 10th, the student will be put back in 9th unless he/she tests out of that level (unlikely according to counselor). If they have been in a public or accredited private school in 9th, that would alleviate the need for the testing.

 

I am not aware of any other issues regarding testing to enroll in public schools in OK prior to high school.

[Abigail4476]

This is starting my third year of homeschooling in Oklahoma, and I have to agree that our state makes it pretty easy to homeschool. Plus, there are LOADS of community resources available to homeschoolers, especially in metro areas.

 

They do frown on bouncing back and forth from homeschool to public school, and I can see where that would get dicey since a complete homeschool curriculum may culminate in college preparedness just as well as (or, more likely, better than) public school curriculum, but may not address each academic feature at the same time. (*whew* That was one LONG run-on sentence! :D)

 

I first tried homeschooling when my girls were young, but my father became terminally ill, so I ended up putting them back in public school for a few years. There were no questions or tests. I just enrolled them and that was that. However, if your cousin is enrolling in high school, it may be a little more complicated. It could involve a probationary period that looks at her aptitude for her classes, and personally I would be surprised to see any actual, formal "tests" put on the table.

 

As far as having to "score high" in order to be enrolled--that's an odd statement (and highly dubious). I'm thinking she should call the school board directly, and discuss requirements with the superintendent. That doesn't sound quite right to me.

[Abigail4476]

Are these high school level students? If so, it is true that they must be tested. One cannot just enroll after 9th grade in the ps here. According to one counselor, the tests are too hard for their own students to pass. So, even if a student has completed 9th at home and wishes to enroll in 10th, the student will be put back in 9th unless he/she tests out of that level (unlikely according to counselor). If they have been in a public or accredited private school in 9th, that would alleviate the need for the testing.

 

I didn't know they had to be tested! That's unfair :ack2:--unless all publicly schooled children also have to take the same test at the beginning of each year. I personally know of a couple of ps'ed children who were just passed into high school after making nearly failing grades in jr. high (from Jenks), which were patched up with a few weeks of summer school. :glare:

 

That helps cement my determination to school my children all the way through high school.

 

I do think my husband needs to take me on a longggggg vacation to the NC Outer Banks once they've all graduated. :tongue_smilie:

[Ellie]

My suggestions:

 

She should be sure to get her children's cumulative records from their school in Texas. She should add a report card or something for the work they've done at home; a standardized test wouldn't be a bad idea (she'd need to order it RIGHT NOW). When she gets to OK, she goes down to the local school, cum files in hand, and just enrolls them in the public school at their appropriate grade levels, no explanations about homeschooling or anything.

 

Better still, she should keep homeschooling. :D

[wendybird]

I have had a couple of friend/families enroll their children after homeschooling and they both had to have their children tested at the new schools. One was Sapulpa, one was Bixby. The tests were not standardized tests, they were put together by the teachers and were not difficult. They did accurately assess some learning delays, but the kids also scored high in their high areas. One family had all the kids placed in grades 2-3 years behind what they wanted, the other family had all children place at level or even a grade higher for one.

Another family I know from our homeschool group has contacted Hominy about enrolling and they also require their school test to be administered. They told her that it is not a state test.

I hope your friend is able to make a decision she is comfortable with. OK is very homeschool friendly in general , but they do(as a previous poster said) try to actively discourage bouncing back and forth.

[fhjmom]

I think one is going into 2nd and the other going into 5th or 6th. They've always been in public school.

 

I can see requiring a test for grade placement if they had always been homeschooled or for credit at the high school level, but these kids are coming in with completed credit from a public school for the previous grades (1st and 4th or 5th). Where else would they put them than the next grade?

 

I agree that she should get her current cumulative records, make up a report card for the studies she does at home and then be done with it. They can't refuse to enroll them and they can't put them back in grades they already have complete credits for.

 

Unless she is asking to have them skip ahead, and I don't read that to be the case at all, I don't see what the problem is.

[Miss Marple]

I didn't know they had to be tested! That's unfair :ack2:--unless all publicly schooled children also have to take the same test at the beginning of each year. I personally know of a couple of ps'ed children who were just passed into high school after making nearly failing grades in jr. high (from Jenks), which were patched up with a few weeks of summer school. :glare:

 

That helps cement my determination to school my children all the way through high school.

 

I do think my husband needs to take me on a longggggg vacation to the NC Outer Banks once they've all graduated. :tongue_smilie:

 

I alway felt that once we started 9th, it was all or nothing. One of the local Christian schools will admit homeschooled kids past 9th, but will not give them a diploma. Their argument is this: why should they certify that the student passed courses that were not done in their school (or under an accredited institution). It does sort of make sense...