watertribe Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 I have previously registered and homeschooled my oldest in Connecticut and Florida, but now we are traveling on our boat and do not have a permanent address. We plan to travel on our boat for a few years (both in and out of the U.S.) and I'm not sure what state we will end up in when we are done. My kids are in 1st & 5th this year and I'm wondering what are the repercussions of not registering anywhere? I guess I could use my parents' address to register if it was critical to do so. Previously I homeschooled grades 1-3 with my oldest then last year he attended PS for 4th grade - they never asked anything about what I taught or asked to see any records. Do they even care ? I do keep portfolios of their work and closely follow TWTM curriculum. What's the worst that could happen? Catherine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 I have no idea about registering vs. not registering, but I just wanted to say, "Cool!" I've always secretly fantasized about floating around in a boat for a while, or driving around and not settling anywhere for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 I've no idea, but I'd think that if you "establish" an address in a homeschool-friendly state, then no one would have anything to say about it. Maybe get a PO box and have any mail directed to it? That would "prove" you were a resident of that state, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamato3 all-boy boys Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 Interesting.... Just off the cuff... Are you legally tied to any state? What would the repercussions be if you were accused of truancy with your kids? That's probably the question I would want an answer to in deciding what to do....Then, of the locations that I might have ties to (old residence, major port of call, location where mail/bills delivered, where my stuff is in storage) I'd pick the state with the easiest/ most convenient laws and follow those. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSNative Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 I'd call HSLDA on that one. Notionally, I'd think that you would register in whichever state you plan on filing your taxes and registering to vote. Very cool though!!! That sounds like an amazing adventure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 What state is your boat registered in? Where is your mail going? What is the address used to get your passport? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 My understanding, from when I was fantasizing about RV living, is that you have to have a "home base" for things like licenses, taxes, registrations, voting, etc. All of those things seem to vary by state. Some allow you to be a paperwork-only resident, while others require an actual residence. I think one of the Dakotas allows the paperwork-only option. I'd check with websites dedicated to that sort of thing and pick one of the options with the least (preferably no) homeschool regulation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 My understanding, from when I was fantasizing about RV living, is that you have to have a "home base" for things like licenses, taxes, registrations, voting, etc. All of those things seem to vary by state. Some allow you to be a paperwork-only resident, while others require an actual residence. I think one of the Dakotas allows the paperwork-only option. I'd check with websites dedicated to that sort of thing and pick one of the options with the least (preferably no) homeschool regulation. A friend of mine is switching to RV living and they travelled to Texas to buy the RV/get driver's licenses/set up all their home base stuff. We are very homeschool friendly and have no state income tax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amira Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 We've been in this situation more than once. It is my understanding that you only have to register/notify/test/whatever in a state you are currently living in. That state can only require you to fulfill its legal schooling obligations while you are living in that state. So if you're backpacking through Europe, or sailing around the world, or living overseas in a country where they don't require registration, or whatever, you don't have to worry about notifying anyone, even if you are legally a resident of a certain state. Another example is people who keep their residence in one state for tax purposes, but spend most of their time in another state. Their kids would be going to a local school, and a homeschooler would follow the local homeschooling laws, not the laws of the resident state. Since you won't have local state laws to follow, you don't worry about registering. A state can only ask you (and only in some circumstances) for homeschooling records from the years you lived in that state. You shouldn't have anything to worry about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in OH Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 What's your home port? Or where you get your mail, as in tax forms, insurance bills, driver's license, etc.? If you own a house, you would probably have to abide by that state's homeschooling laws, but I'm not certain. When we were planning to sail with the kids we were told to declare a port in a state with homeschooling laws that we liked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 9, 2010 Share Posted September 9, 2010 Wow, how fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watertribe Posted September 9, 2010 Author Share Posted September 9, 2010 Thanks Amira, that's what I hoped would be the answer, because it is logical, but who knows. It does seem that all states are different and what is OK in one may not be in another (definitely not "United" states). Right now we have things split between 2 states (FL & CT) with registrations, license, insurance, etc. We pay taxes in FL (because it is state tax free) but the address we are using there will have to change soon. I will probably use a service that handles mail for you, but I'd prefer not to register for homeschool if I don't have to. I know we won't be living in FL when we are done sailing. As far as boat registration goes, we're registered with the USCG which is not state based, and the home port on the boat has no meaning at all because we are not registered in a state. Thanks for all the feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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