California Moms- I'm moving to CA...need help

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I plan to wait until I get there to find an umbrella/cover school because I'll meet a few homeschool moms out there from my new church and also because my brain has a lot of other things on it right now!

 

But- I am starting next year's curriculum today. (We finished early and I need to get a head start so I can take off a month or more when we move in June.) And, as I understand it, in CA, you have to track days of school right? So, can I begin tracking school days now toward next year? And if so is there an easy to use online printable form that I can print and use?

 

Any other advice is appreciated.

[shinyhappypeople]

You don't need an umbrella school unless you want one, and you don't have to track days in the way that you're thinking. You only need to track when a student is absent, which, as a homeschool would be never. Homeschooling is super, super easy here. Just file the Private School Affidavit online in October and you're done. This is helpful: California Homeschool Network: Just the Facts.

 

I strongly encourage you not to go the charter school route. Others will disagree, but I've seen participation result in so much unnecessary stress and pressure on kids and parents. This is based on personal experience, as well as the experiences of friends.

[Ellie]

You don't need an umbrella school unless you want one, and you don't have to track days in the way that you're thinking. You only need to track when a student is absent, which, as a homeschool would be never. Homeschooling is super, super easy here. Just file the Private School Affidavit online in October and you're done. This is helpful: California Homeschool Network: Just the Facts.

 

I strongly encourage you not to go the charter school route. Others will disagree, but I've seen participation result in so much unnecessary stress and pressure on kids and parents. This is based on personal experience, as well as the experiences of friends.

 

:iagree: :iagree: :iagree: :iagree: :iagree:

[Ellie]

I plan to wait until I get there to find an umbrella/cover school because I'll meet a few homeschool moms out there from my new church and also because my brain has a lot of other things on it right now!

 

But- I am starting next year's curriculum today. (We finished early and I need to get a head start so I can take off a month or more when we move in June.) And, as I understand it, in CA, you have to track days of school right? So, can I begin tracking school days now toward next year? And if so is there an easy to use online printable form that I can print and use?

 

Any other advice is appreciated.

 

There is never, ever a time when it's necessary to "track days" in California. It is true that many umbrella schools (officially known as "Private School Umbrella Programs," or PSPs, per a court case a few years ago) require parents to turn in attendance records and to have a certain number of days, but the truth is that the California Education Code does not specify a school year for private schools (the same court case decided that homeschools may legally operate as private schools, and private schools are pretty much not regulated by the state). Private schools are supposed to indicate when students are absent for half a day of however long the private school's days are.

 

So, yes, don't think about it at all until next October, when you'll file an affidavit between the 1st and the 15th. You should be able to find a support group that is not connected with a PSP.

 

FTR, I am not implying that PSPs are a bad thing; I owned/administered one for 16 years, you know. :D However, so many of them require all sorts of things not required by the state (quarterly reports, attendance records, end-of-year testing, and so on) in addition to other things like mandatory parent meetings, that their services are hardly worth it, especially if there are support groups in your community which do the social things like park days and field trips.

 

What part of California are you moving to?

[momto2Cs]

I agree with the above. You don't need to do the charter school route, unless of course you really want to! A private school affidavit is super easy to file each year. HSC has a great, and detailed, explanation of how to do this, and what records to keep. As far as attendance, I just print out a "school calendar" for each kid/year, and say that "days absent are marked with an x", put it in the binder, and call it done.

 

We did homeschool through a charter for about 3 years. Attendance records were simple then too... I just listed an academic activity for each day of attendance. If yu do go this route, you will likely need to submit monthly or even bi-weekly work samples for your students AND no, you could not start counting now because it goes by their school year.

 

Like Ellie, I want to know where in CA you're moving! Feel free to pm me with any questions about homeschooling in the Golden State!

[hollyh]

The best bet would be for you to do the affidavit. You can choose the following year if you want to do a charter school, psp, etc. With the move, I wouldn't want to have anything else or anyone else to be accountable to. Besides, the charter schools are usually taking applications about now or soon and that would mean you would need to be doing that as well.

[fraidycat]

I would just go with the private school affidavit and call it good. :) Start your curriculum now and don't worry about a thing until October.

[J9Mommy]

You don't need an umbrella school unless you want one, and you don't have to track days in the way that you're thinking. You only need to track when a student is absent, which, as a homeschool would be never. Homeschooling is super, super easy here. Just file the Private School Affidavit online in October and you're done. This is helpful: California Homeschool Network: Just the Facts.

 

I strongly encourage you not to go the charter school route. Others will disagree, but I've seen participation result in so much unnecessary stress and pressure on kids and parents. This is based on personal experience, as well as the experiences of friends.

 

This is exactly how I feel. I also do the private school affidavit. The homeschool group I have been involved with is made up of all charter school parents, so I have definitely seen/heard the stories. Many continue to use the charter, due to the monetary payment they receive.

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WOW thanks everyone! ANd Ellie, I knew you'd be chiming in. I will read that website and come back if I still have questions.

 

We are moving to South Bay/ Silicon Valley :hurray:

 

Obviously I am very sad to leave certain people here like my sister and her kids, and I see more of my grandma here...

BUT there are a lot of aspects that we are very very excited about. I can't wait to get out of the south florida heat...I am excited about the educational and cultural opportunities in CA, and we are very excited about hiking parks, and skiing, none of which we do here in the flat, hot humid stateIt;s a big change and slightly scary but GOd is so good! He provided dear friends from 10 years ago with whom we have kept in touch, who are dear, like minded Christians and very close to us (even though years have separated us, it's like we were never apart.

 

I am looking at BACH Homeschool group? They seem to have some of what I need for support

 

Off to check out that website.

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OK I read the CHN Just the Facts Article. Thanks so much! That made it all so much more clear. I feel pretty calm about it all now. I'm a little confused about the attendance thing. Does it mean that basically my kids are assumed to be in attendance whenever CA schools are in attendance? So, for the most part, we will be doing something educational almost every day of our lives which would count towards attendance. I mean, even when we go on vacation the beach can be PE, the trip to a museum is art, science, etc. Do you actually ever worry about that 1/2 day requirement?

[Crimson Wife]

If you're in the South Bay, Ocean Grove or Connecting Waters would be the charters that would provide a stipend to buy the (secular) curriculum or classes of your choice. They are both part of the same parent management organization, though I have heard through the grapevine that OG is not accepting any new students at the moment.

 

We were with OG for a year and had an awful Educational Specialist but I know folks with OG who love their ES. The school itself had fairly easy to satisfy requirements.

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Thanks Crimson. THat's always good to know. Although I like to be an independent homeschooler, I like to know what all the options are in life!

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OK some questions more clearly stated:

 

1. Even though I submit my affidavit in October, are we allowed to keep our own schedule, and school year round, through the summer etc.?

2. If we keep our own schedule, then I can just print a yearly calendar from Donna Young and put a red X on days we don't do school (other than Saturday and Sunday?)

3. Do we have to worry about the local school schedules at all?

4. So...there are no annual testing or evaluation requirements? If that's so, cool!!

[Ellie]

OK I read the CHN Just the Facts Article. Thanks so much! That made it all so much more clear. I feel pretty calm about it all now. I'm a little confused about the attendance thing. Does it mean that basically my kids are assumed to be in attendance whenever CA schools are in attendance? So, for the most part, we will be doing something educational almost every day of our lives which would count towards attendance. I mean, even when we go on vacation the beach can be PE, the trip to a museum is art, science, etc. Do you actually ever worry about that 1/2 day requirement?

 

 

Girlfriend, you are way too worried about attendance. You never, ever have to justify what you did to make your children "present." Not.ever. The chances that you will have to submit attendance records to anyone are slim and none. If it makes you better, you can print a yearly attendance calendar from donnayoung.org, something like this, and hand it to some nosy official who shows up at your door.

 

Your children are never, ever, absent. You get up every day and there they are.

 

Also, remember this: when you file an affidavit, your children are enrolled in a *private school.* Private schools are not required to have a certain number of school days. They are not required to be in session when public schools are.

 

FTR, only twice have homeschoolers actually made it to court in California in many, many years. The first time in *my* memory was, oh, 20 years ago in San Mateo County. The single mother was found guilty of allowing her children to be truant, because she couldn't tell the judge what she had done to cover the core curriculum. Her children were enrolled in a PSP in Southern California, which the D.A. did not question; what was questioned was the fact that she had indicated when her children were present, instead of only when they were absent, and the DA gave her grief because her children were "present" on a legal holiday (Memorial Day). ::rolls eyes:: You understand that there's nothing illegal about that; it's only that it gave the DA something to give grief to the poor hsing mother about, because they didn't really have a case. And that's when I realized that anything you can and will be used against you in a court of law, which means you do NOT provide information not required by law. If the law says that you indicate when children are present, then only indicate when they are present. Oh, and this court case was why I required my families to give me exact titles of any textbooks they used (IOW, God's Protected World instead of Rod and Staff) and levels when they enrolled each year, and to be able to tell me when they called monthly what they had done to cover the core curriculum, because persons who are "capable of teaching" should be able to do that (teachers in private schools are supposed to be "persons capable of teaching").

[SeeSchells]

Welcome to the CA! I will be filing my own private affidavit this fall :) We have been with Connecting Waters for 3 years (and were with another charter before CW). I plan to leave one child with them for another year. IF you did go with a charter...a good ES (education specialist) will make all the difference. But if you don't have to go that route for financial reasons then I recommend going on your own. I have never home schooled without a charter and frankly I am addicted to the funds! LOL! But I hate hate hate to jump through their hoops or the requirements they put on my son if he doesn't preform like they want him to, hence why we are pulling him out after this year is finished. I am in the Central Valley but have spent a fair amount of time in the bay area. Lots of educational things to do with the kids!! To answer your questions...yes you can make your own schedule when you file private, just keep attendance, don't worry about local schools at all and no testing (my main reason for leaving the charter!!).

[Ellie]

You replied while I was replying, lol.

 

 

1. Even though I submit my affidavit in October, are we allowed to keep our own schedule, and school year round, through the summer etc.?

 

You can do whatever the heck you want. No one cares, as long as you file the affidavit.

 

2. If we keep our own schedule, then I can just print a yearly calendar from Donna Young and put a red X on days we don't do school (other than Saturday and Sunday?)

 

Don't put a red x on anything unless your children are *absent.* If you're not doing school, then your children aren't "absent" because school is closed, right?

 

3. Do we have to worry about the local school schedules at all?

 

Nope.

 

4. So...there are no annual testing or evaluation requirements? If that's so, cool!!

 

Nope.

[BlessedMom]

CHEA is another excellent source for information about homeschooling in California.

 

http://www.cheaofca.org

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THanks everyone. I feel pretty clear about it now! It seems like it's actually pretty simple and easy. :o)