weederberries Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 I had a friend refer her friend to me to answer questions about homeschooling in Texas and I was taken aback by the difference in philosophy and politics. I'm from red-state Texas with very free requirements for homeschoolers. She's from blue-state California with regulations and hoops to jump through. She asked me where to get curriculum for her upcoming Kindergartner. I referred her to a dozen different sources and how to get started in Texas. I was ambushed by a rant about how Texas doesn't care about her children, blah blah. She's expecting the state to hand her a free curriculum to use so they can ensure her child is educated and so the state can get federal funding. (?) "I think I will find a curriculum from a state that perpetuates education." To my knowledge, no states offer homeschooling curricula, but I admit I've never looked into it. Does anyone have any insight into whether California provides a state-curriculum for homeschoolers or if they get federal funding for homeschooled students? I guess I just live in a little bubble of homeschoolers who all do it to avoid the one-size-fits-all state curriculum. It never crossed my mind that someone would homeschool, but not want to choose what and how to teach. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 She might be talking about California Virtual Academies which uses K12 materials or she is talking about the charter schools which provides stipends to buy curriculum and pay for classes. The state does get funding for title 1 for charter school kids schooling at home. ETA: Some districts have independent study program and the child gets the same curriculum as everyone else in that district. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Weird. I homeschool in CA. All I had to do is fax one page stating the name of my school. Done. High regulation state? I don't think so. Maybe she is talking about K12, or if she is schooling through a charter, she expects her ES to be helping out picking the curriculum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clemota Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Is your friend talking about using a charter school or an independent study through her local public school? Those are the only 2 ways I know about to be "given" CA standards-aligned curriculum. Using an independent study through a district generally means she'll be assigned the same textbooks as used in the local school system - but she gets to teach it at home, one-on-one. A teacher is assigned from the district whom she would meet with regularly (in this district it's about every 2 -4 weeks). Samples of work are turned in to show compliance with the standards. Charter schools vary in their curriculum and funding, but they are still considered a public school. Some are more flexible than others, but ALL of them require holding to state standards, which includes using secular curriculum and yearly standardized testing. Teachers are assigned and met with anywhere from every 3 weeks to once a semester. Samples of work are collected and turned in to show compliance with standards. Some charters, like K12 mention above, provide the full k12 curriculum without providing any funds to the enrolled student (i.e. the funding goes to the k12 curriculum). Other charters offer a yearly stipend for each student, and the parent/student chooses how to spend that money - on approved curriculum, classes and/or electives. If she is becoming an private independent homeschooler by filling out a PSA, she will not receive funding or curriculum. But she will also be allowed to disregard any standards - CA, Common Core, or otherwise - as well as not be required to participate in state testing. She becomes her own private school. So I suppose it depends on what type of school your friend is doing and what that school offers, or if she decides to fill out a PSA and go the private route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sassenach Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 That's not how it works in Cali. PP hit it more thoroughly, but even in my charter, I choose the curriculum. She's not somebody I would bother having homeschooling conversations with in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poiema Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 One more possibility is homeschooling through a school district. I'm not sure every district offers this, but our school district hands you everything (books, lesson plans, etc) the child would do in class that week and then you meet with a teacher at the end of the week to turn everything in. They also allow the child to participate in school events and even take one class at school once they hit middle school. This is not the route I chose, but I did consider it when I was first starting out. Eta - oops, I see PP beat me to it. Now you all know how slow and distracted I am when typing out a response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 I had a friend refer her friend to me to answer questions about homeschooling in Texas and I was taken aback by the difference in philosophy and politics. I'm from red-state Texas with very free requirements for homeschoolers. She's from blue-state California with regulations and hoops to jump through. She asked me where to get curriculum for her upcoming Kindergartner. I referred her to a dozen different sources and how to get started in Texas. I was ambushed by a rant about how Texas doesn't care about her children, blah blah. She's expecting the state to hand her a free curriculum to use so they can ensure her child is educated and so the state can get federal funding. (?) "I think I will find a curriculum from a state that perpetuates education." To my knowledge, no states offer homeschooling curricula, but I admit I've never looked into it. Does anyone have any insight into whether California provides a state-curriculum for homeschoolers or if they get federal funding for homeschooled students? I guess I just live in a little bubble of homeschoolers who all do it to avoid the one-size-fits-all state curriculum. It never crossed my mind that someone would homeschool, but not want to choose what and how to teach. Lisa People may enroll their children in home-based charter schools or Independent Study Programs, in which case they'll either get a box of books or a stipend of some kind with which to buy approved materials. In those cases, the children are legally public school students, not private school students (homeschoolers in California have been identified by the courts as private schools, as they have in Texas). To be a private homeschooler in California requires only the filing of a Private School Affidavit annually--no testing, no minimum number of school days, no accountability of any kind (other than filing the affidavit). I don't know what kind of "regulations and hoops to jump through" that you might be thinking of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 I think she's talking about California Virtual Academy. Although there are a lot of charters that do provide free curriculum as long as it is non-sectarian. One of the most interesting ironies about living in quite possibly the most regulated state in the union is.... the only thing homeschoolers are required to do is file a private school affidavit. And that's it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 I think she's talking about California Virtual Academy. Although there are a lot of charters that do provide free curriculum as long as it is non-sectarian. One of the most interesting ironies about living in quite possibly the most regulated state in the union is.... the only thing homeschoolers are required to do is file a private school affidavit. And that's it. Really? I lived there for 30 years and didn't feel all that regulated. :huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeeBeaks Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Yes, previous posters have covered most of it. You can file PSA and become your own school, or join under the umbrella of another school. Those are the two options there in California. There are not "homeschoolers" in the legal sense - you either ARE a school (your children being the only students) or you belong to another school, either public charter (you get curriculum or funds) or private (you usually pay the school to belong to it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Really? I lived there for 30 years and didn't feel all that regulated. :huh:It's getting worse. Regulations on farmers is horrible. My aunt and uncle are small farmers and they had to hire a consultant to make sure they did everything within the law due to all the new regs coming down the pike. This is the worst state, or one of the bottom three, I can't remember, in the country to do business in because of regulations on business. Toyota just moved out of the LA area, taking all it's jobs with it, to move to a more business friendly state. Personally, I don't feel regulated, but you just have to be in the right industry. And water.... let's not get started on that subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weederberries Posted May 22, 2014 Author Share Posted May 22, 2014 One more possibility is homeschooling through a school district. I'm not sure every district offers this, but our school district hands you everything (books, lesson plans, etc) the child would do in class that week and then you meet with a teacher at the end of the week to turn everything in. They also allow the child to participate in school events and even take one class at school once they hit middle school. This is not the route I chose, but I did consider it when I was first starting out. Eta - oops, I see PP beat me to it. Now you all know how slow and distracted I am when typing out a response. This must be what she is referring to. This is completely foreign to me in Texas except in extreme circumstances for emotional or health reasons. I know K12 exists and there are a few private schools who will act as an umbrella in Texas, but of the hundreds of homeschooling families I know, I've never known anyone to do anything but purchase a curriculum and go at it. I was just taken aback by her tone. She asked me for information about schooling here and then jumped from, "what information can you give me about homeschooling in Texas" to "Texas hates children and doesn't care about educating their youth." in the course of one email. She was the one that told me that California is "highly regulated" and therefore cares about her children. I'm not gonna worry about one lady who is so up in arms about a simple matter of having to choose her own curriculum instead of the state handing it to her. I asked our mutual friend about the reaction I got and she said that this woman is a bit of a basket case with a lot going on in her life and everything seems to be a personal affront to her...including her new state's homeschooling laws. I'm just gonna let it lie and hope I don't run into this lady at the grocery store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
................... Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 She sounds like a troll, only she's real! LOL Honestly, if the state gave her curriculum, then she was part of a charter. Some charters provide specific curriculum, while others allow a lot of freedom. Then, there is also the option of homeschooling through the school district. I know the school district of San Jose independent study provides curriculum and funds, but you can also choose your own curriuclum as long as it's secular. They even have organized tutoring, play groups, and field trips trhoguh the public school independent study. These parents totally feel like they are homeschooling (even though that's not really my definition) and so she may have no idea that people homeschool privately and buy and do everything on their own. CA has more hoops than TX and it's certainly not super homeschool friendly, but it's not like what she describes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weederberries Posted May 22, 2014 Author Share Posted May 22, 2014 She sounds like a troll, only she's real! LOL Honestly, if the state gave her curriculum, then she was part of a charter. These parents totally feel like they are homeschooling (even though that's not really my definition) and so she may have no idea that people homeschool privately and buy and do everything on their own. CA has more hoops than TX and it's certainly not super homeschool friendly, but it's not like what she describes. That's exactly what I though when I got the second email from her...it's a real life troll! Did I mention her oldest is in preschool? She's not got any real experience homeschooling in any state...just came to Texas to stir the pot and complain about what we don't offer. ;-) That's kinda what I was too polite to tell her today...it doesn't sound like she wants to homeschool (by my definition), but wants to send her kid to public school at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 She was the one that told me that California is "highly regulated" and therefore cares about her children. I think you're wise to just let this woman stew in her own juices, lol. I cannot let the "highly regulated" comment go, though. I know that a couple of us have already stated that this is not the case, but there are folks here who will read that and glom onto it. No, California is NOT highly regulated, by any stretch of the imagination. There's only one hoop to jump through: filing a private school affidavit annually. No testing, no minimum # of school days, no approval or accountability of any kind. I just want these words to be the last ones that people see about California, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 She may have responded negatively because she really thought she'd get free materials and is not prepared to pay her way. KWIM? I had a relative who sincerely thought that once you singed up to hs, the state would send you everything you needed free with no strings attached. She was very disappointed to learn that she had to buy her own curricula or agree to state supervision (ps virtual school). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 She may have responded negatively because she really thought she'd get free materials and is not prepared to pay her way. KWIM? I had a relative who sincerely thought that once you singed up to hs, the state would send you everything you needed free with no strings attached. She was very disappointed to learn that she had to buy her own curricula or agree to state supervision (ps virtual school). Ok, the vast majority of charter schools in California are not virtual schools providing K12 or Connections. They are physical schools which give the parents some sort of stipend to purchase instructional materials (or the parents submit their requests and the school purchases the materials). ISPs (Independent study programs) work pretty much the same way. It may not be so in other states, but it is in California. California's charter schools and ISPs are a booming business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 Homeschool regulations just don't break by the color of the state though. Some "blue" states are high regulation and some are low. Some red states are high regulation and some are low. I just don't think you can generalize about this. Plus, I think we all know that the amount of regulation does not really seem to correlate to the quality of homeschooling done by individuals in the state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinyhappypeople Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 (adding my voice to the chorus) The state of California doesn't know or care what goes on in my "private school" (homeschool). I am completely left alone. No one checks up on us. No testing. No oversight. I file one affidavit online every October (takes maybe 5 minutes to do) and that is IT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 The Connections/K12 virtual system is the great new thing here in our state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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