s/o Stealth homeschooling - in what states is this possible?

[RootAnn]

Missouri it would be easy. We're supposed to keep records but no one checks. 

 

I don't have any first-hand knowledge, but there was a definite "check up" going on, from what I heard, in one county in MO within the last two years. Several families investigated did not have the minimal records needed to show they'd been legally homeschooling. I don't think it ended up amounting to anything other than a scare tactic. (My source was part of a co-op in the county where this happened, but she lives in a different county.)

 

A parent who is home schooling a child (in Missouri) must maintain the following records:

• A plan book, diary, daily log, or other written record indicating the subjects taught and the activities engaged in with the student;
• A portfolio containing samples of the student's academic work;
• A record of evaluation of the student's academic progress; or
• Other written, or credible evidence equivalent to a, b, and c.

[SailorMom]

In NM, all one has to do is email a letter of intent to the district superintendent.  They email you back a Homeschool ID number.  You do this once a year.  It would be very easy here to just not do that, and I'm not sure anyone would get more than a "you should have registered" if they were caught. 

That aside, once the high school years start, that ID number is asked for some situations.  For example, we decided to graduate my younger son before he was 18, and had him take the GED for scholarship reasons.  We had to file a request for exemption from the state's age requirements (in NM you have to be 18 to take the GED) and had to provide that number on the form.  Also - in order to dual enroll, or just take classes without proof of high school graduation, you have to get a NM public school ID number.  We needed that for the GED as well.

If a person was never going to need to utilize services, then I could see NM being an easy place to go underground.

[bluemongoose]

My problem in my state is that the County is the one not following the law!  Many people can fly under the radar and do. All that is required is a one time LOI and testing in certain grade levels. The part that the county is not following is they are required to send you a letter in reply to your LOI that you can use as proof for things like dual credit, drivers ed, etc. I have sent in 2 LOI so far for my 2 older children who met the compulsory age deadline. I have not received a letter either time. Everyone I know who has a child younger than 12 yo has not received the acceptance letter. So they have not been following their end of the law for several years now.

 

If you choose to fly under the radar and are caught, you have 10 days to get your LOI in. So most people just have one ready to mail in if they get caught. It has happened when nosy neighbors get involved, but it is not often. 

[redsquirrel]

I didn't register with the state in NY for years. And I know lots of people who don't report at all. If you are the only homeschooler in a small town, then of course someone will notice, but there are so many of us here that the school isn't going to ever notice.  I prob know more people here in NY that are not on the books than who are on the books.  The only reason I did was that my younger son was going to need special ed services as a homeschooler, so I knew the gig was up.

 

Knowing what I know now, it is super easy to be under the radar. Just don't be crazy and give neighbors cause to worry about the safety of your kids. My neighbors who have been here for years know we homeschool and that is why my kids are home in the middle of the day. Done.  The actual school district doesn't know squat about homeschooling or homeschoolers. No one is out looking for kids in the middle of the day. Our district supervisor works for BOCES and has zero contact with the larger district.  I have since had to have contact with the district to enroll my older boy in high school and their level of ignorance about homeschooling, its regulations etc was just depressing. I was actually glad I had registered and his paperwork for at least middle school was on record and that I knew the regs inside and out.  And not a single word was ever said to me about the time I was unregistered. Even when I sent in that first letter the liaison just said, "welcome to the district."

 

Plus, no one has EVER actually checked my work.  It would be super easy to create false reports and send them in. No one checks. I get a response back every quarter "this meets the standard as set forth by the state of NY educational law section blah blah blah".  I could be lying, the kids could be playing video games all day as long.  As long as I write a good quarterly no one would know.  Honestly, I am not sure that anyone is legally allowed to check. Plus, the district certainly don't have the time or money to check.

 

I do have to have the kids tested every now and then, but come on, the PASS test or the CAT isn't exactly challenging. And it is only required starting in fourth grade and then every other year from years 4-8, and every year in high school. As long as your kid isn't many grade levels behind AND shows no improvement at all over time, then you are fine. If it is like that, then maybe you will be on academic probation. Even that gets you another year and another chance to test. I've never heard of it being an issue for anyone and I have asked around. 

 

I know one family who got in trouble for being unregistered BUT they were acting in a way that made them stand out. I will say that they were not being abusive in any way, but they let their kids do some stuff that naturally drew some attention to their parenting choices. It was that, not their registration status that got them a visit from CPS. I don't want to say anything else but I don't think most people here would disagree that it was prob not a good idea. Anyway, that was a long time ago and the kids are grown up and absolutely lovely and a credit to the community. When I have asked, they are the only 'under the radar' family I have heard of who has ever got in trouble, and it wasn't for being unregistered, but for parenting decisions.  And even if you do get turned in to CPS for being unregistered all that happens is that you get told to register. That's it. I don't think they even come back to check that you did. That family, the one I just mentioned, well, after the first visit from CPS they didn't register. They got turned in again (for a similar thing as the first time) a couple years later and that time they did register and also made some changes in how they were living their lives. And FYI, I know these folks and they are lovely people really....just not so good with some things. But they learned a lot and made some very positive changes.

 

If you are registered, then the district will let you know if you are behind in your paperwork. I am lucky because my specific liaison seems to actually understand the homeschool regulations. In fact, the regs give a lot of protection to homeschoolers. It takes the power away from the local district, in theory.  If means that each district can't make up their own regs for homeschoolers as it suits them, or that a new liaison can come in a recreate the wheel.  OTOH, if you are in a crazy district it can take the threat of a lawsuit to make them back off. I have heard of people having to explain to a new liaison that, no, the district doesn't have the right to make up their own homeschool regulations. It can take quite a lot of convincing.

 

The biggest PIA is that a district can choose not to accept a parent's 'narrative review' of the year, if they so choose. The district can require the narrative be written by a certified teacher. If you can't get that then the option is to test every year. My district does take a review from a parent because the parent is the teacher and is best positioned to give an assessment of the student. However, I choose to test every year because I am too lazy to write one. A test is easier and it's the only test my kid ever gets. He could use the practice, lol. However, that makes me a bit of a freak locally.

[myfunnybunch]

Oregon.

 

The law states that you must notify the education service district, and test in grades 3, 5, 8, 10.

 

Almost all of the folks we know comply with the law, but a few do not, either because they do not want to test or because they simply want to stay off the radar altogether.

 

 

[LucyStoner]

In WA state, you are required to send a declaration of intent (DOI) and test or evaluate annually. The test scores or evaluator reports are maintained by you though. I can't imagine, unless there was a custody dispute or a serious child welfare investigation that anyone would ever check. I imagine there are people who opt not to send a DOI though I have no idea what point they think they are making.

 

Not having people know we are homeschooling ranks nowhere on my lists of priorities and goals. I don't mind the regulation at all.

 

We are one of the only states with a parent education requirmenr past high school. A parent must have the rough equivalent of 1 year of college credits. But that is something you can work around by taking a qualifying class or working with a teacher or getting the superintendent to approve. That said, one could check the box that they had the number of credit hours required on the DOI and I seriously doubt anyone would check. I don't know of very many people who homeschool here though who don't have a year of college.