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Homeschooling Again! Question for CA hs'ers
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I am very familiar with homeschooling the CM way. I hs’d my first stepdaughter through jr hi and high school and she is now in college studying Pre Med. Well, her father (my husband) passed away, and some years later I remarried. Again, the stepmother to a now 13 yr old girl who is running wild. My husband is not familiar with hs’ing but he has agreed it’s something we need to do.
Anyway, I won’t go into the whole saga 🙂 but he is concerned about the CA Education code where it says something to the effect of ‘CA doesn’t recognize this kind of homeschool’. CA would much prefer that we go through the public school online in order to homeschool. Something I’m just not interested in. I love the CM way and am – surprisingly enough – so excited to be doing this again!
So, my question is – Are any of you from CA, and have you had any trouble from the state over hs’ing the CM way? I don’t expect any problems, but I would like to put my husband’s mind at ease. When I hs’d before, I lived in Missouri and at the time they really had no regulations regarding hs’ing. So, the CA is whole new system to me as well, but I feel like I’ve studied it enough to be confident I’m not doing anything illegal.
Thank you for any insight or comments 🙂
Karen
In California, homeschoolers can file independently (very simple online form, completed every October), register with a private PSP (private satellite program), or register through a public/charter school. I have been homeschooling in CA for 15 years and we’ve used the first two options. We’ve filed independently for about the last eight years and have had no trouble at all. I’ve never been contacted by the state and don’t know anyone else who has. If you use a public/charter school, you are somewhat bound by the state curriculum and requirements, such as testing. And if you use a private PSP, you go by whatever their rules are, which differ according to who is running the group. But as independent HSers, we have always been able to do our own thing with no trouble. I have graduated two (ages 22 and 17) and now have the pleasure of schooling again with my almost-7yo daughter. I’ve noticed that over the years, more and more homeschoolers are using charter schools, so I sometimes feel sort of like a lone independent.
Others may have had different experiences, so I hope Californians chime in. Blessings to you on your journey!
Everything the PP said is true. It’s very easy to HS in California. We are part of both a PSP and a public charter.
The PSP provides our social/spiritual network (field trips, enrichment programs, mom’s night out, mom’s weekly Bible study, yearbook, school pictures, even ASB and prom for high schoolers). If we weren’t part of the public charter, the PSP would cover us legally as well.
The public charter covers us legally and pays for many of our expenses (non-religious curriculum, books, supplies, technology, even extra curriculars such as swimming and gymnastics). We meet with an education specialist once per month and turn in a worksheet or two from each subject.
All that being said, I’m not sure how easy it would be to HS the CM way and go through a public charter, as there are very specific things they need from you based on your child’s grade level. My eldest is in kindergarten this year so I plan on starting Year 1 with her in the fall and I’m not sure how CM will fit in with the charter just yet. I have to think about it a bit more. 🙂
As for the PSP, even if they did cover us legally (file with the state, collect attendance, etc), they would not intervene in our choice of curriculum. They just sort of let everyone do their own thing and trust that they are, in fact, educating their children.
Hopefully that helps. And remember this–of course the state wants you to go through their online school! They get paid per student enrolled. They lose money when people pull their kids out to HS.
We use a public charter and have been hs’ing with the CM method for many years. I’v never had had a problem with our samples we give to our credentialed teacher. As a matter of fact, she is continually pleased by what we turn in each semester. Testing scores vary from year to year and I’m okay with that. For some families, the credentialed teacher with whom they work with can sometimes make or break the experience with the charter (or it can be the charter itself). But if a family chooses a public charter and is having problems, there are ways of working that out (I know of some families who just don’t “click” with the credentialed teacher but have been able to be assigned another one).
I know a lot of home school families who prefer filing independent and I have yet to hear of any problems they have with the state. If we chose that route, I have no doubt we’d be just fine here in CA. HTH
Thank you for telling me about your experiences. And I’m so glad to hear, alphabetica that you’ve had no trouble. I really don’t expect it, it seems to me the state would have bigger fish to fry 🙂
Lindsay, thank you too. I hadn’t thought about the money part of it but that makes complete sense.
I’m still eager to hear more if there is anyone else in CA 🙂
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