Schooling at Home Frequently Asked Questions

Many public schools offer independent study or home-based study as an option. California has a growing number of public charter schools which offer different types of schooling in non-traditional settings. To learn what options your local schools offer, start by asking the public school district in which you live what programs allow schooling at home. You might also contact other school districts near yours or your county office of education. If your district or county does not offer a program that a neighboring district or county offers, you may be able to obtain an inter-district transfer that allows your child to be registered in another district’s program. Refer to the District Transfers web page for more information.

While the California Department of Education (CDE) does not provide guidance on how to home school, below are some basic steps and resources for getting started in establishing a home-based private school.

1. Explore Homeschooling and Education Alternatives to determine the best educational option for your child.
2. Review the Education Code for Private Schools web page and understand the laws and requirements of private schools.
3. Know what courses of study are specified in California Education Code (EC) Section 51210 and EC Section 51220. The State Board of Education adopted Content Standards and Curriculum Frameworks & Instructional Materials may be used as a guide in selecting a curriculum and developing instructional materials.
4. Per EC Section 33190, file a Private School Affidavit (PSA). The Private School Affidavit (PSA) Information web page provides more information on this requirement and how to file.
5. Withdraw students from public school, if applicable. The Private/Home School Guidance and Resources for Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) web page has more information on this process.
6. Establish a mechanism and method for creating and maintaining educational records. The Record Keeping section of the Schooling at Home web page specifies which records are required to be maintained. There are online resources and templates that may be used to create and maintain records.

Yes. If the a Private School Affidavit is has been properly filed, and the school meets the criteria of California Education Code (EC) Section 48222 for a full-time private school, a local school district can allow an exemption. EC Section 48200 requires all children between ages 6 and 18 to attend public, full-time day school, and requires the parent or guardian to send the child to public full-time day school, unless the child is exempt. Public school officials have an obligation to ascertain whether a child not in public school is truant or being privately educated in accordance with an exemption from the compulsory education law. EC Section 48222 says that children may be exempt from compulsory public education if they are attending a private full-time day school and. EC Section 33190 requires such schools to file the Private School Affidavit annually with the California Department of Education (CDE) per EC Section 33190. For families schooling at home, filing the Affidavit is a required first step toward an exemption from compulsory school attendance.

The exemption has two parts: first, parents or guardians schooling their student(s) at home must file the Private School Affidavit, thereby registering the intent to educate their student(s) privately. Second, the public school district listed in the Affidavit makes a determination of whether a home-schooled child has met statutory requirements and therefore is exempt from public school attendance.

Yes. A parent offering or providing private school instruction and who meets the requirements of California Education Code (EC) Section 33190 and EC Section 48222 shall file an Affidavit in the manner described. However, filing such an Affidavit with the CDE does not constitute any opinion by the California Department of Education (CDE) as to whether a student enrolled in that school is exempt from public school attendance. Exemptions under EC Section 48222 shall be valid only after verification by the attendance supervisor of the district, or other person designated by the board of education, that the private school has complied with the provisions of EC Section 33190.

Yes. California Education Code (EC) Section 48222 states, "Exemptions under this section shall be valid only after verification by the attendance supervisor of the district, or other person designated by the board of education, that the private school has complied with the provisions of EC Section 33190."

No. You are not required to report to your school district. However, keeping in mind that the school district has responsibility for checking on school-age children not attending school, you might avoid confusion by informing the district that you intend to home school or privately educate your children.

Yes. California Education Code (EC) Section 33190 requires a copy of the Affidavit be kept at the school. the following records be kept.

• The records required to be kept by EC Section 48222.
• The courses of study offered by the institution.
• The names and addresses, including city, street, of its faculty, together with a record of the educational qualifications and background check information of each.

EC Section 48222 requires, "The attendance of the pupils shall be kept by private school authorities in a register, and the record of attendance shall indicate clearly every absence of the pupil from school for a half day or more during each day that school is maintained during the year."

In addition, it is highly recommended that you maintain the following records:

• Copies of Private School Affidavits.
• Individual pupil records as described in the California Code of Regulations, Title 5, Division 1 California Department of Education, Chapter 2 Pupils, Subchapter 2 Records of Pupils, Article 3 Individual Pupil Records, Sections 430-437.

A student being schooled at home in California shall receive instruction in the various branches of study required in the public schools of the state. The California Education Code (EC) outlines public school courses of study in EC Section 51210 - Courses of Study for Grades 1 to 6 and EC Section 51220 - Courses of Study for Grades 7 to 12.

Additionally, the State Board of Education-approved Content Standards and Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Materials for core subjects that comprise these branches of study are both available on the California Department of Education (CDE) Standards and Frameworks web page. These standards and frameworks are and serve as the foundation for what is taught in public schools, and can serve as guides for curriculum in schools outside the public system.

Parents who are privately educating or schooling their children at home must select and provide all curriculum, instruction, tests, and materials. The State Board of Education-approved content standards and curriculum frameworks and instructional materials may serve as a resource and guide for establishing curriculum and instructional materials. While state testing is not required of private schools, parents can test their students either by trying to participate in local private or public-school testing, contacting testing organizations for public scheduling, or finding assessment material from a particular curriculum or online resource.

The State of California does not provide networking support for schooling at home. However, there are private associations of home schooling that may be located on the Internet. Below are links to some helpful homeschooling resources.

• California Homeschool Network
• Homeschool Association of California
• The Homeschool Mom – Homeschooling in California

No. You may enroll your child in public school at any time.

Yes. Public school districts establish their own policies regarding the placement of new enrollees. Students from other schools, states and even countries must be placed in public schools in a fashion that is consistent with school district policy and practice.

Parents schooling at home and exploring a student’s next steps after high school might check with specific colleges, technical schools and prospective employers (e.g., branches of the U.S. military) to learn about student admission or eligibility. Because there is no law or regulation that establishes graduation or diploma requirements for California private schools, any such requirements set for an individual home school may not be generally recognized. Understanding how post-secondary institutions and prospective employers recognize course work completed in alternative education settings is important for parents/guardians considering home school for their high school student.

Inquiring about post-secondary program and job eligibility requirements is also recommended for high school students schooled at home and using commercial curricular programs or enrolled in out-of-state, online courses of study.

Alternative diploma equivalencies for students not attending public school include the General Education Development (GED) Test and the California Proficiency Program (CPP). For information about the GED or CPP, please visit their respective web resources.

You will need to create your own diploma and transcripts for your home-based private school. There are online resources and templates that can be used to help you do this. There are also online services that professionally print diplomas.