Single Working Parent Homeschooling Part V

Part V: Legal requirements

Requirements vary state by state
Most states require that homeschool families document attendance. Some require registration, documentation of work, accredited curricula, testing and approval by the local board of education. About.com and the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) have links to homeschool rules for each state.
Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Texas do not require notice or follow-up. Utah, New Mexico, California, Alabama and Arizona only require that the fact that the child is being homeschooled be reported to the state. However, California requires that a parent establish a private school in order to exempt a student from compulsory public school attendance.
Colorado, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Oregon, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia require notification and follow-up, as well as periodic testing and evaluation by the local school board. Rhode Island, Massachusetts, North Dakota, New York, Vermont and Pennsylvania monitor the student's progress closely, with some districts requiring curriculum approval, teacher qualification for parents, state-mandated school official visits, frequent tests and evaluations.

Many states mandate national achievement tests
Many states require homeschooled students to take nationally accredited tests, such as the California Achievement Test, on a regular basis. Here in Georgia, they must take them every three years. Many schools will push tests that require you to pay out about $100 and attend a special testing session, most of which are held in large metropolitan area.
My advice is to ask which tests are accepted by the school district. Even if a type of test is not listed, you may be able to persuade your local board of education to put it onto the accepted list if other school districts accept it.
My child was able to take the Iowa achievement test through Bob Jones University Press because I have a bachelor's degree. It was under $100 for the tester application and the test, and he was able to take the test at home.
This was much easier than taking off work and traveling two hours to the closest test site.
You will likely meet some resistance if you want to use an accredited test that is not the usual one used in the district. However, if you homeschool, you should be accustomed to that.

Divorce and custody issues
Legal issues with homeschooling don't always deal with education. If you are a divorced parent, your ex may attempt to use the fact that you're homeschooling in court.
This is one reason why it's important to have a written curriculum, documentation of attendance and records of work done. Most judges are fairly ignorant about homeschooling, but if you can show that you're organized, they'll accept it.
Another problem occurs if the homeschooled child spends part of the time with a parent who has agreed to homeschool him but doesn't.
When I moved, my ex and I agreed to do this. I wrote the curriculum, I assigned the work, and I even agreed to check all the work. All my ex had to do was make sure the kids did the work and sent it in. He flubbed it!
He told the kids the work was too hard for them, when, in reality, it was too difficult for him! He lied for the kids when they didn't turn their work in on time. He spent no time with them at all and just made excuses.
Now, of course, I have custody of all of them. They're not permitted to stay with their father during the school year unless they have managed to work ahead sufficiently (a minimum of five weeks) so that I don't have to turn around and travel eight hours to pick them up if they don't do their homework for a while.
There are other issues if the nonhomeschooling parent lives in another state. Even if you're handling the homeschooling, you may want to have the nonhomeschool parent check in with the local board of education. In some states, all children who are not in ground school must be documented.

Homeschooling student drivers
If you have a child near driving age, you may have to document your child's attendance so he can get his driving permit. Here in Georgia, the homeschool liaison at the local board of education will fill one out. I just have to present it at the state license bureau when he goes to take his test.