Yes, it is. While each family’s situation will involve a different way to privately home educate, there are a few things that will help every family just starting.
Please note: the information contained in this section is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice.
Home education legalities in general and affidavit filing
specifically are replete with details that can change almost
annually. Some government officials attempt to make requests and
demands of home educators that do not comply with the law. The
following sections summarize home education law; discuss whether
to establish a private school at home, explain in detail how to
fill out and file a Private School Affidavit (R-4), and answer
the most frequently asked questions about this process.
The fundamental right of parents to direct the
education and upbringing of their children is guaranteed by the
First, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of
the United States. This right has been upheld by the courts over
the years. While it is not necessary to know all the cases, the
better that parents understand their fundamental rights, the
less likely it is that they will be deprived of those rights.
Along with at least a general understanding of
parents’ Constitutional right to direct the education and
upbringing of their children, it is important to understand the
hierarchy of laws in the United States. Since the U.S.
Constitution is the highest law, all lesser laws must be
consistent with the Constitution or they risk being declared
invalid. Thus, since the Constitution guarantees the right to
raise one’s children, no state or local law may deny that right.
In California, there is no legally-defined entity
known as a “homeschool.” Instead of having a separate
“homeschool” law, California is one of several states in which
homeschoolers operate as private schools. Private schools can be
legally established and operate in the home just as some private
schools operate on a campus. Thus, in order to be consistent
with the law of our state, do not use the term “homeschool” with
public school officials; rather, refer to your private
homeschool as simply a “private school.”
Under the California Education Code (EC), all children between
the ages of 6 and 18 must attend a public full-time day school
unless they are exempted (E.C. §48200). Note that kindergarten
attendance is not required. Students are required to be enrolled
in school if he or she turns six years old on or before
September 1.
Thus, the general rule is that children
between ages 6 and 18 must attend public school. However,
remember that the law provides exemptions from this rule. While
there are other exemptions, each of the four options below
applies to homeschoolers
Home educators may establish private schools in their own homes. The law requires private schools to file a Private School Affidavit with the Superintendent of Public Instruction. This affidavit is intended solely to register private schools for statistical reporting purposes, and “shall not be construed as an evaluation, recognition, approval, or endorsement of any private school or course” (E.C. §48222). How to set up a private school which meets the legal requirements is discussed in the following section, “Private School Requirements.”
The private school offering an private school satellite
program must meet the same legal exemption and requirements
as Option 1. Such Private School Satellite Programs (PSPs)
may be composed entirely of home educators or be an
extension program of a campus-based private school.
There is no more or no less legal protection or
covering in our current education codes for either option 1
or 2.
Families enrolled in out-of-state schools
or programs are still required by state law to be enrolled
in a California private school (home-based or PSP) with a
California address for its location. It is unwise and
unnecessary to voluntarily mention enrollment in
out-of-state schools or programs. It is not illegal in
California to be enrolled in an out-of-state program as long
as it is represented as a source of curriculum or services
and not as a means of legal compliance with the compulsory
attendance law.
The credential must be for the appropriate grade level and teaching must be in the courses of study required in the public schools. Tutoring must be done for at least three hours a day for at least 175 days per year. Private school enrollment isn’t required for the use of a tutor. (E.C. § 48224)
The student must be enrolled in the public school and work under a written agreement that specifies minimum requirements. Families who choose this option are under the authority of the public school, since their children are enrolled in the public school.
Since anyone can establish a private school, parents have been
legally using that provision for many years to establish and
conduct their own private schools in their homes.
Neither the State Department of Education, nor any
county or local public school districts, have jurisdiction over
the establishment or operation of private elementary and
secondary schools.
Before looking at the
requirements, consider a few items that are not required
There is no requirement that schools must have a particular type of building, although schools which have more than 50 students or more than one classroom must meet certain safety requirements. So there is no restriction on establishing a small private school in your own home.
There are no requirements relating to the number of pupils or teachers in a school. Thus a school can range from having just one pupil to thousands and can have just one teacher or a couple of part-time teachers as needed.
There are no required number of days per year in private schools. Public schools are required by the state to offer instruction 175 days per year, with funding provided for up to 180 days. Most districts therefore require 180 days. While not legally required, it is wise for home-based private schools to operate 180 days per year. Days of excused absence are traditionally included in the 180-day total, so if you or your child are sick during the school year, you don’t need to make up those days during the summer.
There is no required number of hours per school day for private schools. Public schools must operate a minimum of three hours and twenty minutes for grades 1-3, and four hours for grades 4-12; however, there are multiple exceptions which allow for minimum days of as low as two and a half hours, excluding recesses. Remember that home economics, independent study time, reading, discussion time, field trips, and activities can all be included in school time.
There are no requirements related to school equipment such as desks, chalkboards, number of books, etc. Each school is free to determine what equipment is used in its programs.
Instruction must be taught in English, although there are exceptions for students whose first language is not English.
The names and addresses, including city and street, of its faculty, together with a record of the educational qualifications of each teacher must be kept on file.
Attendance records of each enrolled student must be kept in a register indicating every absence of a half day or more.
The courses of study offered by the institution shall be kept on file. This could be as simple as a just a list of the subjects in item five.
The instructors must be “capable of teaching.” There is no definition of “capable of teaching” and no requirement in the education code for a teacher in a private school to hold a state teaching credential or to have equivalent training. Thus, it is the private school administrators who determine if teachers in the school are capable of teaching.
There are two categories of Health and Safety Code (H.S.C.) regulations which concern all schools in California, whether public or private. They are (A) health records which must be kept in each student’s individual records (either cum file or separate health file) and which must be transferred with the student to any new school, and (B) health reports which the school is legally required to complete if received. These are explained in detail here. The Department of Health has authority to inspect these health records, but other pupil information is confidential.
Instruction must be offered “in the several branches of study required to be taught in the public schools.” For grades 1-6, the required branches of study are English, mathematics, social sciences, science, visual and performing arts, health, and physical education. For grades 7-12, the required branches are the same as those for grades 1-6, plus foreign language, applied arts, and career-technical education.
A Private School Affidavit must be filed by the school’s administrator with the California Superintendent of Public Instruction between October 1 and 15 of each year.
The State of California does not require teachers to be state certified to teach in private schools. Therefore, listing teaching credentials or college degrees is not mandatory. In preparing a document that outlines your qualifications as a teacher, you will, once again, clarify your thinking by writing your philosophy of education. You should begin to think of yourself as an educator. The number one qualification is the fact that you are the parent. Do not be intimidated if you are not a state certified teacher. Nearly all parents are capable to teach their own children. Be creative, but be honest. Put down any schooling, high school graduation and above. Include work experience, skills, hobbies, interests, and any personal information that adds to your qualifications to teach such as a love of traveling and adventure, an inquiring mind, or love of reading, etc. Other qualifications can be leader of youth organizations, church school teacher, and attendance at educational conferences. CHEA of California holds such conferences twice a year. (The schools call this In-Service Training.)
An exception to the requirement that instruction be
“in the English Language” is found in E.C. 30
“.
. . . any private school may determine when and
under what circumstances instruction may be given
bilingually.” That section of the Education Code
goes on to state:
“It is the policy of
the state to insure the mastery of English by all
pupils in the schools; provided that bilingual
instruction may be offered in those situations when
such instruction is educationally advantageous to
the pupils. Bilingual instruction is authorized to
the extent that it does not interfere with the
systematic, sequential, and regular instruction of
all pupils in the English language.”
The
general rule for non-English-speaking families is
this: If the parents or child do not speak English,
the private school instruction may be in the
family’s native language. However, there must also
be instruction in English, with a goal of bringing
the student to proficiency in English. Based on this
requirement, families who do not speak English can
learn together as part of the regular instruction.
In other words, it would be appropriate for the
family to use materials for most subjects in the
language they speak, and then to use a program for
learning English as a separate class until the
English language is mastered.
