Be in the know
By now you’ve probably heard the word “Homeschooling” tossed around our church at some point. You’ve undoubtedly been curious about it. It’s something that many people ask questions about. “Does the state give you curriculum to follow?” “Are you qualified to teach your child?” “What about socialization?” “What does your average day look like?”
For those who we would consider our church family- you’ve probably asked at least one of us families who are homeschooling one of those questions. You’ve probably heard us talk about one aspect or another. And that’s great, we love talking about it. We love it when you ask us questions!
However, I wanted to write up a little information for you about the laws and regulations we follow as well as some of the freedoms we enjoy. I found all this information on the Home School Legal Defense Association website (hslda.org). Each state follows very different laws regarding schooling children at home. Some states, such as Texas, Iowa, and Alaska have very little oversight of families who are homeschooling. They require little or no notification to the state. Formal assessment through the local school district isn’t needed. Parents don’t need any qualification (such as a high school diploma, a passed background study or even a college degree).
Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island have the highest regulations in the country. These states require that families who wish to homeschool have approval from local school districts. Some of the local districts are required to assess/test homeschool students every two years or need to evaluate the curriculum being used to make sure it meets state standards.
Minnesota is considered a state with “Moderate Regulation” according to hslda.org. It’s certainly not difficult to homeschool here, but there are certain rules that need to be followed. Homeschooling families with a child age seven or over need to notify their local district in the fall with their intent to homeschool. Reading, writing, literature, fine arts, math, science, history, geography, economics, government, citizenship, health, and physical education are all subjects that need to be taught at some point, but not every year. Each parent also needs to test their child annually based on a national standardized achievement test.
What about our state?
Wisconsin is a state labeled “Low Regulation” on hslda.org, which means it’s fairly easy to homeschool here. Every fall, each homeschooling family visits the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction website and reports each child ages six and over that is being homeschooled. In completing the form, they are agreeing that they will provide 875 instructional hours in a calendar year (not school year) of at least reading, language arts, math, social studies, science and health. These hours can also include electives, such as Bible, foreign language, music, art, physical education, computer skills, etc., etc., etc.
So basically, we need to make sure we are getting 5.25 hours in for a full day of schooling if we are following the local school district’s days. However, because we are free to school on any day of the week, including summer months (which some do), it would be even less per day.
One area where it gets a little tricky is that because a homeschool is basically a “Home-based Private Education Program”, we can’t count hours that are spent with someone else teaching our kids with kids from other families. So essentially if there are two or more families involved, it can’t be counted towards the 875 hours. However, because (I think I speak for all homeschool families of this church) we understand that kids need time developing relationships with their peers, it is a priority to find ways to make this happen.
This is where the importance of having a homeschool group comes in. Our church is blessed to have an active group that gets together on a weekly basis. Every Thursday afternoon, you’ll find us playing in a local park. The kids love their weekly recess and the parents do too! Once a month, we also get together to learn. In the past, we’ve done various activities together. Sometimes, it’s inviting a covenant member with a special skill to teach us. Sometimes, it’s exploring a local history event, museum or even the zoo!
For more information
In the up and coming months, I hope to address some of the questions you might have about homeschooling. For now, please talk with one of our homeschooling families if you have any questions, curiosities, or interests in homeschooling. In addition, if you know any homeschool families in Menomonie or beyond who might be interested in being part of our homeschool group or even playing at recess with us, please email or have them email homeschool@jfbelievers.com to get our current schedule.