For anyone who has withdrawn their child from public school to homeschool them?

Question

Did you follow any certain procedure to do so?

I've written a letter of intent to withdraw my child, but I'm not sure if it would be appropriate to send it by mail or hand deliver it, should I call the school?

What did you do?

I'm nervous about it!

I want to do the right thing.

Answer 1

for the love of god if you're so nervous about it just don't do it! Your child would never forgive you if you snatched him from school, unless he is being bullied or abused, but then I suggest you try to solve the problem by changing the school, not by homeschooling him or her!

Just don't do it. Homeschooling is bad, just think that where I live (in Italy) homeschooling is against the law.

Think carefully about it and for hius own good KEEP HIM OR HER IN THE SCHOOL

Answer 2

Go to www.hslda.org and find out the legalities of your state.  Then follow those.    Personally I wouldn't hand deliver it because some schools can be rather anti-homeschooling.

However, I would get delievery confirmation when you mail it, that way they can't come back and say they didn't get it.

Answer 3

In MS, all you have to do to homeschool your child is go see the truancy officer and she gives you a card that you fill out. On the card, you have to put the type of program you are using for your child. I actually took my children to an Extension Center, where I paid them to test my children so it was legit. I helped them with all their work at home and they went to the Center to test, one day a week. It worked out great for us.

Out of the 4 children, only 2 was homeschooled. My oldest son homeschooled for 4,5,6 grade. (he finished those 3 grades in 2 years) and the other one just did one grade in the one year he was homeschooled.

I chose to put the 2 boys that I homeschooled back in school last year due to myself going back to school and the oldest one deciding that he wanted to play school sports.

I know that I made the right decision, the oldest tested higher than normal and was put in the next grade. He was the youngest 7th grader the school had!!!

He is now in the 8th grade and the teachers all say that they cant believe he was homeschooled.

Answer 4

In Oklahoma, all you need to do is withdraw your child. You are under no obligation to give the school any explanation as to why you have chosen to with draw him or her.

Phoenix

You clearly have no idea what you are talking about. True there are a few outcasts among homeschooled students (though I've never met one), but such outcasts exist in the public school setting as well. Personally, I don't want my child to follow the crowd. I'd rather she become the person she was meant to be. My take on what you've said is that if you find someone you meet on the street to be weird (in your opinion) than you assume that they are homeschooled.

The fact that some homeschoolers have difficulty adjusting to the social life in a"regular" school setting has to do with a lack of conformity. This does not indicate that they lack social skills. What it indicates is that they are individuals with their own ideas and way of looking at the world; something which does not go over well among most of the public school crowd.

Kyootness

What on Earth makes you think that Americans would want to adopt European Socialist principles? While there are a few in this country who want to be like Europe, the majority of us don't. And Europeans call Americans arrogant.

Answer 5

I'm in Oklahoma and just didn't send our kids back the next school year. There are no requirements here for anything else. Since the school year has already started, it would be helpful to everyone to just call up the school and say that you are choosing to homeschool as under your state constitutional rights. If they try to give you a hard time, tell them that under our state laws, there are no requirements for pulling a child, and none for ongoing. There is not required testing, and no reporting.

There are many GREAT homeschooling organizations throughout the state....please get online and find them. A good support group makes all the difference! I think it's www.oklahomahomeschooling.org that's a good starting point.

Answer 6

i always feel sorry for homeschool kids. they get eaten alive in the real world. i see it over and over - they're lost - don't know how to act - don't know the rules - you can spot a homeschool kid/adult from a mile - it's pathetic.

it's understandable that the parent wishes to protect the child - but really, the child is being deprived of vital knowledge of how to interact correctly with others in society. the parental protection turns into a lifetime of social outcast problems and weirdness for the kid, who really has no idea what's going on.

Answer 7

Always send your letter of intent by certified mail. That way you have proof it was sent and the school cannot hassle you about it down the road.

Answer 8

Well here is this mother's opinion......... HAND DELIVER.

Mailing is all fine and dandy, but mail does get lost and while you can ask for signature confirmation, it is a double edged sword because they can turn around and claim that someone signed for them.

By hand delivering, you can look the person in the eye , have them stamp it in your prescence and make a copy (one for them and one for you). Put YOUR copy in the child's portfolio.

The only thing you have to do with the school is withdraw and the Intent Letter goes to the School Board.

They can't LEGALLY stop you from homeschooling, but some States are famous for having Stupid laws and trying to make it rough.

Alabama is a good example as they require you to use an Umbrella School ( this is a school that handles all the paperwork, attendance records and in most cases have you follow their curriculum). Umbrella's can run you a pretty penny.

As I don't have OK's requirements in front of me, I can only suggest checking the HSLDA (HomeSchool Legal Defense Association) website...www.hsdla.org.

Make sure that the date you put for STARTING your homeschool gives you a 2 or 3 day leeway. Don't say you are starting on Oct.1 and then submit or start the following day as this can cause a bit of a mess, At the same time don't say you are starting on Monday but he hasn't been to school for 2 or more days as this could cause you to face truancy charges (not trying to scare you but give you the facts).

I wish you luck on your journey.

Welcome to Homeschooling.

Answer 9

I mailed it. About 2 weeks later I received the letter saying they received it and pulled them out! Expect to run across some resistance when you go pull them but after that your done! They don't like letting kids out to home school and they even went as far as telling me they would be back with in a year. We laughed and haven't looked back! Be sure to visit www.hslda.com for the legal info. You have to get the letter to the right person. The school board should be able to tell you who and the address but don't expect them to(after all they don't want your child to leave the school, they get paid for them to be there) if you tell us the state you are in then maybe some one here can tell you exactly who to send it to.

Added Oklahoma has no notice regulations. You can legally pull them out with out a letter of intent! www.hslda.org look under home school and then laws and click on Ok.



I lived in Tulsa for a while and I miss it so much!

Answer 10

I mailed mine in and that was the end of it. No troubles here.

Answer 11

Depends on the laws of your state or nation.

Answer 12

Check the requirements for the school either via the school the child currently attends, the net or by contacting your school district.  I withdrew my son and I used an online program to homeschool.  I called the school and sent a letter of intent.  However, the school district required documentation from the program.

Answer 13

I havent been home schooled, but my bfff was. and she is insanely smart!!! she went from 1-8 and now started in a normal high schol and she is above everyone else. she already started calculus!! go for it!

Answer 14

We laugh about the day that we withdrew our son.  NOBODY asked us why we decided to homeschool.  We think they may have had a celebration after we left.  (My son is not a bad child, but he does have a learning style that does not thrive in public school.)

We went to the school with our letter of intent and asked for his records.  Everyone was very nice.  The guidance counselor gave us information in case we decided to re-enroll concerning the literacy tests that are required at certain grade levels and for graduation.  We said 'thank you' and went on our way.

I have threatened to send him back on bad days but it was an idle threat.  He is learning at home.  He is now in 10th grade and tested last year at 11th grade level for reading comprehension.  That impresses me since his reading was at elementary level when we withdrew him in 8th grade.  That also impresses me because the teachers said he was performing at his potential while he was in public school.  His potential must have changed, huh?

Note to Phoenix:  I feel sorry for public school kids.  I work with them everyday in the public school.  I see only a fraction of their emotional turmoil and it is enough to frighten me for their future.

Answer 15

Kyootness: Sorry but seems you are wrong. You may live in Italy but homeschooling is not against the law in Italy.

Quote from Education Otherwise: "Although in reality the schools authorities need to be 'educated' because home education is so rare". Rare...but not against the law.

In fact it took me all of 30 seconds or so to find the following Italian Homeschooling Groups including one here on Yahoo:  

Scuolafamiliare (http://it.groups.yahoo.com/group/scuolaf...

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Homeschooling Families in Italy

It takes creative, loving, hardworking parents to homeschool here in Italy and this Message Board is here to give unconditional love to our fellow members. http://groups.msn.com/HomeschoolingFamil...

Progetto Scuola

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CRESCENDO

Crescendo is an Italian site run by Italians. The person moderating is called Rossella and she homeschooled her 4 sons and is now a grandmother. She is very helpful and is especially knowledgeable on the legal aspect. In Italy it is always important to be well prepared before meeting the school authorities to avoid problems but the law is on the parents' side.

Crescendo: http://digilander.libero.it/guermar/inde...