FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What?

• What is homeschooling?
  
  
  From Wikipedia: Homeschooling or homeschool (also called home education or home based learning) is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school. Although prior to the introduction of compulsory school attendance laws, most childhood education occurred within the family or community,[1] homeschooling in the modern sense is an alternative in developed countries to attending public or private schools.

  From the Florida Department of Education, Section 1002.01, F.S., defines home education as the sequentially progressive instruction of a student directed by his or her parent or guardian in order to satisfy Florida's compulsory education requirements. Please note that instruction only need be directed by the child’s parents and that they are not required to be the primary instructor. For example, students can take community classes, have a private or group tutor, or take part in a cooperative where parents share the responsibility for teaching the children.

• What is unschooling?
  
  
  Unschooling encompasses a wide range of concepts centered around the idea that children do not need a formal educational model in order to learn. For some families, this means allowing children free reign entirely in their decisions, which is a form of extreme unschooling. Most unschoolers follow a more moderate model, understanding that learning can take on many forms such as play, household chores, volunteer and apprenticeship opportunities, travel, and interaction with the general public.

  Many unschooling families will identify some trend in their child(ren)'s interests and focus unit lessons on that subject area. For example, a child who has a deep interest in robotics will be more motivated to read and do math and research if it is related to robotics, especially if the child is given an opportunity to pursue this interest in a meaningful way, such as being allowed to try to develop or build her own robot. Unschooling does not focus on grades and achievement in the way that traditional school models do, and its flexibility is often very appealing to homeschooling families who desire more freedom in the learning options for their children.

• What is a homeschool co-op?
  
  
  Homeschooling can be a lonely world if it only ever takes place at home. Fortunately, we have other options! Many families opt for a form of cooperative learning, commonly called a homeschool co-op. These can be large or small, religious or secular. There are even books on how to form your own. Alachua County encompasses every kind of homeschool cooperative. There are groups of just two families, and there are groups with hundreds of families. Some do all of their formal education work collectively; some focus primarily on extracurricular activities. Check out the Resources page for more information on local homeschool cooperatives that are welcoming new members.

• What are some facts about homeschoolers?
  
  Homeschooling has been a rising trend nationwide, over the past 14 years especially, with some estimates suggesting a growth of 75% over those years. Most studies show homeschoolers as a group outperforming public schoolers on measures of academic success, including collegiate performance and completion metrics. Often surprising to those who are not already involved in or intimately familiar with the home education process is that homeschooled children also excel, as a group, in social measures as well.
  Nheri has some great facts compiled on homeschoolers vs. public schoolers.
  Boy Scouts of America has also shared some information gathered from various studies.
  
  
• What are the homeschooling laws/regulations for Florida/Alachua County?
  
  
  
  FLORIDA
  
  In a nutshell, the state of Florida requires that your child’s learning be commensurate with his or her ability. This means that the material your child is learning is sufficiently challenging and is neither too difficult or too easy for him/her but, instead, is a good match for him/her intellectually.
  
  There are no state requirements as to what your child should learn. You (and your child) can choose which subjects to learn and the depth to which you explore those subjects.
  
  The state does require that learning be sequential, that one skill builds on the previous skill and prepares for the next one.
  
  You are required to submit an annual evaluation to the local school board once per year. You can choose to either keep a portfolio of your child's activities and have them evaluated by an Florida Certified Teacher or participate in a standardized test.
  
  Statutory Requirements These are the laws as stated by the state of Florida's statutes. There is a lot of material there. Please read carefully. If you feel you have a problem on a legal level in regard to homeschooling, a wonderful organization exists to assist you: HSLDA, Home School Legal Defense Association. Many homeschoolers join as members of this association in the hopes of continued support for home education in the legal realms. Friends of Alachua County Homeschoolers is not affiliated in any way with HSLDA.
  
  SCHOOL BOARD OF ALACHUA COUNTY
  
  Here is a link to the by-laws and policies for SBAC.
  
  
• When do we need to make the decision to homeschool?
  
  
  This is an answer.

• Can we change mid-year?
  
  
  This is an answer.

• What is homeschooling?
  
  
  This is an answer.

• How do I get started?
  
  
  To learn more about how to get started homeschooling in Alachua County, Florida, click here.

• What kind of testing is needed as a homeschooler in Alachua County? [Evaluations]
  
  
  Each year of homeschooling, the student must be evaluated in some way to determine progress year over year. The regulations covering this for Alachua County can be found here.

• What kind of records need to be kept?
  
  
  This is an answer.

How?

• What resources are there for homeschoolers?
  
  
  This is an answer.

• How do I DO it?
  
  
  This is an answer.

• Can my child still participate in activities at or receive services from public schools in Alachua County as a homeschooler? How?
  
  
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• I don’t feel that I know enough about teaching my own child. What help can I get?
  
  
  This is an answer.

• Can my child go back to school if homeschooling doesn’t work for our family?
  
  
  This is an answer.

• Do all of my children have to be homeschooled if I want to homeschool one of them?
  
  
  The answer here is absolutely not. There is no stipulation that your family must be all one way or the other. Many families who are flexible with their children's preferences for education will allow their individual children in the family to decide each school year whether or not to participate in public education or to remain or return to home education. Many such result in having some children attending school and some at home. There is no hard and fast line of separation based on family. Each child must declare separately for intention to homeschool or not.

• Can my child go to college without a high school diploma?
  
  
  This is an answer.

• Do homeschoolers receive a high school diploma??
  
  
  This is an answer.

• Can my homeschooled teen dual enroll in college classes for free?
  
  
  This is an answer.

• What is virtual school? How does that work?
  
  
  This is an answer.

• Are there older children who are homeschooled or are they all elementary age?
  
  
  It is true that homeschoolers are most numerous in the elementary ages. However, the older population of homeschoolers (those of middle school and high school years) has been growing. Much of this is owing to programs such as Florida Virtual School and the Alachua eSchool. However, there are still a large number of home educated children above the age of 10 to be found in Alachua County. To try to find some with whom to connect, check out our listing of cooperatives on the Resources page above.

Social aspects

• What about socialization?
  
  
  This is an answer.

• How do I help others understand our family’s decision to homeschool?
  
  
  This is an answer.

• Do most homeschoolers have a religious focus?
  
  
  The traditional conception people have of homeschoolers is one of the deeply religiously devoted family intent on keeping a considerable focus on their faith in the process of educating their children. While there are a great many such families, and there are many groups dedicated to this type of homeschooling, it is far from the only brand. Religious homeschoolers often form cooperative groups which limit members to those who sign a statement of faith, certifying their affiliation with a particular religion or bandwidth of religions, often in Christian sects.

  However, there has been a rising trend of non-religious or non-religious-focused homeschooling families adding to the mix over the past several years. One group (the Gainesville Homeschool Cooperative) in Alachua County, for example, has more than 160 secular homeschooling families represented in its ranks. Many of these do follow a religious tradition in their home life and/or attend regular services, however they do not necessarily make religion a dominant focus in the education of their children. Many others do not identify with an particular religion if any. Secular homeschooling is a popular realm, particularly over the past decade as technological advances and state mandated testing have made homeschooling a more appealing option for a larger percentage of the population.

• What do I tell my homeschooler about public school?
  
  
  This is an answer.

• How do I transition my child from public school to homeschool?
  
  
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• What sort of apprenticeships are available in the area for homeschoolers?
  
  
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• How can I convince my partner/spouse that homeschooling is our best option?
  
  
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• My child is not yet old enough for public school. Are we still homeschoolers?
  
  
  Those who are most familiar with the traditional school model have a difficult time accommodating the idea that homeschooling begins at birth. But over time, the truth of this seeps in, and people come to recognize that homeschool does not have a predefined beginning and ending. Parents can call their children homeschoolers from birth, though they may get some odd looks.

  Some people prefer to say that their children will be homeschooled. In Alachua County, homeschooled children do not need to be registered until the child is eligible for first grade, so there can be even more haziness if your child is kindergarten age or pre-kindergarten age but not in a school setting.

  In the end, it's up to you and your child to decide how to identify. However, if you are certain (or nearly so) that you intend to home educate, then it is a good idea to tell your little one that when people ask the child's grade or if the child will be going into VPK/kindergarten/first grade, the child can answer, "No, I'm homeschooled." Even at age 3.

Financial

• Is homeschooling expensive?
  
  
  That depends on your methods. Homeschooling is as expensive or as inexpensive as you choose. Some of the things that can make it a cheaper option are to use public school materials. Textbooks, testing, online courses, etc. through the school district are all options which can be done without additional cost to your family.

  However, if one of your goals in homeschooling is to form your own curriculum or to find an alternative to the district standard, then you will have to spend money out of pocket. There are free curriculum options available from many sources on the Internet, or you can always generate your own.

  Generating your own or buying your own curriculum can be costly, but it can also be moderate, depending upon how in-depth and how careful you are. Planning ahead can be greatly in your favor here. For example, you may opt to buy a series as a set rather than pay higher prices for individual pieces as needed. You may choose to get an annual pass to the museum rather than pay individually for trips to the Butterfly Museum or each of the exhibits there. You may opt to create your own teaching tools rather than buy some ready-made which cost more.

  You are in control of your own educational spending budget, so allocating your resources to the best places for funding your child(ren)'s academic needs is something you can tailor to your own individual family. For families with multiple children, consider the possibility that a younger sibling might be able to make use of the same material an older sibling used and treat it accordingly in the process of using it the first time around.

  Homeschool textbooks and workbooks are often available used via Craigslist, FreeCycle, and Amazon or within homeschool co-ops. Finding used material can help offset some of the cost of homeschooling. Alachua County does not provide any sort of reimbursement for homeschooling families who have paid the taxes that fund public education. However, home education students are eligible to participate in sports, music, drama, etc. teams and clubs of local schools, and they can even choose to take select courses in this manner, almost in collegiate fashion. For example, some homeschoolers opt to take AP classes at the public school rather than do it all from home, but these may be the only classes they attend. This can help save money (except those fees normally assessed of public school students who participate in various extra-curricular activities).

  So, is homeschooling expensive? It can be, but it doesn't have to be. The world is what you make of it.

• What if I don’t think I can afford to homeschool?
  
  
  This is an answer.

Where?

• Where do I find the form to register for homeschooling?
  
  
  Unless you are a web ninja, you will have what could end up being many hours of frustration in trying to locate the form to register. We have mastered the secrets of the Alachua County Public Schools website and discovered the trick to finding forms. To save you the tedium, here's the link for how to register. Bear in mind that the school board may change this form at some point without FoACH noticing this, so please, if you find the information is out of date, notify us ASAP!

• I want to terminate home education for a student. Where is the form for that?
  
  
  So glad you asked. Many families switch between home education programs and public education ones. We all want what works best for our children and our families. However, as with the form above for beginning a home education program, the school board has made it challenging to locate the form for terminating a home education program. This one allows you to end homeschooling up to 4 students at a time. As of now, the form can be found here, but please understand that the school board may change this form at some point without FoACH being made aware of the fact. If you find our information is out of date, please notify us ASAP!

• Where can I reach the school board for Alachua County and the Home School Office?
  
  
  The website for Alachua County Public Schools is http://www.sbac.edu/. The school board itself is located at 620 East University Avenue, Gainesville, FL 32601. The Home School office is located there. They can be reached by calling 352-955-7700 X1358 or by faxing 352-955-7990.