Homeschooling in Florida

Yes, you can do this here. A Florida home education program has no required subjects, hours, or days, and the law limits what a district may ask of you.

If you are wondering whether homeschooling works where you live, the answer in Florida is yes. Florida recognizes several legal attendance options for families educating at home. This page covers a home education program established under § 1002.41. Different requirements apply to students enrolled in a Florida private school or participating in a private tutoring program or the Personalized Education Program. Here is what the § 1002.41 option asks and how each piece gets handled.

One notice, with clear limits on district control

Under § 1002.41, Florida calls this a home education program. The statute says plainly that a home education program is not a school district program and is registered with the district school superintendent only for the purpose of complying with the state’s attendance requirements. Home education is one of the ways Florida families satisfy compulsory attendance under § 1003.01(16).

The parent is not required to hold a valid regular Florida teaching certificate. The statute names no required subjects, and § 1002.41(3) excludes a home education program from meeting the requirements of a school day. Florida therefore sets no minimum number of instructional hours or days for this option.

When you file your notice, the superintendent shall accept it and immediately register your program. The district may not require any additional information or verification from you unless your student chooses to participate in a school district program or service. The district may not assign your student a grade level or place the student’s Social Security number or other personal information in a district or state database unless the student chooses to participate in a school district program or service. Section 1002.41(13) goes further: a school district may not further regulate, exercise control over, or require documentation from parents of home education students beyond the requirements of that section, unless it is necessary for participation in a district program.

A separate process applies if a public school has already identified a student as exhibiting a pattern of nonattendance before the student enters home education. Under § 1003.26(1)(f), the review committee consists of the district home education contact and at least two home educators whom the parent selects from a district list of volunteers who have conducted a home education program for at least three years. The first portfolio review occurs within the first thirty calendar days after the program is established, followed by reviews every thirty days during the district’s regular school terms until the committee determines that the portfolio requirement is being met. If the parent fails to provide the portfolio, the superintendent must terminate the program, the child must be enrolled in another qualifying attendance option within three days, and the parent may not reenroll the child in home education for 180 calendar days.

Florida’s compulsory-attendance law generally applies to a child who is six, or who will turn six by February 1 of the school year, and who has not yet reached sixteen. A student who wishes to terminate school enrollment at sixteen must file the separate formal declaration required by § 1003.21(1)(c). The Department of Education notes that a district is not required to accept a notice of intent for a five-year-old who will not turn six by February 1 of that school year, although some districts do.

• A written notice of intent, signed by the parent, filed with your district school superintendent within thirty days of establishing the program, listing the full legal names, addresses, and birthdates of every child enrolled

• Sequentially progressive instruction directed by the parent

• A log of educational activities, made at the same time as the instruction, that designates by title any reading materials used

• Samples of any writings, worksheets, workbooks, or creative materials used or developed by the student

• The portfolio preserved for two years and made available for inspection, if requested, on fifteen days’ written notice

• An annual educational evaluation for each student documenting progress commensurate with the student’s ability, with a copy filed at the superintendent’s office

• A written notice of termination, filed with the superintendent along with the required annual evaluation, within thirty days of ending the program

• Education Plan Builder and hundreds of courses that can be arranged into a progressive plan for each child

• Portfolio Builder for the activity record and reading log. Enter activities and reading materials as instruction occurs

• Portfolio Builder

• Portfolio Builder keeps it organized and ready

• You select the method from the five the statute allows and arrange it yourself. SchoolhouseTeachers.com does not perform the evaluation

• Write your own letter and file it with the required annual evaluation

Your Florida year

Within thirty days. File your written, signed notice of intent with the superintendent of the county where you live, within thirty days of establishing your home education program. It is filed once, not renewed each year.

Keep the log as you go. The statute asks for a log made at the same time as the instruction, so build it through the year rather than assembling it in June.

Each year. Florida DOE explains that “annually” means one year from the date of your Letter of Intent. Submit an evaluation for each student according to that student’s annual date rather than assuming it is due at the end of a traditional school year. File a copy with the superintendent’s office in your county.

For two years. Keep each portfolio for two years. If the superintendent asks to inspect one, the request comes in writing with fifteen days’ notice.

If progress falls short. If an evaluation does not show progress commensurate with your student’s ability, the superintendent notifies you in writing, and you have one year from receiving that notice to provide remedial instruction before the student is reevaluated. The program may continue after that probationary year only if the reevaluation shows progress commensurate with the student’s ability.

If you move within Florida. Notify the new district that you are transferring your home education program and provide the former district with the change information. Florida DOE says this is not a termination, and an annual evaluation is not due to the former district merely because you moved.

Within thirty days of ending. When you terminate the program, file a written notice of termination along with the required annual evaluation.

The Department of Education advises a parent who cannot meet the evaluation deadline to contact the district and request an extension. Nothing in Florida law requires the district to grant one.

What comes with one membership

The Curriculum Lane. Hundreds of courses for preschool through twelfth grade, written from a Biblical worldview. Interactive iST courses, Virtual School Boxes, World Book Online, and thousands of family-friendly videos. Florida names no required subjects, so you build the year that fits each child.

The Records Lane. The Homeschool Records & Compliance Center, with the Education Plan Builder, Custom Schedule Builder, Portfolio Builder, Applecore Record Keeping, Schoolhouse Gradebook, and more, including Certificates of Completion for every course, and transcript templates and tools that members use to prepare their own transcripts.

One membership covers every child in your house. No fee per child. No fee per course.

Questions? Call 1.888.718.HOME or email customerservice@theoldschoolhouse.com. A real homeschooler answers.