Homeschool in Cincy ~ Where to Begin? Part 1

Hello, Friend!

If you have found your way here, I'm assuming you are interested in homeschooling!! That is WONDERFUL!! I'm here to help!! Since our family is from Ohio, I can only share what I know about my own state on the laws & requirements to get started. If you reside in any other state, please look up your state's educational resources for laws & requirements where you live.

Let's get started...

When you decide to homeschool in Ohio, you agree to...

1. Notify your local superintendent every year;

2. Provide 900 hours of instruction per year; and

3. Provide an assessment of each students' work.

Today, we're going over #1...Notify your local superintendent every year.

What is a notification of intent to homeschool letter? A notification of intent, some will abbreviate it as NOI, is parents letting their local superintendent know that they will be homeschooling their child/ren for the upcoming school year, excusing them from attendance requirements of the public school.

When do I send in my NOI? It is suggested that you mail your intent letter so that it will arrive at the superintendent's office by the first day of school. If you mail it over the summer, there may or may not be anyone in the superintendent's office to reply or even accept your notification...so keeping it close to the first day of school will up the percentage that it will be delivered to the right person, processed correctly, and within a timely matter.

Of course, the exception to this would be if you decide to begin homeschooling during the current "school year". You would send in your notification of intent letter once you have finalized your decision to homeschool. The following year, you would then be sure to send your intent letter so that it will arrive at the superintendent's office by the first day of school.

Is there a form, or do I make my own letter? There is an Ohio Department of Education Home Education Notification Form, OR you may use a letter of your own stating the required information. From my experience, a lot of homeschooling parents prefer to send in their own letter.

Here is a sample of the one that I use...I have used this same letter for years. Feel free to use it as inspiration!

Date Here

Name of superintendent

Superintendent's address

This letter is my notification to you that I am exercising my right to educate my child at home during the {add the current school years, such has 2017-18} school year.

My children's names and birthdays are:

Your child/ren's names/birthdays here.

I assure that home education in our home will include at minimum 900 hours of the following, except that home education shall not be required to include any concept, topic, or practice that is in conflict with sincerely held religious beliefs of the parent: Language, reading, spelling and writing; Geography, history of the United States, and Ohio, and national, state and local government; Mathematics Science; Health; Physical education; Fine arts, including music; and first aid, safety and fire prevention.

The instructional resources we will incorporate into our home education shall include, but are not limited to: books and periodicals borrowed from the library; purchased books; other purchased or borrowed instructional materials; such as audio and video tapes, DVDs or compact discs; computer software; appropriate educational internet resources; radio and television programming; community-based classes and private instruction in specific subjects.

I also assure you that I have at least a {Pick the one that pertains to you: High School Diploma or GED Certificate *see below for other options] and that I will be the person teaching my children the subjects set forth in the paragraph above.

Enclosed you will find a narrative assessment for each of the students from the {enter the past year's school date, such as 2016 – 17} school year.

I appreciate the time that was taken to review this notification. I am looking forward to receiving your acknowledgement soon.

Your signature

Your name typed out

Your address

*The homeschooling parent must be able to assure that they have one of the following qualifications:

(a) high school diploma; or

(b) The certificate of high school equivalence; or

(c) Standardized test scores that demonstrate high school equivalence; or

(d) Other equivalent credential found appropriate by the superintendent; or

(e) Lacking the above, the home teacher must work under the direction of a person holding a baccalaureate degree from a recognized college until the child's or children's test results demonstrate reasonable proficiency or until the home teacher obtains a high school diploma or the certificate of high school equivalence.

You can click the link below that shows the Ohio Department of Education's Home Education Notification Form to help construct your own notification of intent letter.

HOME EDUCATION NOTIFICATION FORM

The form asks for a brief outline of intended curriculum, and a list of textbooks, etc. Your letter does not, why is that? This part of the form is for "informational purposes only". In my letter, I have listed all the resources which we use from year to year for our homeschooling, which is still in compliance with what the law says we must provide.

We do not want to share too much info. Keep it general. Even for the fact that who know if you will be using the same resources by the end of the year that you used when you scripted your notification of intent letter. Some homeschooling parents fear that the more info we give, the more the school board will want...and we definitely don't want them having any more control over what we do in our homes with our own children!!

What is the "narrative assessment" that was mentioned? A narrative assessment is like a "progress report". We will have more about this in Part 3!!

Okay...got my letter in hand...what's next?? You are doing great!! Prepare your envelope, and head to the PO! Here you will send it CERTIFIED MAIL, so that when it arrives at the Superintendent's office, someone must sign for it, to affirm that it has arrived where it should. This does have a charge to it...less than $10 in my area...but after your letter arrives, they sign the card, a green card will be mailed back to you as your receipt that it was delivered...which means that is your proof that you notified!

Of course, you don't HAVE to send it certified mail if you don't want to. I highly recommend it, but others I know have mailed it regular mail, delivered it by hand to the superintendent's office {be sure to get a signed & dated copy if you do this}, I have even heard of a couple who have emailed their's in! So there are definitely options!!

Letter is mailed. How do I know that my intent to homeschool has been acknowledged? The superintendent, or the person that the superintendent has assigned the task, must review the notification within 14 calendar days and respond to the parent, in writing, either excusing the child or requesting information that was not provided.

Once you get your excusal letter, you are golden!!

What if the superintendent request information that was not provided? No worries! Keep calm! Look over your letter & compare it to the Ohio Department of Education's Notification Form...are you missing any information that is required? Like, did you forget to add in that you will be doing a minimum of 900 hours?? Or maybe missed a subject matter that should have been included in the list?? If you find something you missed, just correct, and mail to the superintendent's office again.

If you believe they are wanting you to elaborate on your list of curriculum, textbooks, etc...print out a copy of your letter again, and also a print out of the Ohio Laws that pertain to homeschool where it mentions that these are "informational only" requests. Highlight it if need be. Then send both into the superintendent's office for another review.

If you feel that you are being harassed, contact your local homeschool support group, or HSLDA for assistance.

Did you know....you can use your letter to receive homeschool discounts?? Here is an article from Cincinnati Parent that has a list! Be sure to call & ask about the details...this article is from 2016 so some things may have changed!!

{EDITED}: I found an updated article from Cincinnati Parent!

The Cincinnati Museum Center also has an Educator Discount on their Memberships! Once you click the link, scroll all the way to the bottom!!

Joann Fabrics has a Teacher's Reward Program that saves you 15%!

I'm so sure there is more!! If you come across any...please let me know!!