When it comes to parental rights, no state is more at the center of controversy than California. The state has the strictest mandatory vaccine laws in the nation and is often noted for attendance enforcement policies that can involve CPS. Due to this, California Homeschool laws become extremely relevant as parents look for ways to avoid the public school system.

California Homeschool Laws

California homeschoolers need to enroll their children for school by age 6 and have 5 options to choose from for their method of schooling. Always remember that you might start out one way and decide it is not working for you. You have the freedom to try all your options to determine what really works out for your family. And while one method might be perfect for one of your children, one of your other children might thrive with a different option. One of the many beauties of homeschooling is that you get to tailor it to suit your child’s learning style and preferences.

Here are the 5 basic options available:

1. Function as a private school. This is a simple process that requires a yearly filing of an affidavit form. You simply fill out this form and submit it online.
2. Enroll in a private school satellite homeschool program.
3. Hire a certified private tutor (or become a credentialed tutor yourself).
4. Use a public school independent study option.
5. Enroll in a public charter school for homeschoolers.

Source

It is important to note that there are no curriculum requirements to homeschool in CA, and if you file as a private school, there are no standardized test requirements. You just fill out your affidavit each year…and school the way you want to. You fill out your affidavit after October 1^st for the school year and you are all set. All-in-all, with the liberty to school the way you choose to in California, it really makes it a pretty easy State to homeschool in. There is a laws section of the website, that describes the area of study required for 1^st-7^th grades and 8^th-12^th grades, but it seems that they are flexible in how you go about achieving those areas of education and they do not require yearly proof of minutes spent on each subject.

If you choose to explore the independent study option, you can check here.

This category includes online education, home-based study through another school, and specialized classes.

Also, as an aside, I have friends who chose the charter option. Although several of my friends have gotten permanent medical exemptions from vaccines to use the charter option, I have other friends who were still able to avoid vaccines using charter school. Due to their children only being in the charter portion of schooling 2 school days per week, they were not required to follow the draconian vaccine laws of California.

California Homeschool Vaccine Laws

While California is one of the toughest states in America for mandatory vaccines, these laws do not apply to California homeschools. The law was amended to dismiss California homeschool vaccine requirements. Being that many parents in California choose to homeschool to avoid California mandatory vaccine laws, this is good news for a lot of parents.

Conclusion

California Homeschool laws aren’t as tough as many people assume them to be. Many parents feel that California’s government overreach would make homeschooling a non-option, but that is not true. Many California parents successfully homeschool their children. But it is important to understand the laws that govern the state before attempting to do so. You can only do more harm than good by not paying attention. Learn how to homeschool today.

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