Homeschooling Frequently Asked Questions

Conflict between material learned at school and the religious or cultural values the family wishes to teach the children.
Concern over declining educational standards and a desire to teach for academic excellence.
Fear of growing problems with drugs and violence in the schools.
A child's unhappiness or poor performance in the schools.
Continuation of a nurturing, self-reliant way of life that parents truly believe is best for the children.
Desire to take control of an important, God-given responsibility and not leave everything to the government or private schools.
A family's frequent travel, distance from good schools, or other lifestyle considerations.

Is homeschooling legal in North Carolina?

Absolutely! In fact, it's easier in this state than in some others to satisfy the requirements of the compulsory school attendance laws. You can be thankful that because other families went to court in years past, you won't have to now. Your public library has a copy of all state laws. For ones regarding homeschooling, see Statutes 115C-378 and 547-565, particularly 115C-555 through 565. All children between the ages of 7 and 16 must be enrolled in a public, private, or state recognized home school.

Do I need legal insurance?

It is so easy to comply with the law as it is written for this state, that unless you are planning to be a conscientious objector (and refuse to obey the law), you probably don't need it.

Do I need a teaching certificate or a college degree?

No. All you need in this state is a high school diploma or equivalent. If two families decide to homeschool together, the authorities prefer that at least one adult from each family has this qualification; however, the law will be satisfied if only one adult, who assumes responsibility for both families, has this. Statistically, two-family home schools have not proven very stable.

Where can I get the books and materials I'll need?

The public school system does not provide books or materials; these become your responsibility (although occasionally individual schools will allow homeschoolers access to unneeded textbooks, free or at low cost). You can either purchase a packaged curriculum from any of a number of mail-order firms (also try Christian bookstores), buy courses from a correspondence school, especially at high school or college level, or you can assemble your own curriculum from materials available at the public library or bookstores. Or you can use some combination of these materials. The resource list included in this info packet is a good place to start. Popular curricula are offered by Christian Liberty, A Beka, ACE, and Bob Jones University Press. The curriculum of Calvert School is a perennial favorite of missionary and military families overseas. Write or call for free catalogs. In addition, some of the books on homeschooling that are available from the library contain resource lists. Some commercial suppliers such as Home Educator's Family Services put on conferences and book fairs several times yearly at various locations. State homeschool support groups often sponsor book and curriculum fairs yearly in conjunction with conferences and workshops. These are open to the public (there is a cost) and are wonderful sources of teaching materials. Some local support groups operate libraries, too.

How do I know what subjects should be taught when?

There is enormous leeway in how and what you can teach your children. You can choose the level and pace appropriate for each child. By law, in this state, subjects that must be tested each year include English grammar, reading, spelling, and mathematics. For a sample list of material covered by a typical curriculum year by year, see Appendix A of THE HOME SCHOOL MANUAL by Theodore Wade et. al. (Forsyth County Library).

How do I find time to teach several children of different ages and ability levels?

Two methods have been especially useful: (1) get the older children to help teach the younger ones, and (2) use the unit study approach. For the latter, everyone studies the same subject at the same time, using multiple media (books, magazines, videos, maps, field trips, etc.), but at different levels. Thus, for example, the younger children go along on the field trip, look at the pictures, and are read to, while the older ones read books and prepare reports and maps.

What if I don't feel qualified to teach some subjects, especially higher-level ones?

If you don't feel confident in all areas to be taught (nobody is good at everything), you may want to purchase a packaged course, correspondence course, or even a complete curriculum designed to be self-taught. Many homeschoolers use these, available from sources on the enclosed list. Or you may be able to exchange or hire some part-time tutoring from another family that has different areas of competence from yours (this is a gray area in the law). Many support groups organize some classes or clubs to help with math, the sciences, writing, and foreign languages. There are also video and audio tape courses available through the library or by mail order. Classes at community colleges may be a possibility too, depending on local policy. Remember that parents can learn along with children the subjects they don't know. It's good to keep in mind how many classes are taught in conventional schools by teachers minimally qualified to teach these subjects.

Am I required to teach a certain number of hours per day or days per year?

Not really. You are required to operate at least nine calendar months per year, and keep attendance records. The Division of Non-Public Education, which has jurisdiction over home schools, will send an attendance form that the officials prefer you to use. The DNPE recommends that you teach at least five hours per day for 180 days per year, but these are not legal requirements. It should be noted that children in conventional schools typically get much less than the nominal five or six hours of instruction per day because so much time is lost in handing out papers, standing in line, making announcements, waiting their turn, and other non-task activities. By eliminating most of these, and tailoring instruction to your children's particular interests and needs, you'll find that they can usually cover the same amount of material in much less time. Older children, especially, can become mostly self-taught.

Is it expensive?

It doesn't have to be. By making heavy use of the library, used book sales, borrowing, and common materials on hand, one can do an adequate job with minimum cost. Packaged curricula and video courses come higher, up to several hundred dollars per child per year (this is still much cheaper than a private school). Of course, extras such as dance, art, martial arts, voice or instrument, public speaking, sports, horseback riding, or summer camp can add much more to the bill, but most parents would choose at least some of these for their children even if they were in a conventional school.

How do I handle physical education?

Young children need no organized program if they have access to parks, playgrounds, and other such equipment. Older children and those who are interested in particular sports can often find what they need in Parks and Recreation Department programs, 4H, church teams, the YMCA/YWCA, commercial martial-arts academies and gymnasiums, summer camps, and programs organized by support groups.

Can my child get a diploma?

Since your home school is recognized by the state as an unaccredited private school, you are entitled to issue your own diploma, though it might not carry the same weight as one from an accredited school. Some correspondence schools (such as Christian Liberty Academy) offer a diploma for completion of their curricula. Either of these options is probably preferable to getting a GED, though this is available through your local community college. For more information on the GED or Adult High School Diploma programs, call Forsyth Technical Community College. Another possibility is to send the child back to a public or private high school for his final year or two, although this may raise other problems (see below).

What about college?

Colleges are becoming more accepting all the time, and those that have had homeschooled students have generally found them to be such a positive experience that they are now actively recruiting more. For an eye-opening discussion, see HOMESCHOOLING FOR EXCELLENCE by David and Micki Colfax, who sent their homeschooled sons to Harvard. They reported that the admissions officials there found it "refreshing" to receive an application from such a "different" sort of student.

How will I know whether my children are keeping up with others in conventional schools?

All children in a registered home school in this state (you must register with the state if they are between the ages of 7 and 16) are required to take a nationally standardized achievement test yearly, measuring English reading, grammar, spelling, and math; the Iowa or California Achievement Tests are commonly used. You can purchase grade-appropriate tests from one of the commercial firms that offer them (such as Bob Jones or Thurber) and administer them yourself, if the test provider's rules allow this. The DNPE recommends that children be tested by someone other than their own parents, but this is not a legal requirement. Families may want to group together for testing purposes for added validity. Many support groups and private testers also provide this service for a fee. If you use a packaged curriculum from a correspondence school, it may include such a test. Teenagers may wish to take the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test), which is offered several times a year at area high schools and may be taken at any age, or the PSAT (Preliminary SAT), which is given in October of the junior year and can qualify one for National Merit scholarships. However, DNPE director Rod Helder has recently advised that, in his interpretation, these do not satisfy the law for homeschoolers, so an additional test must be taken. Test results must be made available to the DNPE on demand. Note: Statistics so far suggest that homeschooled children on average get higher scores than ones in conventional schools. Also, low scores on such tests cannot be used as excuses to close down your home school (which is only fair, since not all children in public schools do well on such tests either, by any means).

Can my children test with public or private school children?

If a private school is using a nationally standardized test and is willing to include your children, this arrangement will work. Public schools in this state may no longer be using nationally standardized tests, but now use state standardized end-of-grade tests that do not satisfy the law for homeschoolers. (Private high schools often are more willing than public ones to allow home-taught students to take the PSAT with theirs. There has been no trouble registering students for the SAT given at public high schools, because of how they are tallied.)

Will the administrators of the public school my children are going to now give me a hard time if I take them out?

Probably not. The general experience in this state has been a spirit of cooperation and helpfulness. Some guidance counselors are now actively advocating homeschooling for students who are not fitting in well to the school environment (although homeschooling should not be regarded as a dumping ground for difficult-to-teach students). Even if you should run into resistance, remember that you have the law on your side (even though school personnel may not be familiar with it!). It's a good idea to maintain cordial relations with administrators if possible -- you may need their help later.

What happens if I later enter or re-enter my child in a conventional school?

If you have kept good records (i.e. a lesson plan list, daily log of subjects studied, or portfolio of the child's work) as recommended by the DNPE, the principal of the school will be able to use those and the results of the achievement tests to determine for which grade or what courses your child is qualified. Because high schools require a certain number of course units for graduation, it can be difficult to enter a child after the beginning of ninth grade. For this reason, careful planning and consideration must be done if you intend to homeschool beyond eighth grade. If you have the bad luck to encounter a public high school principal who is unsympathetic to homeschooling, he or she may disallow any credit for courses you've already taught, forcing your child to begin over again as a freshman regardless of his level. One way around this might be to send the child to a private school for one year. The principal there, eager to do business with you, is likely to look with favor upon your past courses. If he or she accepts them and grants credit, then if you later transfer the child to a public school, the credits will follow.

When should I stop homeschooling?

Some people, reluctant to send their children into the world with a diploma from an unaccredited school, return their youngsters to public or private school in the middle grades or at the high school level. Others are committed to home educating all the way through, and still others take their youngsters out at those ages. It is even possible to homeschool through college, using correspondence courses, and to earn a degree. In general, if your youngster is outstripping your resources and needs more challenging work, a reassessment needs to be done.

Can my children attend public or private school part time and do the rest at home?

Although this arrangement has been tried with good success in other states, the general experience here has been that public schools are not willing to serve children on a part-time basis. However, the Career Center has recently been opened to private and homeschool students for the first time. Private schools have as much business as they can handle and most are not looking for part-time students. Dual enrollment with them can cause difficulties with the DNPE, as well. Perhaps this situation will improve in the future.

Won't my children miss their peer groups in school?

When people find out you are homeschooling your children, everyone will ask you this question, so you'd better have an answer ready. There are lots of ways children socialize with one another besides school activities. Yours will still have time to play with neighborhood friends after their school day is done. There are also scout groups, 4H, sporting events, clubs, church youth groups, and so forth. Plus, if you attend meetings of a local homeschooling association, you will probably meet other families whose youngsters are similar ages and have similar interests to yours, with whom you can plan social events. Keep in mind that when students are in school all day (in the very artificial setting of all being the same age), they are not necessarily socializing with one another, but spend most of their time sitting and listening to the teacher. Also, the negative influence of some peer groups is one reason that some parents take their children out of school. Homeschooling parents have many opportunities to expose their children to people of all ages and walks of life, which they might not have time to meet if they were in school all day.

Is there a local homeschooling association?

Yes. Forsyth Home Educators is a loosely organized affiliation of homeschooling families in this and nearby counties. It is Christian-oriented but welcomes everybody (there is no statement of faith to sign). FHE meets on an irregular basis in members' homes, churches, or public buildings (it has no office or paid employees). It puts out a monthly newsletter ($15 yearly) and a directory of subscribing homeschooling families. In addition it arranges cooperative activities such as family picnics, field trips, Skate Nights, Mom's Nights Out, special interest clubs, 4H, and so on. It also keeps abreast of legal developments affecting homeschoolers. There is also a statewide organization, North Carolinians for Home Education (NCHE), which puts out a newsletter (see resource list).

Can I teach my learning-disabled or handicapped child at home?

Yes, and such a child will often do better with such one-on-one attention as you can offer at home, than in a special-ed program at school. There are many books available on how to help children with learning difficulties (see resource list). A word of caution: If your LD or handicapped child has not yet entered school and you plan on teaching him or her at home, it may be better not to consult with the public school officials at all. There have been cases where parents, declining to enroll such a child in a school program, have been held to be neglectful, and the Social Services called in. You can always seek the school's help later if you think you need it.

What about my child who is sixteen?

If your only or youngest child (or the only one you wish to homeschool) is already sixteen, the DNPE will not accept your notice of intent to operate a home school, since the compulsory school attendance law no longer applies. But this gives you even more latitude in deciding on your curriculum and method. You will not have to do annual testing or submit to inspection, nor will you receive a certificate of inspection, so your school will remain unofficial. This should make no difference to potential employers or private colleges, since other states have different requirements of their homeschoolers, and not all give some kind of certificate. However, such a student will be listed by the state as a dropout, and this could affect his acceptance to community or other NC state colleges and universities, or eligibility for military service, orphans' benefits, auto insurance, etc., where being a full-time student is required or gives advantages. For this reason, if your student is already listed as a student in a registered home school when he turns sixteen, it is advisable to keep him so. Again, all students listed with the DNPE are required to be tested annually, even when they have reached sixteen.

Since you have limited time in which to help your student complete his or her high school education, you may be well advised to use correspondence courses or a complete curriculum from a correspondence school, either of which usually work well with older students who have not homeschooled before.

If your sixteen-year-old is leaving conventional school because of failure or lack of motivation, it may be better to go directly for the GED or Adult High School Diploma. Forsyth Tech at present will not allow youngsters under eighteen to test for the GED, but some other community colleges will (at sixteen). You can help your youngster prepare at home with prep books from any large bookstore, or you can arrange GED-prep or Adult High School Diploma classes at the community college, though there may be a waiting period of several months after the youngster leaves his or her present school. With either of these in hand, it should then be possible to get a full-time job or to take further courses at any community college, if desired. Some rules are set by the state and some vary at the discretion of the individual college, so do check.

What about driver's education?

Homeschooled youngsters of the proper age for driving instruction are treated the same as public or private school students for this purpose. Free classroom and behind-the-wheel instruction is offered through the public school system after normal school hours and during the summer. Call the number listed under Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, Driver Education, for information about the next class in this county (see resource sheet).

I'm a single parent. Can I still teach my children at home?

Both parents in this family have jobs. What about us?

You will have more difficulty, but you can probably still teach at home if you are determined enough. It depends on how old your children are and how independent, whether you can get day care for them if you need it (because they won't be in school during the day), and whether you have the energy, time, and organization skills necessary to teach your children after your normal work day is over. For a discussion of creative solutions to the problems of working or single parents, see Chapter 3 of TEACH YOUR OWN by John Holt (Forsyth County Library). There is a single parents' national homeschooling association, so people in this situation are evidently doing it. In addition, many homeschooling moms have part-time jobs or cottage industries.

Can I hire someone else to homeschool my child?

This does not fit the definition of a home school, except for two-family home schools, but is a tutorial situation that falls under different laws. Contact the DNPE for information about satisfying the law through private tutors. College students or retired teachers may be willing to take on such employment.

Who should not homeschool?

People who do not have the time or commitment it takes to make it work, who are poorly educated themselves, who have unrealistic expectations, or who cannot command respect and obedience from their children, are not likely to succeed at homeschooling. Home education will not cure psychiatric ills, fix genuine disabilities, mend broken families, or perform miracles.

How many homeschoolers are there?

Answers vary, depending on how different states count them, and whether there are large numbers of undeclared home schools. Estimates run from half a million to two million families nationally. NCHE has identified 10,270 families in North Carolina (spring of 1997 figures). One thing is certain: the numbers are growing rapidly, doubling every few years.

How do I get started?

First of all, go to the library and get as many books on homeschooling as you can find. The librarian may have to put some books on reserve for you from other branches. If you know other families who are homeschooling, they may be able to lend you books that are not available from the library. Bookstores may have a disappointing selection, but there are mail-order publishers, and also, local bookstores can special-order most titles for you.

Second, talk about the idea of homeschooling with your spouse, your children, your trusted friends and relatives, and other homeschooling families. Use them as a sounding board and bounce ideas off them. It will clarify and justify your own thinking. Work out a philosophy of education. Do you want to emphasize Christian values? Academic excellence? Nontraditional ways of learning? Preparation for college or work-related skills? What do you hope for your children to accomplish?

Third, decide what books and materials you will use and where you will get them (remember that one year at a time is generally enough). The ideas of other homeschoolers are invaluable here. Contact a support group. Don't make the mistake of investing large amounts of money in fancy curricula unless you have investigated them and determined that they are really best for your family. Start small.

Once these are accomplished or well under way, in the state of North Carolina you should contact the Division of Non-Public Education (unless your children are all under 7 or over 16 years of age). Because the people in the office are responsible for all private schools in the state as well as an ever-increasing load of homeschooling families, they have gone to a voice-mail menu system. You can still reach a live person if you need to, but please don't take up the officials' time by asking them a lot of questions until after you receive their information packet, which will probably answer most of them. They will send you a simple form to fill out, and you will be requested to furnish proof that persons providing instruction have at least a high school diploma or equivalent (a photocopy is fine). You will also receive a list of legal requirements and recommendations.

If your children are currently enrolled in a conventional (public or private) school, as a matter of courtesy you should send the principal and the district superintendent a letter explaining what you are planning to do and why (but this is not a legal requirement).

It may take the DNPE as long as a month to get back to you with an acknowledgement that it has received your notification materials. Technically you should wait for this to arrive before taking your children out of their present school. If you are in a hurry because of a bad situation, there is a short cut: send your notification materials to them by overnight or return-receipt mail. When the receipt arrives in a few days, it is proof your materials have been received.

You may be asked to meet yearly (in the spring) with a representative of the DNPE, who will examine your children's attendance and immunization records (also required) and standardized test results. He may also request information on your lesson plans or log book (but remember that you are not legally required to furnish these if you don't want to). Because the officials are so busy, in recent years they have sent out forms to fill out in lieu of face-to-face meetings.

DISCLAIMER: The above does not constitute legal advice. Laws can change. Be sure to keep informed by staying in contact with the DNPE or a local homeschooling association.

That's it! Happy homeschooling!