Ohio Laws for Homeschooling

For a variety of reasons--religious, intellectual, cultural and personal--many parents prefer to educate their children themselves, rather than send them to regular schools. In an effort to guarantee that home-schooled children acquire the skills they will need to be productive citizens, each state has particular laws which dictate what topics home-schooled children must learn and how parents must report their children's progress. The laws in Ohio are relatively flexible, encouraging active communication between the parents and the school system.
  1. Curricular Requirements

    • Children in Ohio are required to study fine arts.

      In Ohio, children must be schooled between the ages of 6 and 18, for at least 900 hours each year. They are required to study language arts (reading, spelling and writing), civics (government, United States and Ohio history and geography), math, science, music and other fine arts, and health topics, including first aid and fire-prevention. They also must fulfill physical education requirements. Ohio allows exceptions to these topics if they are in conflict with the parents' religious beliefs.

    Annual Reports

    • Your annual report should include a list of the books you plan to have your child read.

      Home-schooling parents in Ohio are required to send reports once a year, before the beginning of the regular school term, to the local school superintendent. The report explains who will be teaching the child (for example, if you are hiring private tutors for certain subjects), an outline of your curriculum, list of teaching materials and textbooks and a statement of assurance that you are teaching the child the required topics for the required number of hours. Also, since the teacher (whether it is you or a tutor) must have a high school diploma or GED certificate, you must provide a statement that you are qualified, or that you are working under the guidance of someone who has a bachelor's degree.

    Evaluation

    • If you don't want your home-schooled child to take standardized tests, you can instead have a teacher evaluate a portfolio of her work.

      If you home-school your kids, the state of Ohio (like most states) wants to be kept abreast of your children's progress. Every so often, the state will notify you that it is time for an assessment. At that point, you have to send one of the following: a) results of a standardized achievement test (administered by someone authorized by Ohio public schools or by the publisher of the test) showing that your child performs at least in the 25th percentile, b) a written report by a certified teacher or other qualified educator showing that the teacher has reviewed a portfolio of your child's work and that he is progressing academically at an appropriate rate or c) another assessment which you agree on with the school superintendent.

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