Before you begin homeschooling in Georgia you need to be aware of homeschool legislation and required documentation. With this in mind, here are some things that you must know about homeschooling in Georgia. You will need to know about Georgia homeschool laws for parents.
There are many homeschooling requirements in Georgia before the state will allow you to home school your children in GA. Learning about all the laws, requirements and homeschool programs in Georgia will get you on your way to homeschooling your children in Atlanta or wherever you may live in the state of Georgia.
Laws Regarding Homeschooling In Georgia
Homeschoolers in the state of Georgia are required to have at least 180 days of instruction each year. This instruction must last for at least 4 ½ hours per day. During this time the basic subjects of reading, language arts, math, social studies and science must be taught. These subjects must meet the minimum standards for standardized testing, which occurs every 3 years starting in third grade. Furthermore, homeschooled children who are between the ages of 6 and 16 must have a letter submitted each fall stating that they will be homeschooled. Attendance records must be kept and submitted each month. If these rules are not followed, Georgia will revoke a parent’s driver’s license. This is done in order to encourage parents to make sure that they file paperwork and other proof of continued education.
Where To Find The Required Forms For Georgia Homeschooling
It is important to note that you don’t have to use Georgia’s exact forms. However, if you would like to use them, they can be found at GHEA.org (Georgia Home Education Association). This website will also provide you with more information in regard to maintaining a legal homeschool within the state of Georgia.
Deciding Upon What Curriculum To Use For GA Homeschooling
Georgia doesn’t have a required curriculum for homeschooling. So, it is up to you to decide upon what you want to use as long as the required subjects are being taught. Fortunately, this leaves you with hundreds of choices. In order to decide upon the curriculum that will work best for you, it is important to do a lot of reading about philosophies, methods and approaches.
By doing so you will be able to find something that will meet your child’s needs while also fulfilling Georgia’s requirements for your homeschool. If you are still left feeling confused though, you can visit GeorgiaStandards.org. Here you will find the basic education requirements that Georgia’s public school students must meet. These can be helpful in comparing different curriculums since it is written in plain English.
Utilizing Public School Resources In Georgia
Unfortunately, Georgia frowns upon homeschoolers using public school resources. This is mainly because Georgia homeschoolers prefer that the government keep their hands off. For this reason, you shouldn’t expect to find a lot of public resources available for homeschooled children. The one area that this is different with is whenever it comes to special education services. However, even then you may not want to use these services because your child may get “labeled” and then you could face pressure from the public school system to enroll your child therein.
The Public School Funded Homeschool System
Georgia has a public school funded homeschool system. This is something that you are free to use as long as you are homeschooling a child who is in grades K through 12. However, you will need to pay for this yourself because Georgia has active lobbyists who are working against the mixing of public school system with homeschooling. Of course, there are also some free things that you can use within this state to help you with your homeschool endeavors. This includes:
- Public libraries
- Museums (they offer some hours that are free)
- Public parks
- School playgrounds (these can be utilized during non school hours)
- Outdoor track facilities (these can be utilized during non school hours)
Finding Other Homeschoolers In Georgia
There are a lot of homeschool groups located within the Greater Atlanta Area. You can learn about most of them at http://www.heir.org/oldsite/support.htm#P