As in any other state in America today, homeschooling is also in the state of Indiana. In Indiana a homeschool is considered a type of private school that is run out of a home. Therefore, the state will legally treat it as a private school but there are not any special teacher qualifications needed.
Rules And Restrictions For Homeschooling In Indiana
Since homeschoolers are treated as a private school, there are not many obligations to the state. You will need to tell the state that you will be homeschooling then take attendance for 180 school days a year. All teaching must be done in English.
Forms And Paperwork For Indiana Homeschooling Requirements
There is no notification paperwork required unless your school’s superintendent specifically requests it. The superintendent may also wish to know how many children are being homeschooled in each grade. This is the same information that he would want to know of a regular private school. Of course, this request must be officially made and not just be a general request made to the public at large for such information.
You will also need to keep attendance records for your homeschool. The school superintendent has the right to request to see these at any time. This request is to simply ensure that attendance is actually occurring and that there is no truancy. Here it is important to remember that the number of attendance days should be somewhere close to the 180 days that a public school child would be required to attend during any given school year.
Indiana Kindergarten Home school Requirements
Children in Indiana do not have to start school until they are 7-years-old. However, if you choose to start your child in school at a younger age, then the 180 days of attendance is compulsory for that child from that earlier age forward. Since you are homeschooling your child, this means that your child will need to have attendance records kept for them in the same way as all other children do.
Testing Requirements For IN Homeschooling
Homeschool students are not required to take any standardized testing. They also are not required to take any state mandated testing either.
What You Are Required To Teach Your Indiana Homeschooled Child
Since a homeschool is considered to be a type of private school in Indiana, there are no regulations as to what subjects you must teach your child. Of course, you will want to make sure that you are at least teaching him the basic core courses, which include math, language arts, history and science. You will also want to provide him with some extracurricular or elective activities that he can participate in too.
Where To Find An Indiana Homeschool Curriculum
The state of Indiana will not provide you with any type of assistance whenever it comes to finding homeschool curriculum for your children. Fortunately, there is a lot of homeschool curriculum available online for you to choose from. Most parents will start by using a popular curriculum that covers all of the basics. Once you are comfortable with homeschooling you can choose to make some adjustments to this curriculum or you may even want to create your own curriculum.
Qualifications For Homeschooling In Indiana
There are absolutely no qualifications required of parents who wish to teach their own children. Therefore, it will be up to you to determine what subjects and courses you are able and comfortable enough to teach. Whenever you are either unable or uncomfortable to teach something, it will also be up to you to either ask for or hire some additional help (i.e. a tutor).
Other Useful Information
The state of Indiana simply assumes that you will be using homeschool curriculum that is similar to that curriculum which is being taught in the public schools. For this reason, they do not require that you teach any specific subjects within your homeschool. Instead, they feel that everyone both believes and understands that it is crucial to get a good education and thus they do not have to mandate the method of education within their state’s law.
There are several organizations that can help you homeschool your child in this manner within the state of Indiana. They include the Indiana Association of Home Educators and the Indiana Foundation for Home Schooling. Both of these organizations have useful information and ideas for you available on their website. You can also get more information about homeschooling in Indiana through the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA).