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Arizona
is a homeschool friendly state with very few
requirements for homeschooling parents. Parents are free
to homeschool their child, free to postpone
homeschooling until the child is 8 years old and free
from testing requirements which apply to public school
students.
Beyond
these benefits, Arizona homeschoolers have the added
benefit of being able to participate in all
interscholastic activities on behalf of the public
school for their area of attendance. They have the same
access to join sports teams and use public facilities as
the students attending the public schools.
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This right
of participation makes a lot of sense given the fact that homeschool families are required to pay the same
property, state and local taxes as the parents of public
school students. Their tax dollars help pay for the public
school facilities and operating expenses. However, that
fact has not moved lawmakers in other states to grant
the same rights to their homeschooling constituents.
Arizona homeschoolers should be very grateful.
Most of the legal requirements for homeschooling
in Arizona come from state law 15-802 which is summarized as
follows:
All children from ages 6 to 16 must attend school
and receive instruction in reading, grammar, math, social studies
and science. Parents or guardians have 4 choices of different
educational approaches including public schools, private schools,
charter schools and homeschool. All children attending public, private or charter
schools must be enrolled and must attend for the full time school is
in session or not less than 175 school days per year.
All children attending private schools or
homeschool must file an affidavit of intent with the county school
superintendent. Legally the affidavit establishes the homeschool and
allows it the right to operate. The affidavit states the child's plan for attending
either a private school or homeschool. The state law requires the
following procedures for the affidavit.
- The affidavit must include the child's name,
date of birth, the current address of the school, and the names
and contact information for the parents or guardian.
- The affidavit must be filed within 30 days of the start date
for attending a private school or homeschool. This applies to
students starting school for the first time as well as students
who are pulled out of public school to attend a private school
or homeschool.
- Parents are not required to file a new affidavit each school
year. However, if the child stops attending private school or
homeschool then the parent must file another affidavit within 30
days of the date of termination.
- Aizona parents have the freedom to postpone homeschooling until
age 8 if desired. However, homeschool parents who want to postpone
starting school are still required to file the affidavit each year.
The document should be filed each year starting at age 6 to let the
school district know about the postponement.
There are some exceptions where the requirement for filing an
affidavit is waived. These exceptions include handicapped children
who are not able to attend school, students who have already
completed the 10th grade, students who have already provided other
reasons for not attending public school, students who have been
expelled from public school and students over 14 and employed.
Parents who are not exempted by any of the reasons stated above
and who fails to enroll their child in either a public, private,
charter school or homeschool is guilty of a class 3 misdemeanor.
Parents who enroll their children in a private school or homeschool
but fail to file an affidavit of intent are guilty of a petty
offense.
Arizona testing requirements are very lenient for homeschool
families. Arizona
statute 15-745 states that homeschool students
are not required to be tested while they are receiving homeschool
instruction. However they are required to be tested if and when they
choose to enter the public school system to determine the most
appropriate grade level placement.
All things considered, Arizona
is a great state to live in for anyone considering homeschooling.
See homeschool groups in Arizona
Visit the Arizona State Board of Education
Visit Arizona State Legislature website
Note: This summary of Arizona homeschool law is
for information purposes only and not as legal advice. |