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For anyone
considering homeschooling, Delaware would be an excellent
state to live in. Delaware statutes embrace
homeschooling and place minimal requirements on
homeschool families.
Delaware
requires all kids from ages 5-16 to attend some type of
school, either public, private or homeschool. For
homeschool students, state law provides three legal ways
to establish and operate a homeschool. This article
provides details on the requirements for each of these
three options. The good news is that for all three
options the requirements are not overly burdensome.
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Like most
other states, Delaware laws require homeschool parents
to notify the Department of Education of their students'
enrollment in a homeschool and provide attendance
reports. Beyond that, the only other major requirement
is the subjects taught must be the same as the subjects
taught in public schools. Parents are given the liberty
of choosing their own curriculum and materials.
The
first homeschooling option is the most popular. Parents can easily
establish a single-family homeschool in their home by filing an
enrollment statement with the Department of Education each year by
the end of September. Under this option, parents are required to
keep records of school attendance and file an attendance report by
July 31 of each year. Both the enrollment statement and the
attendance report must be completed on forms prescribed by the
Department of Education. Beyond these limited requirements, Delaware
laws make no other requirements regarding teacher qualifications,
recordkeeping, or testing are specified under this option.
The
second option is to establish a multi-family homeschool. Under
this option, the education of the child is provided by the parents
or guardians of children in one or more residences in which the
children are not all related to each other as siblings. The
multi-family homeschool is required to appoint a liaison to report attendance
and enrollment information to the Department of Education each year
for all families involved. The liason has the exact same
requirements as described above for the single-family homeschool
filing the same two reports by the same dates. Also like the
single-family option, there are no other requirements.
The
third option likely has the least appeal to homeschool parents
because it requires them to use the same teaching curriculum and
materials as the public schools. The problem with this option is it
takes away the freedom of homeschooling parents to select their own
teaching materials, which is one of the main reasons why many
parents are motivated to homeschool their kids. Most homeschool
parents do not want their kids to be indoctrinated with the
government mandated materials which have removed God and Christian
values and replaced them with secular, humanistic doctines. In any
case, this option is available and meets the needs of some
homeschool parents. Under this
option, parents are responsible for educating their own
child in their own residence using curriculum approved by the local
school superintendent. Beyond that, all other requirements under
this option are the same as the first two options.
In
summary, Delaware parents who are interested in homeschooling should
have no problem meeting the limited requirements and enjoying the
freedom they desire to teach their children at home.
See homeschool groups in Delaware
Visit the Delaware Department of Education
Note: This summary of Delaware homeschool law is
for information purposes only and not as legal advice.
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