FLORIDA HS STATUTE

In the state of Florida, you may register to homeschool via several ways. They are listed below.

Option 1: Homeschooling under the homeschool statute ss.1002.41, F.S

You are required to file a letter of intent with your local schoolboard within 30 days of establishing your home education program. Legally, your letter of intent must include your child's name, birthdate, mailing address and the date your child's program started. This letter should be signed and sent in to your school board superintentent or designated schoolboard homeschool liaison. Many counties will offer a template to fill out but they may have information that is not legally required to submit, such as grade level, siblings in the house, previous school or parent's email address. A simple, typed up document is all that is required.

Upon receipt of this letter of intent, the schoolboard is required to immediately accept this designation and may not request any additional information unless the child wants to participate in locally zoned school programs such as speech therapy, band, chorus or sports.

You will need to keep a homeschool portfolio with this option. It requires three components: Work samples, a reading log and an activity log of educational activities logged contemporaneously with instruction. This portfolio is to be kept for two years. The school superintendent may request to review the portfolio with 15 days written notice.

Your child must demonstrate annual progress each year and evidence of that progress must be submitted to the county no later than the anniversary date listed in your letter of intent.

The state does not mandate what you teach, how you teach or how often you teach. Your child will be evaluated depending on their individual progress. All methods of homeschooling are legally acceptable, including unschooling, even as registered homeschoolers.

Progress can be demonstrated in five different ways:

a portfolio evaluation by a Florida certified teacher who reviews the portfolio for progress and has a discussion with the student.
a nationally normed, standardized test proctored by a Florida certified teacher.
a county issued standardized assessment.
a psychologist evaluation to determine evidence of annual progress.
any method determined between the local schoolboard and the parent.

When you are ready to graduate your homeschooled child, move to another county or send them to public or private school, you are required to send in a letter of termination within 30 days of ending their program along with an annual progress assessment. If you are moving to another county, don't forget to submit a new letter of intent!

Option 2: Register with an umbrella school. This option makes your child a private school student in the eyes of the state although it won't require you to attend a brick and mortar location. You are required to submit a school physical and recent vaccination records or exemption form to the main principal officer in the school. They will collect attendance data from you throughout the year and report to the state. It is the parents responsibility to make sure the umbrella school is legally registered with the state department of education and that their record keeping is up to date. Some are free, some cost depending on what they offer. 180 days of instruction are required.

Option 3: Parents may choose to hire a private tutor who is state certified to teach each subject that is taught. Instruction must be 180 days and

State Requirements