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by Christina Yeager
Have you considered the decision to not enroll your child into the local school system in favor of homeschooling and you live in Iowa? Do you perceive the first steps to ensure you're on the right path to securing a sufficient plan for your child's educational needs? You need to recognize the rules for your state! You've landed on the right blog! We can provide the information you need to homeschool in Iowa. 
Each state is the U.S. has a very specific set of regulations for homeschooling. If you are thinking about teaching your child at home, you'll need to know the ins and outs of what needs to be done beforehand and during. In this series, Homeschooling Regulations by State, we'll explore information to help with the decision, what to do to get started and what to do correctly to continue.
Compulsory School Age The State of Iowa requires children that are six years old or older before September 15th of each year be enrolled in the accredited public or private school. They must attend instruction until their sixteenth birthday. However, if they are currently enrolled and turn sixteen, they must finish the current school year. Homeschooling Choices Homeschooling is considered the accurate term for families that wish to instruct their children at home instead of a traditional public or non-public school. This decision includes any of the following choices of homeschooling options listed below:
It’s crucial to recognize that homeschooled high school students cannot receive a diploma from an accredited school. Formally Withdrawing From Public School All school districts in Iowa maintain various standards. While it isn't required to notify your school district of the decision to homeschool, the superintendent may issue a written statement asking you to report the names of enrolled homeschooled students, instructors, the location of instruction and responsible party of said children. If your child has already been attending public school, they will need to be officially withdrawn from the local school system before issuing home-based instruction. Contact the school your child attends and inform them of the decision to homeschool and ask if they retain a form to complete. Record Keeping and Reporting No requirements in Iowa dictates you should keep records. However, it's always recommended you do! Attendance days, academic progress and grades should be recorded and stored. Other Important Things To Consider Iowa homeschooling laws do not require any standardized testing or specific qualifications. Attendance The course of study for each school year for private instruction is 148 days completed. Curriculum 5 academic subjects are required as part of homeschool curriculum:
Instruction There are no requirements for specific days of the year or hours within a day to instruct. This is solely dependent on the instructor as long as the required yearly days are met. Immunizations All students in the State of Iowa are required to be properly immunized. If your child is exempt due to religious reasons, a notarized Certificate of Immunization Exemption is required.
Are you a homeschooler (new or veteran) seeking to share insight? Read our guidelines and then reach out introducing yourself to obtain blogging credentials! And if you're a homeschool parent, be sure to follow the Homeschooling Heroes page on Facebook for tons of resources and insight, and join the Unschool Homeschool group to expand your horizons as to what homeschooling is/can be. And finally, if you're looking for activities to join, we have a group with New Orleans-based activities, which will be expanding to an area near you - so join our group! And be excited about that, because we offer tons of exceptional educational and extracurricular activities for homeschoolers and parents, and can't wait to include you.
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