Homeschooling Regulations by State: Missouri

by Christina Yeager

​Homeschooling is certainly an amazing way to spend more time with your children while offering them an excellent yet tailored education. Moreover, homeschooling is often preferred for character training and learning subjects unavailable in a public school. If you’re looking forward to homeschooling your child in Missouri, this post might be the most useful information you’ll be reading today.
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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.

The regulations, laws and suggestions in this post may not reflect the needs for your particular situation. Not all apply to each individual family. To learn more about the laws and regulations in this state on homeschooling, click the link at the end of the post! This will direct you to the states’ Board of Education or government education site.

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Certain rules and regulations should be followed in order to ensure you’re homeschooling properly and each state has its own set of laws. Make sure to abide by the following laws and guidelines when planning to homeschool your child in Missouri.
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Compulsory School Age	Homeschooling in Missouri can begin at the age of seven. From age seven to graduation, guardians or parents are advised to keep an adequate record of homeschooling activities. However, students may be enrolled as early as age five - however, once enrolled, they become a full-time student.
Homeschooling Choice	There is no state registration or documentation required in the State of Missouri to begin homeschooling. This is because the Missouri Department of Education doesn’t consider, regulate, or monitor homeschooled children in the state. In simple words, you can begin homeschooling your child whenever it pleases. However, it is recommended to begin with the new school year, which begins July 1st every year.
Formally Withdrawing From Public School	If your child is currently enrolled in any public school, it is recommended to send in a withdrawal letter to the school to avoid any issues. The letter should be addressed to your the school the student would be attending publicly and contain the child's name, address, date of birth and their grade.
Curriculum	Curriculum plays a key role in a student’s educational development, motor skills, and problem-solving tactics. Make sure to conduct thorough research before finalizing the chosen subjects. An ideal homeschooling curriculum in Missouri must contain differentiated options, hands-on activities, and independent practical projects. Reading, math, social studies, language arts, and science must be taught.
Recordkeeping	Recordkeeping is certainly the primary focus of homeschooling in Missouri. Thereby, make sure to consider the following tips when keeping an educational record of your child's progress. Record Keeping: Samples of student’s academic work. Keep samples of the student’s assessments, quizzes, tests, and other educational activities. Assessments: Complete record of periodic assessments. Though assessments types are not clearly devised by the Missouri Department of Education, guardians must arrange several types of assessments to measure the progress.   Instructional Hours: At least 1,000 hours of documentation of instruction during the annual school term. When it comes to the instructional hours, 600 hours must be in the core subjects like social studies, language arts, reading, math, and science. And out of these 600 hours, 400 hours must occur at the homeschool location.

Re-enrolling Into Public School After Homeschooling?
If by any chance, you decide not to continue homeschooling your child, you can enroll him/her back into public school. In Missouri, the rules and regulations for enrolling your child back in public school vary by the individual schools and districts. After determining the child’s academic process against the desired grade, admission will be granted after certain protocols – probably a short assessment.  

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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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