Homeschool benefits: Westerville City School District
Westerville City Schools lets home-educated children who live in the district apply to take courses part time and join any extracurricular activity at the school they would otherwise attend. Submit the Part Time Enrollment Application by August 1 before the school year; course seats go out on a space-available basis.
Who qualifies
Lives in Westerville City Schools
Part-time students must be residents of the district. For activities, the Enrollment Center checks two proofs of residency and names your assigned school.
Has filed the home education notice
The part-time application requires your approved Home Education Acknowledgement Letter from the district.
Meets enrollment requirements
Bring a registration form, birth certificate, immunization record, emergency medical card, and proof of residency. Part-time students follow the district student code of conduct.
Meets activity eligibility
Your child must be the right age and grade level for the school and meet the same academic, nonacademic, and financial requirements as other participants, including the state's academic requirements for continuing home education.
What your child can take part in
The terms come from Westerville City Schools' home education packet and its page on extracurricular activities for home-educated students.
- Course requests on the part-time application
- Up to 4
- Course seats
- Space available
- Application deadline
- August 1
- Transportation to classes
- Family provides
- Extracurricular activities
- Any at your assigned school
- Activity fees
- No more than other students pay
The district still links its former home education policy 9270, retired January 8, 2024, which allowed two K-5 special subjects and four courses (four credits) a year in grades 6-12; the current packet cites Home Education Policy IHM, so ask the alternative education office whether those limits still apply.
From notifying to enrolling
- Each school year
File your notification
Return the Home Education Notification Form to the Office of Alternative Education Services and Assessment, 336 South Otterbein Ave., and choose email or mail for your acknowledgement letter.
- By August 1
Apply for part-time courses
List the courses you want on the Part Time Enrollment Application and send it to the same office before the school year starts.
- Before classes start
Finish enrollment paperwork
Take the required documents to the Enrollment Center at 300 Polaris Parkway, inside the OhioHealth building, 614-797-7700.
- For activities
Verify residency and meet the coach
Email two proofs of residency to welcome@westerville.k12.oh.us, then contact the principal at your assigned school and meet the coach or advisor.
- Before the season
Turn in activity forms and fees
Submit the forms the activity needs, such as a physical, concussion form, and grade eligibility form, along with any activity fees.
What it includes
Included
- Part-time courses, space available
- Extracurricular activities at your assigned school
- Athletics under OHSAA (Ohio High School Athletic Association) rules
Not included
- Transportation
- Activity fees
- Activities at a school other than your assigned one
Good to know
Your child can join activities at the school they would attend
Under Ohio law, a home-educated student may take part in any extracurricular activity offered at the public school they would otherwise attend, as long as they meet the same requirements as other participants.
Who to contact about part-time enrollment
Sue Bell, the office's home school secretary, handles home education notifications and part-time questions at extension 56101.
bellsu@westerville.k12.oh.us 614-797-7750 Home Educated page
Homeschool rules and statewide help in Ohio
You must notify the resident district superintendent within five calendar days after beginning home education, moving into a district, or withdrawing from school, and notify annually by August 30.
Ohio sets these rules:
- Subjects: Provide instruction in English language arts, mathematics, science, history, government, and social studies.
- Testing: Ohio's current home-education law does not require an annual standardized test or academic assessment filing.
- Records: Keep copies of each notice and the superintendent's acknowledgment; the state does not require a routine portfolio submission.
- Teachers: Ohio's current home-education statute does not impose the former diploma-or-supervision requirement.
Read the Ohio homeschooling guide See statewide programs in Ohio
Questions parents ask
- Will we pay more for Westerville activities because we homeschool?
- No. The district does not charge eligible home-educated students fees above what other students pay for the same activity.
- Who drives my child to class?
- You do. The part-time application states that transportation is the family's responsibility.
- My child left a district school mid-year. Can they still play?
- It depends on an interim academic assessment from the school they left. A student ineligible when home education began must first meet the state's requirements for continuing home education and sits out that semester.
Turn support into your child’s next lesson
Local classes cover the subjects they offer. We teach the remaining subjects, so a local class can stay part of the year without becoming the whole curriculum.
$149/month per child after the trial.
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