Homeschool benefits: Portage County District Library
Portage County District Library offers homeschool teachers an educator card with an eight-week loan period, four times the two weeks on a regular card. The card is free to anyone who lives, works, or goes to school in Ohio; bring proof of your homeschool teaching to a branch.
Who qualifies
Teaches your children at home
Portage County District Library issues teacher cards to teachers, homeschool teachers, and institutions or schools with proper proof.
Shows proof of teaching
The library lists a paycheck stub from current employment or documentation from the Portage County Board of Education as proof.
Lives, works, or studies in Ohio
Show a valid Ohio driver's license, a checkbook, or a stamped, canceled envelope addressed to you within the last 30 days.
Gives full contact details
The library needs your full name, current local address, current phone number, and signature, or it will not issue a card.
What the card gives you
Loan terms come from Portage County District Library's card page, which sets teacher and institutional cards apart from regular cards.
- Teacher card loan period
- 8 weeks
- Teacher card renewals
- None
- Regular card loan period
- 2 weeks
- Regular card renewals
- 5, automatic
- SearchOhio and OhioLINK late fine
- 50 cents a day per item
- Replacement card
- $1.00
The card page does not list an item limit or expiration date for teacher cards, so ask your branch about both when you apply.
How to get the card
- Before you go
Gather your proof
Bring proof of Ohio residency and your homeschool documentation from the Portage County Board of Education.
- At a branch
Ask for a homeschool teacher card
Visit any branch, including Aurora, Garrettsville, Pierce Streetsboro, Brimfield, Randolph, or Windham.
- Each checkout
Return within eight weeks
Teacher card items cannot be renewed, so bring them back by the end of the eight-week loan.
- If you lose your card
Replace it
A replacement card costs $1.00.
What it includes
Included
- Eight-week loans
- Fine-free borrowing on most items
- Online databases and the Digital Library
Not included
- Renewals
- Fine-free status on SearchOhio, OhioLINK, Launchpad, and hotspot loans
- Only borrowers 18 or older can check out DVDs, Blu-rays, video games, mobile hotspots, and Launchpads.
Good to know
Bring documentation from the county Board of Education
The card page lists documentation from the Portage County Board of Education as proof. Ask your branch which homeschool document from the board it accepts before you visit.
Who to contact about the card
Branch staff answer questions about card types and the proof the library accepts; the Garrettsville library also handles mailed card applications.
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
- Do we have to live in Portage County?
- No. A free Portage County District Library card is available to anyone who lives, works, or goes to school in Ohio.
- Are there late fines?
- Not on most items. SearchOhio and OhioLINK materials, Launchpads, and mobile hotspots still charge daily overdue fines, and lost or damaged items are charged by the item's cost.
- Can my teenager check out DVDs?
- No.
Turn support into your child’s next lesson
Books and library resources give your child something to explore. We turn their interests into coursework, so library discoveries can lead to deeper study at home.
$149/month per child after the trial.
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