Homeschooling in Florida

Florida law sets no separate withdrawal procedure. The notice of intent is the step that counts, and the superintendent registers the program as soon as it arrives. To avoid absences on the school's records, file the notice and tell your child's school in writing on or before the first day of home education.

The district may not ask for anything more, such as a curriculum, a grade level, or a Social Security number, and it may not put your child's personal information in a district or state database unless your child joins a district program or service.

Before you go, ask the school for copies of report cards, test scores, and any special education evaluations.

The portfolio is the record Florida requires. You keep it for two years and show it only if the superintendent or an agent asks in writing, with 15 days' notice; the law does not require the superintendent to inspect it.

A few other records help when your child steps into a school or college system:

• A high school transcript listing each course with its grade and credit, for a public school that validates transferred credits and for college applications
• Each year's annual evaluation, which a returning athlete and a Bright Futures applicant both rely on
• A copy of your notice of intent, which dual enrollment asks for as proof of home education enrollment
• Proof of enrollment for a learner license: a minor qualifies for driving privileges only while enrolled in a school or a home education program and meeting attendance requirements

Florida requires an annual evaluation but no particular test. A standardized test is only one way to meet it.

• Teacher review: a teacher with a valid regular Florida certificate in academic subjects reviews the portfolio and talks with your child.
• Nationally normed test: any nationally normed achievement test, given by a certified teacher.
• State assessment: a state test the district uses, given by a certified teacher at a location and under conditions the district approves.
• Psychologist: an evaluation by a psychologist or school psychologist licensed in Florida.
• Other tool: any other valid measure you and the superintendent agree on.

The evaluation documents progress at a level commensurate with your child's ability; there is no fixed passing score. Separately, districts must make the industry certifications, national assessments, and statewide assessments they offer available to home education students, and must tell them the dates, locations, and sign-up deadline.

Every school district must find and evaluate children with disabilities who live in it, homeschooled children included (34 CFR 300.111). To start, ask the school district where you live, in writing, for an evaluation. Once you give consent, Florida gives the district 60 calendar days to finish it, not counting school holidays, breaks, and summer vacation.

Florida law says a home education program is not a private school, so a home education student does not receive the equitable services federal rules set aside for private school students. State law offers two other paths instead:

• Related services: a district may provide exceptional student education related services to an eligible home education student who enrolls in a public school only to receive them.
• Testing: the state's diagnostic and resource centers offer testing and evaluation to home education students, including students with disabilities.

Part-time classes

Any public school, including a charter school, may enroll a home education student part time if it has space, and the student stays in home education. A district may also enroll a home education student solely for career and technical courses or programs.

Florida's high school graduation requirements and its standard diploma apply to public schools, not to home education. You decide what your child studies and when high school is complete, and the district does not issue a diploma for home education.

State law gives a completed home education program its own standing. A Florida College System institution accepts a signed affidavit from the parent, stating that the student completed a home education program under the law, in place of a diploma. Bright Futures also accepts completion of a home education program in place of a standard diploma.

A home education graduate's record is the transcript you prepare, listing each course by year with its grade and credit, and, if you choose, a diploma you sign.

Home education students are eligible for admission to Florida College System institutions under the same law that admits public school graduates, with the parent affidavit standing in for the diploma. State universities admit them under Board of Governors policies.

Bright Futures

A home education student can earn a Florida Academic Scholars or Florida Medallion Scholars award. The student must have been in a home education program during grades 11 and 12, reach the SAT, ACT, or Classic Learning Test score the Department of Education publishes for that award, and apply by high school graduation. Academic Scholars also complete 100 hours of volunteer service or paid work; Medallion Scholars complete 75 hours of volunteer service or 100 hours of paid work or a mix, approved by the department for home education students.

Dual enrollment is open to home education students, and dual enrollment students pay no registration, tuition, or lab fees. The student shows proof of home education enrollment, signs an articulation agreement with the college, and provides transportation unless the agreement covers it. A college may not require a high school grade point average from a home education student who shows college-level communication and computation skills on the state's placement measures.

Homeschool dual enrollment in Florida

A home education student may play interscholastic sports at a school in the district where the student lives. If no public or charter school in that district offers the sport and no private school agrees, the student may play at a school in an adjacent district.

The student must keep the home education program in compliance and show educational progress in every subject during the season, by a method you and the principal agree on: a certified teacher's review, grades from correspondence or college courses, test scores above the 35th percentile, or another method the home education law allows. The student meets the same standards of acceptance, behavior, and performance as other athletes and pays only the fee enrolled students pay.

Homeschool sports eligibility in Florida

Florida's constitution bars a state personal income tax, so there is no homeschool deduction or credit. Two state scholarships can pay for education at home, with different rules:

• PEP, the route described above: a student cannot hold it while in a home education program, so a family that chooses PEP leaves the home education route. New applications run from February 1 to April 30 of the prior school year.
• Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities: for a student with a disability who has an individualized education program (IEP) or a qualifying diagnosis. A home education student can keep it, and it can pay for home education costs, including an annual evaluation by a certified teacher.

A student can hold only one state scholarship at a time.

Homeschool tax breaks and funding in Florida

A child can enroll in a Florida public school at any time. Credits and grades from home education are validated by performance: the school places your child at the appropriate course level, and in high school a grade point average of 2.0 at the end of the first grading period validates the transferred credits. In grades 6 through 8, passing each required course does the same.

If that does not work, the teacher, principal, and you choose another method, such as a portfolio evaluation by the superintendent, a recommendation from a Florida-certified teacher you select, dual enrollment grades, or a standardized test. Your child gets at least 90 days to prepare for any test. A transcript credit in Algebra I or English Language Arts II or III also brings a state assessment requirement for the standard diploma.

A district may not regulate, control, or require documents from home education families beyond the notice, the annual evaluation, and the portfolio inspection, unless a family joins a district program that needs them.

The superintendent must accept the evaluation you file. The one enforcement step in the home education law is the written notice that your child did not show progress commensurate with ability, which starts the one-year remedial period; if the reevaluation at the end of that year still does not show that progress, the home education program cannot continue.