Home schooling is a parent-directed educational option that satisfies the compulsory attendance requirements defined in the Florida Statutes.  The law creating Florida's home education program came into effect on June 17, 1985, and according to the Florida Department of Education, for the 2010-2011 school year, the numbers provided by the districts indicate that there are 48,254 families (69,281 students) homeschooling statewide, with the number of families choosing home education growing every year.¹ And these numbers do not include families with children registered in umbrella schools, since these students are not considered home educated.

To legally homeschool in Florida, parents must either establish a homeschool program by registering their children with their school district, enroll their children in a private/umbrella school or correspondence school as homeschoolers, or hire a private tutor.  You can read more about your home education options here: Florida Home Education Options.

When parents register their children with their school district, they are responsible for deciding on a curriculum, keeping portfolios, and having their children evaluated annually by a certified teacher.  The evaluations are then sent to the school district to be kept on file.  When parents enroll their children in a private/umbrella school, the parents (usually) decide on a curriculum, however, (for most schools) the parents only need to submit attendance records to the private/umbrella school.  (Some private/umbrella schools require specific curriculum, annual testing, and/or grade reporting.)  Parents who enroll their children in a correspondence school are provided a full curriculum and are assigned a teacher/consultant who issues assignments and provides testing, grading, and record keeping.  All private/umbrella schools and correspondence schools should be in compliance with Florida's legal requirements.  You  can read the laws governing your freedom to homeschool in the Florida Statutes and at the Florida Department of Education.

The compulsory school attendance laws apply to all children between the ages of 6 and 16 years.  More specifically, Florida Statute 1003.21 states that  all children who have attained the age of 6 years or who will have attained the age of 6 years by February 1 of any school year or who are older than 6 years of age but who have not attained the age of 16 years are required to attend school regularly during the entire school term.

Children who will have attained the age of 5 years on or before September 1 of the school year are eligible for admission to public kindergartens during that school year under rules adopted by the district school board.

A student who attains the age of 16 years during the school year is not subject to compulsory school attendance beyond the date upon which he or she attains that age if the student files a formal declaration of intent to terminate school enrollment with the district school board.

In Florida, K-12 students and parents are afforded the right to educational choice. Florida’s home educational choice options include:

(1) Private School Choice.

Section 1002.01(2), F.S., states a "private school" is a nonpublic school defined as an individual, association, copartnership, or corporation, or department, division, or section of such organizations, that designates itself as an educational center that includes kindergarten or a higher grade or as an elementary, secondary, business, technical, or trade school below college level or any organization that provides instructional services that meet the intent of s. 1003.01(13) or that gives preemployment or supplementary training in technology or in fields of trade or industry or that offers academic, literary, or career training below college level, or any combination of the above, including an institution that performs the functions of the above schools through correspondence or extension, except those licensed under the provisions of chapter 1005. A private school may be a parochial, religious, denominational, for-profit, or nonprofit school.

The term "umbrella school" is sometimes used to refer to a private school offering distance programs or services to enrolled students. If students are registered with a private school listed in the Florida Private Schools Directory, they are considered private school students, not home education students, regardless of where, or by whom, they receive instruction.

The Department of Education does not have jurisdiction over private schools. Legislative intent not to regulate, control, approve, or accredit private educational institutions, churches, their ministries, religious instruction, freedoms, or rites, is explicit. The owners of private elementary and secondary schools in Florida are solely responsible for all aspects of their educational programs.

Student assessment, including the administration of standardized tests, is based on the decision of the owners and individual policies of private elementary and secondary schools. There are no state requirements for regularly enrolled students of private schools to take the FCAT or other standardized tests unless they are receiving a McKay Scholarship or a Corporate Tax Credit Scholarship.

Private school transcripts and diplomas are not approved by the Florida Department of Education.  The owners of private elementary and secondary schools in Florida are solely responsible for establishing academic, graduation or promotion requirements. It is wise to check with the prospective college, university, or employer to determine whether or not diplomas and transcripts from a specific private school will be accepted.

Private schools do not have to follow a certain curriculum.   Content and comprehensiveness of the curriculum are solely the responsibility of the owners of private elementary and secondary schools in Florida.

(2) Establish a home education program.

Section 1002.01, F.S., defines home education as the sequentially progressive instruction of a student directed by his or her parent or guardian, in order to satisfy the requirement for compulsory attendance as defined in Section 1002.20, F.S.

• Current law does not prescribe a curriculum or course of study for home education programs.
• Any parent who complies with the reporting, record keeping, and student evaluation requirements specified in statutory law may conduct a home education program.
• The parent is not required to be a certified teacher. Furthermore, the instruction is not required to take place in the home nor must the parent be the person to deliver instruction.

As required by Section 1002.41, F.S., to establish a home education program and maintain compliance with the statute, a parent must:

• Send a written notice of intent to the district school.
• Maintain a portfolio of records, consisting of a log of educational activities, writings, worksheets, and creative materials used or developed by the student.  The portfolio must be made available for inspection by the district school superintendent upon a 15-day notice. (The legislation does not require the superintendent to inspect all portfolios.)  The parent must preserve each student’s portfolio for two years.
• Provide an annual educational evaluation for the student's educational process to the school district superintendent.
• Submit a letter of termination upon completion of the home education program or change of residence.

The school district must abide by the home education guidelines as listed in Florida Statutes. A district may not enact policies that would apply additional guidelines to home education programs or that would make it more difficult for students to participate in home education.

(3) Private tutoring.

The parent of a student may choose to place the student in a private tutoring program in accordance with the provisions of Section 1002.43(1), F.S.

Read more about your school choices at The Florida Department of Education.

If you have the desire to provide your children with the best possible education, then consider yourself qualified to teach your children! Not only for the fact that you have been teaching them since the day they were born, but because Florida Statutes state that any parent who complies with the reporting, record keeping, and student evaluation requirements specified in statutory law may conduct a home education program. State law does not require you  to be a certified teacher.  (For more information on your reporting, record keeping, and student evaluation requirements, see Establishing a Homeschool Program in Florida.)

It is not uncommon to feel overwhelmed and out of your element at first.  Parents considering homeschooling are oftentimes intimidated by the thought of having to teach something they never learned or don't remember.  If you find you're lacking knowledge on a particular subject, take comfort in knowing that there are resources available to you.  You and your child can learn it together, your child can take the course online, or you can seek outside help from a tutor or another homeschooler.