Do you have what it takes to homeschool? If you’re just getting started with homeschooling, you may be wondering if there is any special knowledge you need to have to homeschool or if there are required homeschool qualifications. So do you? In this post, I’ll break it down. At the end of this post, you should know if you are equipped to homeschool.
But first, I want to remind everyone that this post is for informational and educational purposes only and that it is always your responsibility to make sure you understand the homeschool laws in your area. More questions? You can always read my full policies and disclaimers.
Are there legal qualifications for homeschooling?
Well, it depends! There isn’t one universal homeschool law, but rather every country has their own homeschool laws. Every state, as well, has their own homeschool laws. So that means there are 50 different homeschool laws just in America alone.
In my state, for example, there aren’t any qualifications on who can homeschool. We just need to meet our 875 hours in the required subject and fill out a form with the DPI. But in Washington state, for example, there are. You need to either have earned 45 quarter units of college credit, have the local superintendent sign off on your qualifications, take a parent qualifying course, or work with a certified teacher an hour a week. Several other states require a high school diploma or GED equivalent. So in some states you do have legal qualifications in order to homeschool.
Questions about what your state requires? Find the law with my Beginner’s Guide to Homeschool Law.
Does your background as a parent matter?
That is certainly a complicated question. First, I want to say that yes you, as the parent, matter a whole lot to your homeschool. You bring so much to your homeschool and your unique experiences, education, and more, all help shape you into the homeschool parent that you are.
What does the research say?
Is there research on whether or not a parent’s educational background effects a kid’s outcome? There is! However, it is not definitively positive or negative. The National Home Education Research Institute has found that kids tend to perform above average no matter how much education their parent has and that having a parent who is a certified teacher is of little relevance. However, in that same study they reference, I found the following sentence, “At every grade level, homeschool children, whose parents are both college graduates outperform children whose parents both do not have a college degree.” College educated parents may, in fact, be a benefit. That being said, there are certainly many paths to homeschool success and statistics just tell trends, they don’t speak to any individual family’s experience.
Additionally, I would like to mention to keep in mind the limitations of such research. With the varied landscape of homeschooling in the US, you may not be getting a true representative sample of a variety of homeschoolers. Homeschooling data is often self-reported and, in one study I looked at, the survey was sent to parents whose kids were taking standardized tests. Parents whose kids take standardized tests in their homeschooling may be different than those who don’t (though some states do require standardized testing).
There’s also the factor of correlation versus causation. Just because they see certain trends doesn’t mean that those trends are caused by the factor that they looked at. It’s also worth noting that from what I could find, this study, conducted in 2010, was funded by HSLDA, which may lead to bias in the study. Part of understanding research studies is understanding their limitations and it is with that in mind that I write this paragraph. It also is worth noting that this study is more than a decade old at this point.
There are serious limitations in the body of homeschooling research currently available, so there is much we don’t know. I’ve done my best to present what I do know and understand here, but our understanding may change over time if we get better research. I did see a newer meta-analysis, but did not see anything in that meta-analysis that spoke directly to this point.
Do you need to be a teacher to homeschool?
This is one of the most common questions and one of the most common assumptions I run into. People love to ask me if I went to school for teaching (I didn’t). To my knowledge, no US states require you to be a teacher.
However, some states do require you to connect with a teacher in some manner. One common way is in states that require you to have a portfolio reviewed by a teacher. But it does not require you yourself to be a teacher.
What would help you as a homeschool parent?
As we’ve discussed above, qualifications vary by state. However, even if your state doesn’t require anything of you to homeschool, are there qualifications that are helpful to have?
For myself personally, there are qualities that have helped me to homeschool. This is my personal “helpful to have” list:
- Committed to your own personal learning – I can better empathize with my children because I am committed to my own personal learning. It also helps me to hold onto the value of lifelong learning.
- Understanding how to find quality information – Knowing how to find quality information helps me to answer my kids’ questions as they arise. If you don’t know how to do this, you can learn.
- Love for your kids – When you love your kids and desire to do what’s best for them, it helps you to make decisions about their education, whether that’s homeschooling or something else.
- Support – Homeschooling can be hard – because it’s a big job! Going it alone is daunting and exhausting. Having support makes a huge difference. If you need more support, I’d love to help inside the SMART Homeschool Society.
Conclusion
Legal qualifications can vary depending on where you live and it’s always important to check. For your personal qualities, only you can decide what you need. I’ve shared mine for inspiration. Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide what would be helpful for you in your homeschool. What qualities do you find helpful for homeschooling?
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