Cover image: HSLDA legal assistant Owen Klebold with the Ohio school district letters
HSLDA has a plan to save Ohio families time and stress as a new homeschool law takes effect this fall—the legal team and I are sending letters to every school district in the state this week outlining what to expect from homeschool parents.
The new law vastly reduces the amount of homeschool paperwork that must be filed and processed every year in Ohio, and takes effect October 3. Meanwhile, HSLDA is helping families and officials navigate the transition period.
In coordination with Christian Home Educators of Ohio (CHEO), I’ve been advising homeschool parents to send packets containing two notices to their local public school superintendents.
The first notice complies with those outgoing regulations by seeking a letter excusing students from compulsory school attendance. The second notice—in accordance with the new law—simply informs officials of the family’s intent to exempt their student for home education.
The new notice is much shorter than the old one, and entails fewer supporting documents. For details, check out my FAQs here.
Working Ahead
We hope this plan will ease the transition for families. But for the plan to go smoothly, public school officials need to understand what they’re looking at when they receive these doubled-up packets from homeschoolers.
Hence our big push to get those letters sent this week. (The effort briefly depleted our supply of letterhead, something attorneys really hate to see happen.)
Starting in 2024, the deadline for submitting the annual homeschool notice of intent will be August 30. We already have the new form available for members on our website here.
Members can of course contact us directly with specific questions.
We’re excited about this historic change and how it’s going to provide parents more time to focus on directing their children’s education. And, as always, if you need help in your homeschool adventure, we’re happy to come alongside you!