Let's talk about your group's membership policy!
While some groups may choose to have looser guidelines and more unstructured participation requirements, many groups find it helpful to have clear requirements and expectations for membership. (This is especially true if your group is established to serve a specific community, such as a special needs support group or a faith-based group.)
Clear guidelines will protect both your group and your members in the long run.
Accepting new members
The first thing your leadership needs to determine is how families will join your organization. Do you want your group to be easy or hard to join? The answer to that question can help you determine your membership requirements.
Application process
Will your group require a completed application form? Maybe your style is to have them participate in a face-to-face interview. Or, perhaps joining your group is as simple as living in a certain area and being a homeschooler. Make sure this information is easily accessible for interested families.
Some groups only require general information, like the names, ages, and interests of the students, or what classes/activities the parent would like to help with. Other groups want to ensure an atmosphere that fits their chosen model of homeschooling. They might ask more detailed questions, such as:
- How long have you been homeschooling?
- Have you ever been investigated for or charged with child abuse or neglect, educational neglect, or any other related charge?
- Has any child that you plan to homeschool been suspended or expelled from school?
- Are any of the participating children under a court order to attend school?
- Are any of your children enrolled in an educational program that receives government funding, such as a charter school or ESA?
Membership agreements
You should also consider any expectations members must agree to follow. Common examples of this are a code of conduct, a dress code, or a statement of faith for religious groups. For your group’s legal protection, it is important that whatever requirements you establish for membership be equally applied to all participants.
Membership length
What will your membership period be? Once individuals join your group, are they members for as long as they want to be? Or is there a set membership period, such as the school year?
We recommend an annual membership, since that gives your leadership the opportunity to review the relationship between the family and your group.
Fees
Finally, are there any fees required as part of membership? If you decide to include any fees or require money to change hands for any reason, be sure to review this article on the potential obstacles you face with finances involved.
Member rights and responsibilities
Next, determine what rights will be granted to members of your group. Different groups have different policies, and you need to determine what will work for your group!
- Will members vote to decide the leadership team, or is that predetermined by the governing board of directors? Do members vote on changing your bylaws or policies?
- Are members required to volunteer a certain amount of time for your group? Are they required to always be on-site? Is a background check required for all members, or just for those working directly with children? What is required of teachers (if you are a co-op with classes)?
- Will you provide specific resources to members of your group? Common resources include guides to homeschooling in your state, printables like sample homeschool schedules, curriculum reviews, and more.
- What benefits come with being a part of your group—are there free field trips, webinars, discounts to homeschool events?
It is also important for you to choose whether membership is necessary for a family to participate in your group’s activities. Are your activities for group members only? Or will standard activities require membership, but field trips be open to other families? Make sure that you have a policy to determine which activities fall into which category.
All of the questions above are helpful things to think through as you establish your membership policy.
Membership termination
Although it is never pleasant to think about, it’s critical to have established rules about terminating membership.
What policy infractions warrant termination? You may decide that any violation of policy will result in termination, or you may choose to have some type of warning system with progressive action that leads up to termination. Or, there may be a mixture depending on the type of infraction.
Again, it’s important that termination rules are clearly understood and equally enforced across all member families.