The Legal Side of Starting a Group: What You Need to Know

• A group met daily in different locations throughout the week. A neighbor at one location complained that the group was an “illegal daycare,” resulting in a social services investigation.
• A homeschool pod met twice a week for outdoor playtime. A neighbor complained to the sheriff, claiming that because there were more than seven children, they needed a daycare license.
• A group of homeschool families who had filed individual notices of intent met together four days a week. On a rotating basis, one parent at a time would teach a video course. The city investigated whether they were actually a private school.
• A group advertised itself as a “homeschool co-op” but was overseen by independent, hired adults. The city claimed it was a daycare by state law because, in their state, the daycare law applies whenever three or more students are being taught by a non-relative.
• A neighbor called the police about a homeschool “co-op” that met each day, complaining about too much noise. The police visited and said there were no issues. The neighbor then called social services for an investigation.
  

Make sure parents are highly involved! The more parental involvement there is, the more likely your group will avoid problems with both state compulsory school attendance laws and state daycare laws.

Most of the groups that have experienced legal difficulties have had very little parental involvement, and several of them were basically private schools where full-time teachers were hired and parents were not expected to participate. This is very different from the traditional homeschool co-op, which tends to involve mostly parent-organized and parent-taught classes.

Think carefully about how frequently you will meet and for how long. Meeting for a few hours a couple times a week will provoke far less scrutiny than meeting daily for six hours.

Issues can arise when outsiders observe your homeschool group and assume that it keeps the same schedule as a regular school. Generally, you’ll avoid problems like this if your group does not keep this type of schedule.

Consider where students will gather for instruction and make sure you are complying with potential policies or laws. For example, if you are meeting in a home, you may need to consult your local homeowner’s association. If your students gather in a church or other public building, zoning laws may apply.

Some homeschool groups have been forced to stop meeting because they haven’t followed these laws. You’ll avoid these problems by doing your research beforehand!

It is also important to consider how big your group will be, as your group size may trigger your state’s health and safety laws. We recommend that you research these laws in your state, or consult with a local attorney.

• A couple of years ago, a Tennessee homeschool group meeting in a church set off the fire alarm due to a baking class disaster. After firefighters arrived and discovered more than 500 students on the premises, the local fire marshal mandated regular fire drills.
• In Ohio, officials recently told one homeschool group that if they continued to have more than five students at a time in their building, they would have to install a sprinkler system.

There are many other possible issues to navigate. Some states have immunization guidelines that must be followed or that families must be exempted from. Other states require criminal background checks, and some require instructors who teach others’ children to be fingerprinted.

Doing your research beforehand is always easier than changing your operations once you’re already established!