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California
Home Schooling - State Laws &
Regulations
Please Note This Important
Notice:
California home
schooling laws and regulations cannot be summarized in a short
informational page or overview. It is incumbent upon
you to perform due diligence in researching and
familiarizing yourself with your state's legal's and
regulations as they pertain to homeschooling. This
information is provided for you to give you a
starting point. This is not intended to be legal
advice and is distributed for basic informational
purposes only. For more information about the laws
and regulations in this state please contact a state
or local support group or your public library.
California Home Schooling Compulsory School Age Between 6 and 18 years
of age.
Teacher certification
required - No, if the home school registers as a private
school or enrolls in an independent study program with a
private school.
Certification is necessary only if the home
school parent chooses to qualify as a private tutor.
California has no specific
homeschooling law and homeschoolers may choose one of five
different legal options:
(1) private school
independent study program,
(2) establishment of
a private school in one's own home,
(3) public school
independent study program,
(4) charter school
independent study program, and
(5) tutoring by a
credentialed teacher (parent or other).
33190. Every person, firm, association,
partnership, or corporation offering or conducting private
school instruction on the elementary or high school level
shall between the first and 15th day of October of each
year, commencing on October 1, 1967, file with the
Superintendent of Public Instruction an affidavit or
statement, under penalty of perjury, by the owner or other
head setting forth the following information for the current
year:
(a) All names, whether real or fictitious, of the
person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation
under which it has done and is doing business.
(b) The address, including city and street, of every
place of doing business of the person, firm,
association, partnership, or corporation within the
State of California.
(c) The address, including city and street, of the
location of the records of the person, firm,
association, partnership, or corporation, and the name
and address, including city and street, of the custodian
of such records.
(d) The names and addresses, including city and
street, of the directors, if any, and principal officers
of the person, firm, association, partnership, or
corporation.
(e) The school enrollment, by grades, number of
teachers, coeducational or enrollment limited to boys or
girls and boarding facilities.
(f) That the following records are maintained at the
address stated, and are true and accurate:
(1) The records required to be kept by Section
48222.
(2) The courses of study offered by the
institution.
(3) The names and addresses, including city and
street, of its faculty, together with a record of
the educational qualifications of each.
(g) Criminal record summary information has been
obtained pursuant to Section 44237.
Whenever two or more private schools are under the
effective control or supervision of a single administrative
unit, such administrative unit may comply with the
provisions of this section of behalf of each of the school
under its control or supervision by submitting one report.
Filing pursuant to this section shall not be interpreted
to mean, and it shall be unlawful for any school to
expressly or impliedly represent by any means whatsoever,
that the State of California, or any division or bureau of
the department, or any accrediting agency has made any
evaluation, recognition, approval, or endorsement of the
school or course unless this is an actual fact.
The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall prepare
and publish of list of private elementary and high schools
to include the name and address of the school and the name
of the school owner or administrator.
48200.
Each person between the ages of 6 and 18 years not
exempted under the provisions of this chapter or Chapter 3
(commencing with Section 48400) is subject to compulsory
full-time education. Each person subject to compulsory
full-time education and each person subject to compulsory
continuation education not exempted under the provisions of
Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 48400) shall attend the
public full-time day school or continuation school or
classes and for the full time designated as the length of
the school day by the governing board of the school district
in which the residency of either the parent or legal
guardian is located and each parent, guardian, or other
person having control or charge of the pupil shall send the
pupil to the public full-time day school or continuation
school or classes and for the full time designated as the
length of the school day by the governing board of the
school district in which the residence of either the parent
or legal guardian is located.
48220. The classes of
children described in this article, shall be exempted by the
proper school authorities from the requirements of
attendance upon a public full-time day school.
48222. Children who are being instructed in a
private full-time day school by persons capable of teaching
shall by exempted. Such school shall, except under the
circumstances described in Section 30, be taught in the
English language and shall offer instruction in the several
branches of study required to be taught in the public
schools of the state. The attendance of the pupils shall by
kept by private school authorities in a register, and the
record of attendance shall indicate clearly every absence
of the pupil from school for a half day or more during each
day that school is maintained during the year.
Exemptions under this section shall be valid only after
verification by the attendance supervisor of the district,
or other person designated by the board of education, that
the private school has complied with the provisions of
Section 33190 requiring the annual filing by the owner or
other head of a private school of an affidavit or statement
of prescribed information with the Superintendent of Public
Instruction. The verification required by this section shall
not be construed as an evaluation, recognition, approval, or
endorsement of any private school or course.
48224. Children not attending a private, full-time
day school and who are being instructed in study and
recitation for at least three hours a day for 175 days each
calendar year by a private tutor or other person in the
several branches of study required to be taught in the
public schools of this state and in the English language
shall be exempted. The tutor or other person shall hold a
valid state credential for the grade taught. The instruction
shall be offered between the hours of 8 o'clock a.m. and 4
o'clock p.m.
48415. In the case of attendance upon private
school, exemption from the requirements of attendance upon
compulsory continuation education shall be valid only after
verification by the attendance supervisor of the district,
or other person designated by the board of education, that
the private school has complied with the provisions of
Section 33190 requiring the annual filing by the owner or
other head of a private school of an affidavit or statement
of prescribed information with the Superintendent of Public
Instruction.
The verification required by this section shall not be
construed as an evaluation, recognition, approval, or
endorsement of any private school or course.
51210. The adopted course of study for grades 1
through 6 shall include instruction, beginning in grade 1
and continuing through grade 6, in the following areas of
study:
(a) English, including knowledge of, and appreciation
for literature and the language, as well as the skills
of speaking, reading, listening, spelling, handwriting,
and composition.
(b) Mathematics, including concepts, operational
skills, and problem solving.
(c) Social sciences, drawing upon the disciplines of
anthropology, economics, geography, history, political
science, psychology, and sociology, designed to fit the
maturity of the pupils. Instruction shall provide a
foundation for understanding the history, resources,
development, and government of California and the United
States of America; the development of the American
economic system including the role of the entrepreneur
and labor; man's relations to his human and natural
environment; eastern and western cultures and
civilizations; contemporary issues; and the wise use of
natural resources.
(d) Science, including the biological and physical
aspects, with emphasis on the processes of experimental
inquiry and on man's place in ecological systems.
(e) Fine arts, including instruction in the subjects
of art and music, aimed at the development of aesthetic
appreciation and the skills of creative expression.
(f) Health, including instruction in the principles
and practices of individual, family, and community
health.
(g) Physical education, with emphasis upon the
physical activities for the pupils that may be conducive
to health and vigor of body and mind, for a total period
of time of not less than 200 minutes each 10 school
days, exclusive of recesses and the lunch period.
51220. The adopted course of study for grades 7 to
12, inclusive, shall offer courses in the following areas of
study:
(a) English, including knowledge of and appreciation
for literature, language, and composition, and the
skills of reading, listening, and speaking.
(b) Social sciences, drawing upon the disciplines of
anthropology, economics, geography, history, political
science, psychology, and sociology, designed to fit the
maturity of the pupils. Instructions shall provide a
foundation for understanding the history, resources,
development, and government of California and the United
States of America; instruction in our American legal
system, the operation of the juvenile and adult criminal
justice systems, and the rights and duties of citizens
under the criminal and civil law and the State and
Federal Constitutions; the development of the American
economic system, including the role of the entrepreneur
and labor; the relations of persons to their human and
natural environment; eastern and western cultures and
civilizations; human rights issues, with particular
attention to the study of the inhumanity of genocide,
slavery, and the Holocaust, and contemporary issues.
(c) Foreign language or languages, beginning not
later than grade 7, designed to develop a facility for
understanding, speaking, reading, and writing the
particular language.
(d) Physical education, with emphasis given to
physical activities that are conducive to health and to
vigor of body and mind.
(e) Science, including the physical and biological
aspects, with emphasis on basic concepts, theories, and
processes of scientific investigation and on the place
of humans in ecological systems, and with appropriate
applications of the interrelation and interdependence of
the sciences.
(f) Mathematics, including instruction designed to
develop mathematical understandings, operational skills,
and insight into problem-solving procedures.
(g) Fine arts, including art, music, or drama, with
emphasis upon development of aesthetic appreciation and
the skills of creative expression.
(h) Applied arts, including instruction in the areas
of consumer and homemaking education, industrial arts,
general business education, or general agriculture.
(i) Vocational-technical education designed and
conducted for the purpose of preparing youth for gainful
employment in the occupations and in the numbers that
are appropriate to the personnel needs of the state and
the community served and relevant to the career desires
and needs of the pupils.
(j) Automobile driver education, designed to develop
a knowledge of the provisions of the Vehicle Code and
other laws of this state relating to the operation of
motor vehicles, a proper acceptance of personal
responsibility in traffic, a true appreciation of the
causes, seriousness and consequences of traffic
accidents, and to develop the knowledge and attitudes
necessary for the safe operation of motor vehicles. A
course in automobile driver education shall include
education in the safe operation of motorcycles.
(k) Other studies as may be prescribed by the
governing board.
51220.5
(a) The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(1) The family is our most fundamental social
institution and the means by which we care for,
prepare, and train our children to be productive
members of society.
(2) Social research shows increasingly that the
disintegration of the family is a major cause of
increased welfare enrollment, child abuse and
neglect, juvenile delinquency, and criminal
activity.
(3) The lack of knowledge of parenting skills and
the lack of adequate preparation to assume parental
responsibilities are not only major causes of family
disintegration, but also contribute substantially to
the disastrous consequences of teen pregnancy.
(4) Because the state government bears much of
the economic and social burden associated with the
disintegration of the family in California, the
state has a legitimate and vital interest in
adequately preparing its residents for parenthood.
(b) The Legislature recognizes that the public
education system is the most efficient and effective
means to educate the populace on a large-scale basis,,
and intends, therefore, to use the public education
system to ensure that each California resident has an
opportunity to acquire knowledge of parenting skills
prior to becoming a parent. That knowledge should
include, at a bare minimum, all of the following:
(1) Child development and growth.
(2) Effective parenting.
(3) Prevention of child abuse.
(4) Nutrition.
(5) Household finances and budgeting.
(6) Personal and family interaction and
relations.
(7) Methods to promote self-esteem.
(8) Effective decision making skills.
(9) Family and individual health.
(c) Commencing with the 1995-96 fiscal year, the
adopted course of study for grade 7 or 8 shall include
the equivalent content of a one-semester course in
parenting skills and education. All pupils entering
grade 7 on or after July 1, 1995, shall be offered that
course or its equivalent content during grade 7 or 8, or
both. On or before January 1, 1995, the State Department
of Education shall supply, to each school district that
includes a grade 7 or 8, a sample curriculum suitable
either for implementation as a stand-alone one-semester
course or for incorporation within identified existing
required or optional courses, with content designed to
develop a knowledge of topics including, but not limited
to, all of the following:
(1) Child growth and development.
(2) Parental responsibilities.
(3) Household budgeting.
(4) Child abuse and neglect issues.
(5) Personal hygiene.
(6) Maintaining healthy relationships.
(7) Teen parenting issues.
(8) Self-esteem.
A district that implements the curriculum set forth in
this subdivision in a stand-alone required course may exempt
a pupil from the course if the pupil requests the exemption
and satisfactorily demonstrates mastery of the course
content. The district shall determine the method by which a
pupil may demonstrate this mastery.
(d) Commencing with the 1993-94 fiscal year,
community college districts may offer, to interested,
individuals, noncredit fee-supported courses in
parenting skills and education as described in
subdivision (c).
(e) This section is not intended to replace existing
courses that accomplish the intent of this section.
School districts may meet the requirements of this
section with existing courses of study offered in any of
grades 6 to 9, inclusive, that includes the course
contents identified in subdivision (c). When the
parenting skills and education curriculum is
incorporated within courses other than consumer and home
economics courses, these courses are not subject to the
curricular standards specified in Section 2 of Chapter
775 of the Statutes of 1989 or in the consumer and home
economics education model performance standards and
framework. Teachers of courses other than consumer and
home economics that incorporate parenting skills and
education are not required to meet the qualifications
specified for teachers of consumer and home economics.
(f) This section shall become operative only if a
funding source is identified by the Superintendent of
Public Instruction for the purposes of this section on
or before January 1, 1995.
(g) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall
identify the funding source for this section from
existing resources or private resources, or both, that
may be available for the purposes of this section. The
superintendent shall notify school districts when
sufficient funds have been identified and are allocated
to cover all costs relating to the operation of this
section.
51221. Instruction required by subdivision (b) of
Section 51220 in the area of study of social sciences shall
also provide a foundation for understanding the wise use of
natural resources.
51745.
(a) Commencing with the 1990-91 school year, the
governing board of a school district or a county office
of education may offer independent study to meet the
educational needs of pupils in accordance with the
requirements of this article. Educational opportunities
offered through independent study may include, but shall
not be limited to, the following:
(1) Special assignments extending the content of
regular courses of instruction.
(2) Individualized study in a particular area of
interest or in a subject not currently available in
the regular school curriculum.
(3) Individualized alternative education designed
to teach the knowledge and skills of the core
curriculum. Independent study shall not be provided
as an alternative curriculum.
(4) Continuing and special study during travel.
(5) Volunteer community service activities that
support and strengthen pupil achievement.
(b) Not more than 10 percent of the pupils
participating in an opportunity school or program, or a
continuation high school, calculated as specified by the
State Department of Education, shall be eligible for
apportionment credit for independent study pursuant to
this article.
(c) No individual with exceptional needs, as defined
in Section 56026, may participate in independent study,
unless his or her individualized education program
developed pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section
56340) of Chapter 4 of part 30 specifically provides for
that participation.
(d) No temporarily disabled pupil may receive
individual instruction pursuant to Section 48206.3
through independent study.
(e) No course included among the courses required for
high school graduation under Section 51225.3 shall be
offered exclusively through independent study.
51747.3. (a) No local education
agency may claim state funding for the independent study of
a pupil, whether characterized as home study or otherwise,
if the agency has provided any funds or other thing of value
to the pupil or his or her parent or guardian that the
agency does not provide to students who attend regular
classes or to their parents or guardians.
