How Do I Start to Homeschool? (Part III) Following Pennsylvania Law

To homeschool in Pennsylvania, parents are supposed to file an affidavit by August 1 for any child from ages eight to seventeen at the beginning of the school year or for a younger child if he/she has already been in public school. Philadelphia residents need to file a notice of intent when a child is six.

You can find an affidavit form at the CHAP site: Affadavit Form 

Step One: Fill out the form and gather the following things you need to submit with the affidavit.

1. Your High School Diploma or GED Certificate
2. Immunization records for each child. (Getting the immunization records if you don’t already  have them can take some time. If you are running out of time, submit the other things and tell the school district that you will get the immunization record to them as soon as you can.)
3. List of subjects you plan to teach with objectives for each.

          Here are suggestions for writing objectives:

             You can use a paragraph or a list format.

             How to figure out what to write:

·         Use the Table of Contents in each textbook, or

·         Use the Scope and Sequence of the textbook company you plan to use, or

·         Write broad objectives. For example. In math this year, I plan to teach computation skills, word problems, and the multiplication tables. In reading, I want to increase reading speed, comprehension skills, and word attack skills.

Step Two: Take your gathered information to either a notary or the Prothonotary Office at your local courthouse and ask them to notarize your affidavit. The notary will charge you. I’ve heard that the Prothonotary Office won’t.

Step Three: Take the packet to your local school district office. Ask for a receipt for proof of submission.

Next time, I will talk about record keeping during the school year.