Yes, this is a VERY niche post, but by-and-large, at least in the homeschool world, PA Homeschool families are who I serve! Though I have posts about Getting Started, and pulling your student mid-year, I don’t have one that is super specific to PA families, so HERE IT IS.
One of the nice things about Pennsylvania is that the process for removing your student from public school after the school year has started, is the SAME PROCESS as starting homeschooling before the school year starts. There are a few things you need to turn in to the DISTRICT office to get started.
The first is objectives. These are broad-spectrum “goals,” that you have for your student for the year. These are super basic on purpose, so don’t fret! If you have a student that has a registered IEP with the school district, these objectives MUST be signed off on/approved by a special ed teacher.
The second is your affidavit. These have your child’s basic information, attest that you will uphold the homeschooling laws in PA, will have an appropriate person conduct your end-of-year-evaluation, etc. You should not have to provide extensive medical records, a copy of your diploma, etc. Unless you are doing the private tutor option, which typically means that YOU are a PA certified teacher, in which you may be asked to provide your PPID. This will need to be notarized prior to submission.
PA more recently released the “Unsworn Declaration” option. This option does not require notarization, but does ask for a whole lot more as far as medical records, etc…. Is this an option? Yes. Is it my favorite? No. The difference between getting your affidavit notarized and not is really not that big of a deal. We’re still not sure what potential loop holes districts/the state, may find with the unsworn declaration thing. I regularly get emails from parents asking me if they HAVE to turn in the extra paperwork that the school is asking for. With affidavits, that answer is usually “no.” But with unsworn declarations, based on the language, it can be gray.
In order to begin homeschooling, you MUST turn those 2 components in to your school district office. It doesn’t matter if you are starting at the beginning of the school year, or 2/3s of the way through. They may send you a letter in a few weeks, “approving” your homeschooling, but it means nothing. They have no say in whether or not you “can” or “can not” homeschool.” The only time you need to respond, or consider responding to a school district is if they send you a certified letter. If they call, email, or send a regular letter in the mail, it can be ignored. We’ll come back to that point around the end here.
In PA, you can turn in your paperwork prior to July 1st, but you must wait to start counting days towards your 180 required days, until July 1st, or whenever you submit your paperwork. You generally have until the first day of school in your school district to turn it in. If you do not turn in your paperwork by the start of the school year, you will need to register and send your student to school until you get that paperwork in. Failing to do this can trigger truancy issues. If you decide to start homeschooling after the start of the school year, you just have to turn in that paperwork to the district office. Once you have done that, you can immediately pull your child and start homeschooling. It is then up to you to complete the required 180 days of homeschooling, minus, the number of days in school your child has already completed.
Regardless of whether you are starting homeschooling right on July 1st, October 23rd, March 10th, or May 7th, you must have an evaluation completed for whatever length of school year you have left. These must be turned in by June 3oth. Many parents turn in the evaluation letter, and their affidavit and objectives for the following year at the same time. Prior to the evaluation model, parents were required to compile a portfolio for each student that was then taken to the school district office for evaluation to determine completion of the homeschool year, etc….The model was changed a few years ago so that parents get to CHOSE the evaluator that they would like to work with their family! I already have an entire post about Choosing Your Evaluator. This person meets with you and your students) to discuss the school year, and determine whether or not you have met the state laws & requirements for homeschooling. Again, if your student has an IEP, your evaluation must be completed by a teacher with a special ed cert, or psychologist.
But what do I cover?
Thankfully, PA is pretty chill about HOW to cover what they require. And they do have a few requirements.
One of the easiest requirements that PA has is to cover PA history. Well, if you live here, then you’re likely very aware of the fact that if you walk out your front door, you practically bump into HISTORY. You do not have to go all out to do PA history either. Reading Public Museum has a great room of PA German artifacts and pieces. We love to ride the *free* ride at Chocolate World, and the entire walk TO the ride is the history of Hershey’s Chocolate, as well as the growing & harvesting practices. Valley Forge, Daniel Boone Homestead, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Buchannan House, Landis Valley, Fort Mifflin, and so many other delectable nuggets are all perfect opportunities to EXPERIENCE history outside of a book
The second requirement is Fire Safety. Many local fire departments & organizations offer free resources and events for Fire Safety Month in October. However, if you don’t do fire safety in October, you can cover it any time by doing activities like a family escape plan, how to call ou, information like your address, your child’s name, staying low in a smokey room, etc. You could also call your local fire department, and I’m SURE that they would only be too happy to have you come down and chat with a fire fighter. Again, there’s no stringent requirements here, you just have to be able to show your evaluator that fire safety was covered.
Outside of those 2 requirements, the rest is fairly standard- English/Language Arts, Math, Science, Social Studies, Art, Music, Physical Education & Health, and for older students, foreign language. What that looks like as far as curriculum and how to “prove” it, will depend on your evaluator (see the above link). I would also like to throw in tech ed. PLEASE make sure your children know the basics of computers. I’m not saying they have to live on screens as 2nd graders, but your high schooler needs to know how to make a presentation (PowerPoint, Canva, Google Slides, Prezi, etc…), format & type an essay in MLA and/or APA, basics of spreadsheets, etc…. I’ve created a checklist for Elementary and then Middle School/High School for you to use to help make sure you have each subject for your evaluations. These are not transcripts or for the MDDP.
Always check with your evaluator for their preferences!
Curriculum suggestions can be found on this page here-
Book Lists
You are also required to provide your evaluator a book list. Now, with littles, I often joke, you could read Pete the Cat 58347650498534 times a DAY. Don’t feel like you have to write every blessed book down. Pete the Cat Books is sufficient in my book. If you read any books together as a family, include it! If you have a wildly avid older student, again, please don’t feel the need to write down every blessed book they read! You’ll drive yourself crazy. You should, however, include workbooks/textbooks that you use. As a reminder, nobody sees these but you and me (if I’m your evaluator). We have to say we saw the list as proof of learning.
And no worries- I’ve got a book list tracker ready!
Testing
In PA, students are required to complete standardized testing in 3rd, 5th, and 8th grade, in alignment with state testing completed in schools. Homeschoolers can NOT opt out of this testing. However, you do NOT have to give results to the school district, unless you take your child to the school to complete the Keystones along with the students. I’ve actually yet to meet a family that does this (though there are that do) as most choose one of the other testing options. Pennsylvania has approved i external standardized tests to meet the requirements of standardized testing. Every family that I’ve worked with so far has chosen the California Achievement Test (CAT) as it is thorough and everyone feels is most accurate. It is also fully online and can be timed or untimed. But here is the list of all 11:
1. California Achievement Test (CAT)
2. Comprehensive Testing Program (CTPIV)
3. Iowa Test of Basic Skills
4. Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) ****NEW as of 2017
5. Metropolitan Achievement Test
6. Peabody Achievement Individual Test (Revised)
7. Stanford Achievement Test
8. Terra Nova
9. Woodcock-Johnson Revised Test of Achievement 111
10. Woodcock-Johnson IV
11. Wechsler Individual Achievement Test II1 (WIAT-III)
SATS/ACTS–
Students are not required by homeschool law in PA to take the SAT’s or ACTs. However, most students do take one or the other. Sometimes both, just depending on what their plans are post graduation. Most suggest taking whichever tests you choose, at least twice. Once to get the jitters out and get a sense of what you may need to review, and a second time with the power of knowledge of what to expect! Though colleges don’t necessarily put the same weight on test scores for admissions as they used to, test scores can be used for placement for courses, as well as potential scholarship money. This is a completely personal choice for you and your child. Some parents want their children to test prep as much as possible. I took the PSATs as my high school offered them. I did o prep prior to the SATs other than that, and I took the SATs twice. I happen to be a comfortable test taker. If your child struggles with test anxiety or standardized tests, check out Standardized Tests for some tips & tricks to getting through them!
Have more questions? Overwhelmed by curriculum? Panicking about homeschooling your high schooler? Ready to take the next step?
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As an educator and a mother myself, it is my joy to help support families on their own personal educational journey. If none of the above resources are what you are looking for, please feel free to contact me
The Nurtured Bee 