Are You Ready to Home School in Michigan?

Michigan economy being what it is, schools are having a hard time keep up the standards of education and quality of supplies. Many people are looking into home schooling. Michigan is one of the friendliest states for it. The laws here are family friendly.

[MCL 380.1561(3)] The parents or legal guardian must send a child to school for the entire school year until age 18. For a home schooling family this means that you keep track of your school days even if you do something as simple as check mark a calendar.

You may not have your child attend public school under three conditions. The first is if you send them to a state approved religious or private school that teaches courses comparable to the public schools. The child must still attend like they would to a public school.

The two home schooling options are similar. The first is that a parent or guardian teaches the child using a set curriculum or using a set program, like an online school. The second is simply that a parent is just teaching the child. That is a little unclear and can be pushed both by parents and trouble makers.

To cover your bases and your child’s education, if you home school make sure your curriculum includes reading, spelling, math, science, history, civics, literature, writing, and English grammar. It is also helpful to include a basic second language course. Try to keep records of your schooling activities and samples of your child’s work.

If your student is special needs and you would like them to receive services they must first have an IEP in place and you must register your home as a nonpublic school with the state. Services will come from the home district. If you live in Detroit then the Detroit Public Schools would be considered your home district.

The state of Michigan even has programs to teach courses to both the students and their instructors. Check online for the Michigan Virtual School, Michigan LearnPort and GenNet-Online Learning. Some service cost and some are not available for home schooling families.

In short, you can safely and legally home school in Michigan. It is a good idea to track your child’s progress, issue report cards, and some of that other record keeping habits schools have. You don’t have to be perfect or act like a public school. Find the balance that works for your family. Good Luck!