Ohio Homeschoolers Getting Ready to Notify

Ohio parents homeschool under Ohio Revised code  3321.04. Parents who wish to homeschool their children must notify the superintendent of their local public school system every year.  The Home School Legal Defense Association suggests that parents have their paperwork turned in before the start of the school year in their district.  Unfortunately for some of us, that is going to mean mid-August as the schools start up earlier to accommodate the football season. 

Per the homeschool regulations, children under the age of 6 or 18 and over at the time of the school year DO NOT have to notify the superintendent as they are outside of the compulsory school law age parameters. If your child turns 6 after the start of the district’s school year, you would not have to send in a notification.

What if your student is over 18 years of age but not a graduate?

The student doesn’t need an excuse letter by law because he/she is over the age of compulsory education. But you also want the final letter to go with the diploma. Should you notify or not?

The Homeschool Legal Defense Association says this:

HSLDA believes that a parent-issued diploma and transcript should be sufficient to demonstrate that a child has completed a secondary education. However, even if your child is beyond compulsory school attendance age, there may be situations where you would want to continue to follow the requirements of a home education option recognized under Ohio law until your child graduates from high school (filing a home education notice, keeping attendance and other records, etc.). These records may be requested in some situations, such as obtaining a driver’s license if your child is a minor, enlisting in the m i l i t a r y , applying to colleges, or demonstrating eligibility for Social Security b e n e f i t s . If you are a member of HSLDA and would like additional details, please contact us.


I also heard from Attorney Jill from HSLDA  July 20, 2017, on this issue.  She told me that with homeschooling high school in Ohio after the age of 18,  you do not have to send in a notification. HSLDA says that the final letter would mean the final letter under the compulsory age requirement.  However, some families will choose to send in a notification after age 18 so that they have that letter for the final year of high school, and that’s fine! If the parents are comfortable with that, they can go ahead.

The Checklist contains 194 pages and includes:

step-by-step directions

a checklist (scope and sequence) of topics that students study from K – 12th grade. Unlike other scope and sequences, The Checklist is not organized by grade level. Instead, the topics are listed sequentially or by subject matter so that you can teach the subjects you want, when you want. For example, the history topics are listed by time period from creation through modern times; the math topics are listed by skill development; and the science topics are listed within subtopics such as oceanography, astronomy and meteorology.

lists of major events, important people, important places, discoveries and accomplishments, and/or terms to know for each history topic.

lists of important people related to each topic along with their country of birth, date of birth and death, and a brief description of their contribution.

lists of explorers of the world, countries of the world, U.S. symbols, U.S. States and capitols with their abbreviations and the dates they entered the Union.

lists of well-known authors, artists, musicians, and missionaries

recommended books for primary and secondary students (both American and world literature)

lists of reading, math skills, writing skills, grammar skills, art skills, and MUCH MUCH MORE!

There is no need to purchase more than one copy. There is room on The Checklist to keep records for two or three children. Purchaser is granted permission to make copies of The Checklist for additional children, if needed. (This permission is restricted to purchaser’s immediate family.)

It is also helpful to look up the books you are using online. Sometimes they have a list of the areas covered that can be cut and pasted into a document for you to print off and send to the superintendent.