State laws change from time to time and though we try to keep the laws up-to-date at all times please check with the department of education for any changes that may have occurred.
You live in Hawaii and you’re considering educating your child at home, or perhaps you plan to move to Hawaii and want to continue offering your children the best home-based education; if you want to know how to start homeschooling in Hawaii, you’ve come to the right place! Read on and you’ll find specific details related to Hawaii homeschool laws and, to make sure you’ll be informed all the way, a selection of the best Hawaii-related homeschooling websites. You will also find a very informative infographic and video below to create a homeschool that thrives.
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The Paradise of the Pacific
Hawaii is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Its beaches, active volcanoes and beautiful landscapes have made it famous among holidaymakers – but you’re lucky enough to actually live there!
An unusual state, Hawaii holds quite a few US records: the only US state made up entirely of islands, the southernmost state, the only state to have a rainforest, and the only US state that grows cocoa, vanilla beans and coffee.
Hawaii has attracted people from over the world, thus becoming one of the most diverse communities in the US. Local traditions mingle with a decidedly Western urban feel to create a really enchanting community.
If you plan to homeschool in Hawaii, the Aloha state is a treasure trove of educational resources for you and your children. You can travel through the lush rainforest, hike on the beautiful Mauna Kea, or go whale-watching in the Pacific – there’s definitely no shortage of interesting stuff to do in Hawaii!
Hawaii Homeschool Laws
The first step to start your homeschool in Hawaii is to submit a notice of intent to the local school principal, stating the children’s names, dates of birth, grades, phone numbers and addresses. This notice of intent must be renewed whenever your children finish an educational stage, or if you decide to relocate.
There are legal guidelines as regards the curriculum, as well. You must provide an up-to-date instruction to your children, taking into account their skills and interests, and you must cater for the common curricular areas: language and language arts, mathematics, social sciences, health and physical education etc. You also have to keep a close record of your children’s educational progress, including the number of school hours per week, the assessment method used and a list of materials and textbooks.
Your children will be evaluated at the end of the 3rd, 5th, 8th and 10th grades. You may decide to enroll in the nation-wide evaluations provided by the local public school, you may hire a professional teacher to do the assessment, or you may even do it yourself, providing adequate samples of your children’s work and previous tests and assignments.
Finally, your children’s progress will be assessed annually by the school principal, and they will work with you to find adequate solution, if the progress is unsatisfactory.
Homeschool in Hawaii: Final Grade
The final grade for the Hawaiian homeschool system is a C, considering the very specific laws that you have to take into account. However, once you get past the initial notifications and once you come up with an adequate curriculum for your children, you’ll find that these laws are really asking for nothing more than you would do anyway. Yes, they do ask you to keep a close record of your children’s progress, but that will only improve their educational progress.
Conclusion
The Hawaiian homeschooling legal system may be a bit demanding, but everything is designed to help you along the way. You’d probably want to keep a close track of your children’s progress anyway, so you shouldn’t see the legal demands as a constraint to your homeschool practice. You’ve got plenty of educational and assessment resources online, and you can always get in touch with a nearby homeschool group, so you should find it easy to start homeschooling your children straight away. So get your materials ready, file a notice of intent and start homeschooling your children right now – they’ll love it, and they’ll love you for it!
Resources
http://www.responsiblehomeschooling.org/policy-issues/current-policy/
http://oahuhomeschoolmom.weebly.com/blog - a great blog with plenty of interesting information and resources related to homeschool events
http://funlittleohana.com/category/homeschooling/ - this blog is not extremely active in the homeschool section, but it does contain articles detailing the experience of homeschooling in Hawaii
http://www.hawaiihomeschoolnetwork.com/ - this is a website where you can get in touch with homeschool groups near you, or you could simply browse the resource section in search of ideas.