We’re lucky to be living in a country that allows parents to take their kids out of school and educate them at home. However, there are still often a lot of regulations placed on homeschoolers, especially if you’re living in a stricter state like Iowa.
This can be a problem if you want to do unschooling — that is, to let your children chart their own educational courses on their own timelines. How do you give your kids authentic freedom if they have to take tests and are required to learn certain subjects by law? In this article we’ll explain what the requirements are, and then explore loopholes that can get you out of them.
Iowa’s Regulations
If you want to homeschool legally in Iowa, you have five options: 1) Homeschooling by independent private instruction, 2) Homeschooling by private instruction, 3) Homeschooling with a supervising teacher, 4) Homeschooling with an annual assessment, or 5) Homeschooling with a Homeschool Assistance Program (HSAP).
1. Homeschooling by independent private instruction
- Must teach these subjects: math, reading and language arts, science, and social studies
- Must submit all information requested by the school officials
2. Homeschooling by private instruction
- Must provide education in a nonpublic school setting with a plan or course of study
- Must teach for 148 days per year and 37 days per school quarter
3. Homeschooling with a supervising teacher
- Must submit a private instruction form that includes the number of days of instruction, textbooks used, an outline of course of study, and evidence of vaccinations (for children homeschooled for the first time)
- Must hire a qualified teacher to supervise
- Supervising teacher must contact your student twice each 45 days of instruction – one of those two contacts must be face-to-face
- Supervising teacher must:
- Have the following qualifications: elementary classroom license, middle school or secondary license, or secondary classroom license for the corresponding child’s grade level
- Assess your child and keep a record of contact and assistance provided
4. Homeschooling with an annual assessment
- Must submit a private instruction form that includes the number of days of instruction, textbooks used, an outline of course of study, and evidence of vaccinations (for children homeschooled for the first time)
- Must submit assessments to your school district
- For grades 5 and below, you must assess reading, language arts, and math
- For grades 6 and above, you must assess reading, language arts, math, social studies, and science
- Assessments can either be a report card from a school or correspondence school accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, an evaluation of your child’s progress by a teacher with the appropriate licenses for the child’s grade level, or a standardized test from the list of approved by the Iowa Department of Education. If your child does not show adequate progress, you may submit another assessment, but if adequate progress is still not shown, you will have to enroll your child in school unless the Iowa Department of Education approves a remediation program.
5. Homeschooling with a Homeschool Assistance Program (HSAP)
- Must submit a private instruction form that includes the number of days of instruction, textbooks used, an outline of course of study, and evidence of vaccinations (for children homeschooled for the first time)
- Must comply with any additional HSAP requirements
Loophole #1: Check with your local school district
If you are a homeschooler in Iowa, you are required by law to abide by the above regulations. However, these regulations may or may not be enforced at the local level. If you are interested in unschooling, you can give your local school district a call to find out what guidelines they actually enforce.
This can go the other way too. If your local school district is asking for something that is not required by the state, there are homeschool legal defense associations that will step in and help you maintain your rights.
Loophole #2: Online self-directed private school
If your child is enrolled in a private school, they are not considered a homeschooler and are exempt from all homeschooling regulations.
But isn’t the whole point of unschooling that the child is not in a school?
Enter The Open School. We have a virtual program that you can enroll in from anywhere in the world. And as a self-directed school, our program is perfectly aligned with unschooling. We have no required subjects and no tests. Instead, students design virtual activities to do with other students and staff, including art projects, video games, workshops, one-on-one lessons, and anything else you can imagine. It’s a community of self-directed learners, and a great place for unschoolers to make deep, lasting friendships.
If you want your child to be a free learner in Iowa, without being subject to standardized tests or a strict curriculum, a virtual private school may be your best bet. You can read more about our virtual program, or contact us directly, by clicking one of the buttons below.
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