Homeschooling is growing in popularity across the United States! No matter where you live in the U.S., homeschooling is legal in all fifty states, but the rules and regulations depend upon your home state. Today we are exploring homeschooling around the United States: Oklahoma.
Finding out more information before you embark on your homeschooling journey is key to ensuring success for you and your family. A great place to start is by visiting The Old Schoolhouse® Schoolhouse Connect website, where you can find information about support groups, Schoolhouse Ambassadors, and claim your free Considering Homeschooling Info-Pak (link to review)
What if you Want to Homeschool in Oklahoma?
Yvie shares more information with us about homeschooling in the state of Oklahoma. In addition to homeschooling and writing a blog, she is a member of the Homeschool Review Crew and a Schoolhouse Ambassador. She comes from a public school educators and administrators family, and her professional certification is in public education. Their boys began public school, but they pulled them when the oldest was in second grade. “We did not feel the school was meeting the needs of our special needs student. We were in a situation we felt was best solved by incorporating a TON of family travel into the schedule,” Yvie shared.
“I knew that I could teach my children and was blessed by having parents and other resources to assist as needed. Homeschooling was just the best solution and the best fit for our family at the time. At one point, we thought we’d send the boys back for high school but then opted to keep them home because there were so many more paths and possibilities by homeschooling those teen years at home.”
Homeschooling Around the United States: Oklahoma – Questions and Answers:
Q. How do you start homeschooling in Oklahoma? Do you need to notify anyone (school district, government agency)? Where can you find more of the legal requirements?
A. If you have never enrolled your child in school, you do not need to do anything…just start! However, if you have registered your child in school, you will need to give the school a letter of intent to homeschool when you pull your child out. The letter of intent is to prevent any truancy issues. In addition, HSLDA has a great set of legal requirements for every state.
Q. Do you need a set curriculum, or can you pick and choose based upon your homeschool philosophy?
A. You can pick and choose the curriculum based upon your family’s philosophy.
Q. What support networks are available? Where do you suggest looking to meet up with other homeschoolers in your state?
A. Several online groups can help those homeschooling in Oklahoma, such as through Facebook, that help folks meet up with other local homeschooling families. If you live in one of the larger cities, you might be able to find peers through extracurricular activities or the library, but for rural families, these online groups are the best way to network.
Q. Why do people choose to homeschool in your state? Are there religious reasons? Reasons due to the quality of schools?
A. I think there are many reasons people choose to homeschool in Oklahoma — religion, special needs requirements, agricultural schedule, distance, flexibility…probably the same as any other state.
Q. How can you incorporate your state’s history into your homeschool studies? Is there a curriculum specific to your state? What is easy to teach in your state?
A. Every student is required to take 1/2 credit of Oklahoma history to graduate as part of the state graduation requirements. While homeschoolers aren’t necessarily held to those requirements, our family and many others use them as guidelines for a homeschool diploma. There are plenty of places across the state for field trips. The state history museum provides online and in-person resources, and we even cover it in our local co-op. What is easier to teach will depend mainly on where in the state you are. Someone living in OKC or Tulsa will have a very different experience than we do on the rural route!
Q. What else should people know about homeschooling in your state?
A. Homeschooling regulations in Oklahoma are incredibly lax. It’s written directly into the constitution that parents have the right to home education, and currently, there are no laws regarding it. That said, most districts will not provide special needs services, club experiences, or sporting opportunities for homeschoolers. While a few do, they are few and far between. Occasionally bills are proposed to legislate homeschooling under the guise of providing services. Still, we have wisely opted not to support them as they open the door for further government oversight in the future.
Homeschooling Will Change Your Life
By choosing to homeschool, you will be afforded so many wonderful opportunities and experiences no matter what state you live in. From providing individualized instruction and building upon your child’s interest to maintaining your family’s faith and building relationships within your family, homeschooling opens the doors to life-changing experiences.