Are there any requirements to homeschool?

With its constitutionally protected right to homeschool, Oklahoma is arguably the best place in America for parents to teach their children. Oklahoma's home educators have no legal requirement to hold a teaching certificate, to register with any state or local authority, or to submit records to any authority. See Oklahoma law affecting home education.   For more information consider attending an OCHEC orientation class.  Another good resource for legal information regarding homeschooling in Oklahoma is the Home School Legal Defense Association.

(HSLDA brings together a large number of homeschooling families nation-wide so that each can have a low-cost method of obtaining quality legal defense pertaining to their homeschooling.   Membership is currently $100 per year.   If you are an OCHEC member, you will receive a $15 discount.  Benefits of membership include quality legal representation in the event that a family is challenged in the area of homeschooling, a subscription to The Home School Court Report, and the satisfaction of helping others.  In order to receive these benefits, you must be a member of HSLDA prior to contact by school or other officials. To contact HSLDA, call (540) 338-5600, or write P.O. Box 3000, Purcellville, VA  20134.)

Legal requirements notwithstanding, there are some personal "requirements" to be considered as well. Homeschooling is most definitely not for the faint of heart or for a family in which one spouse is not supportive. The successful homeschool teacher has a strong sense of self-discipline and responsibility, a willingness to give up a certain amount of personal freedom, and, in most cases, the ability to survive as a one-income family. It is also necessary for parents to have established respect for parental authority in their children so that Mom or Dad is accepted as a teacher. It may be wise for a family to delay home education for a semester or more to adequately research, prepare, and evaluate the commitment required. The decision to homeschool should be a positive choice, not linked only to negative circumstances involving a public school, administrator or teacher, and it should be a personal choice independent of friends, extended family members, or fellow church members.