Maryland Homeschool Laws

Question:
Can any Maryland Homeschoolers tell me the basic laws there regarding homschooling? It looks like we may be moving there this fall.

Do you also know of any statewide support groups or groups that would be active in the area of Ft Meade?

Answer:
-You can see summaries of all of the US states' laws at my site linked below.

Kathleen Iuzzolino The Homeschool Connection, Inc. http://frontpage.inet-images.com/hsconnection/ -Current regulations in Maryland provide a lot of flexibility for homeschoolers. To start, you submit an Assurance of Consent form 15 days before you take your child out of the school system. The law requires that you provide "regular and thorough instruction" without defining specifics of what that entails. This means that you don't have a set number of days per year, hours per day, or other such requirements to meet.

There are basically three ways to demonstrate compliance with the regulations:

1) A Portfolio Review up to 3 times per year (but generally at the end of each semester or 2 times per year). This requires submitting a portfolio of samples of work which demonstrate that instruction is being provided. The porfolio is not to be used to evaluate performance of the child or to document all activity. The advantages are that the process can be easy, especially in the early grades, and there is no cost for this option. Disadvantages are that teachers assigned to reviews vary in their attitudes toward homeschooling and most don't understand the regulations so they may try to impose requirements that are not required by the law, and they frequently think they are supposed to evaluate the performance of students.

2) Register with an approved satellite program. This means registering with a recognized Private School which offers a correspondence program. You are then essentially a student of the private school and need to meet their requirements. Currently, only Homestudy International and Calvert School offer such programs. The advantages are that you don't have to deal with the state, you are supplied with a full curriculum, and student performance is evaluated. Disadvantages are that you may feel obligated to follow their curriculum, student performance is evaluated, and enrollment can be several hundred dollars per year.

3) Register with an umbrella organization. This means joining a group that falls under the umbrella of the "Religious Exemption." Such programs must be affiliated with a bona fide church, but not all of them impose religious requirements. There are hundreds of such approved groups, and they vary in their requirements and cost. Some do require belonging to a particular church or signing a statement of faith, some require following a particular curriculum package or have portfolio reviews that are more onerous than those of the state. Other programs are very loosely structured, impose no real requirements and only provide help when you want it. Advantages are that you don't have to deal with the state, you can control the amount and type of involvement you want by choosing the group that meets your needs, costs can be low, and you are generaly dealing with other homeschoolers with a positive attitude toward homeschooling. Disadvantages are that you have to be a careful consumer to find the group that meets your needs.

There are many support groups for the estimated 10,000 homeschoolers in Maryland. While they have no authority with the state, they can be a valuable source of support and resources. They vary from having specific religious affiliations and requiring signing a statement of faith and paying dues, to those that have no membership requirements other than an interest in homeschooling.

The groups sponsor field trips, science fairs, seminars, conferences, athletic teams, spelling bees, resource libraries, newsletters, and much more. F.U.N. maintains a list of many of the groups with descriptions and requirements for membership. We have a local group (NCHE) that imposes no requirements on members. There is more info on our web page. The Maryland Home Education Association is the oldest of the groups and founder Manfred Smith was actively involved in changing the laws in the early 80's to make it easier for homeschooling. He can be reached at homeb...@erols.com.