This is not legal advice. As someone who lives in a state that is highly regulated, I cannot emphasize enough the need for you to advocate for yourself and make a point to know your state laws. While the school district will most likely provide you with a printed copy of the laws and regulations for home schooling, a local home schooling group can be a valuable asset when it comes to navigating your way through the system.
I generally blog on all options offered within a state at the same time except where I find that presenting the options would make the blog difficult to understand. Such is the case with Maryland and so I have chosen to blog on Maryland in separate blogs presenting the 3 options that you have to home school in this state.
Maryland’s compulsory attendance law starts at age 5 and ends the year your child turns 16. However, if you feel that your child is just not ready to start attending school at the age of 5, you can write to your local superintendent and request a 1 year exemption from compulsory attendance. According to the law, they MUST approve your request.
According to the state laws, you actually have three options in homeschooling your child. The second is the Church Umbrella Option.
The Church Umbrella Option does not involve supervision of the school board. According to state law, supervision is offered under the church. To qualify as a church umbrella, the church must do the following:
1. Be an actual church. Church umbrellas have to fall under a church organization. In other words, two or three Christian families can’t get together and qualify as a church umbrella school. The church must provide proof that it is a “bona fide church organization” by either submitting evidence from the IRS (a 501(c)-3), the articles of incorporation for the church or evidence of traditional church practices.
2. Send a letter to the superintendent declaring its compliance with regulations and that it is responsible for governing and operating such a church school.
The church umbrella must supervise the instruction with:
a. pre-enrollment conferences
b. textbooks and lesson plan review
c. an annual visit to the “site of instruction”
d. periodic conferences with parents
Many churches have established church umbrellas enabling homeschoolers to avoid supervision by the public schools. A church umbrella may or may not include a co-op and is essentially the same as enrolling your child in a satellite school except that it is run by your local church.
Notice: Parents are not required to file notice. This is the responsibility of the church umbrella school.
Qualifications: None
Testing: Standardized testing is not mandatory.
Related Articles:
Homeschooling in Maryland: Option 1
Homeschooling in Maryland: Option 3
Helpful Resources:
HSLDA
State Support Groups
Christian Home Educators Network of Maryland
Maryland Association of Christian Home Educators
Maryland Home Education Association
Catholic Homeschooling in Maryland
Maryland Homeschool Resource Network
A list of regional support groups can be found here.