This will be my twelfth year homeschooling. The two questions I am asked most often is what curriculum to choose (see my previous post) and what are my legal obligations when homeschooling in Hawaii. Here is the scoop, on the legal obligations of homeschooling in Hawaii: *
The compulsory age of education in Hawaii is 6. This means that prior to your child turning 6 you do not need to do anything. You can keep your child home and do not need to notify anyone.
Starting at the age of 6 you need to either send your child to school or file a Letter of Intent with your local public school. It is simply a one page letter notifying the school of your intent to homeschool your child. In the past, I have always requested a written response from the school acknowledging receipt of the letter. I would then keep it on file at home for my records.
The second thing that you need to do is find out what the school’s expectations are for record keeping and progress tracking. Our local public school here is Hawaii would accept one of two things at the end of the year, either a portfolio of the child’s work or test results from an SAT test (which can be administered as early at Kindergarten).
If this is something you are considering for your family, feel free to reach out and I’d be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.
With Aloha,
Dagmara
*Disclaimer: My children currently attend a charter home school. This means that we are not currently required to file a Letter of Intent. Please check with your local school to ensure that you are staying compliant.
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