As a result of COVID-19, homeschooling is on the rise. For some, this is a short-term arrangement, and others have discovered that homeschooling is perfect for their family. In case you don’t know, homeschooling is simply the practice of educating your kids from home. Some families choose to collaborate through homeschooling cooperatives and extracurricular leagues to enrich the home school experience.

Homeschooling is legal in all 50 states, including the District of Columbia. When exploring the homeschooling route, please be aware that the laws and policies that govern homeschooling differ by state. If you wonder if homeschooling is a good fit for your family, you probably have questions about how to begin the process and what resources are available. Because of this, we created a series entitled, How to Start Homeschooling. In each installment, we will discuss homeschooling rules and resources for each state. In today’s installment, we will discuss homeschooling in Illinois.

What you need to know:

• Illinois Homeschool Law does not require you to inform your school district if you decide to homeschool.
• If you need to remove your kid, you will need to submit in a withdrawal letter, keep your kid home on the day indicated in your letter, and submit in a kid records quest letter within ten days of submitting your withdrawal letter.
• There are no particular requirements for homeschool teachers.
• There are no minimum hours per day that a homeschool kid must be taught.
• There are six required academic subjects for homeschool learners: language arts, mathematics, biological and physical sciences, social sciences, fine arts, health, and physical development.
• Illinois does not require that you keep particular records of your homeschooling.
• Homeschool learners do not have to let their kids participate in standardized testing.
• If you re-enroll your kid in a public school, schools will assess placement based on test scores, samples of work, and curriculum. The school may require more testing before making this decision.

Resources

Illinois offers a tax credit of up to $500 for homeschooling families.

You can learn more at Homeschool Legal Defense Association – Illinois, the Illinois Home School Information, the Illinois Department of Education’s Homeschooling page, and the Illinois Christian Home Educators.