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 Missouri.

What you need to know:

• Missouri Homeschool Law does not require you to inform the school district that you are homeschooling your kid.
• If your kid needs to remove from school, submit a withdrawal letter to your local superintendent.
• There are no particular requirements for homeschool teachers.
• Homeschool learners must receive 1,000 hours of instruction per year, and at least 600 must be taught teaching the required subjects. Four hundred of those hours must be at the regular homeschool location.
• There are five required academic subjects: reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, and STEM.
• Missouri requires that you maintain a record of the subjects you teach, a portfolio of each kid’s work, and copies of educational evaluations for each kid.
• Missouri homeschool learners do not have to let their kids participate in standardized testing, but their educational progress needs to be evaluated.
• If you re-enroll your kid in a public school, contact your local school to find their placement guidelines as they each have their process.

Resources

You can also check out the Home School Legal Defense Association – Missouri, the Missouri Families for Home Education, and the Missouri Association of Teaching Christian Homes, Inc. (MATCH).