School Liaison Program

Yes. A parent offering or providing private school instruction and who meets the requirements of EC Section 33190 may file an Affidavit in the manner described. However, filing such an Affidavit with the CDE does not constitute any opinion by the CDE as to whether a student enrolled in that school is exempt from public school attendance.

No. You are not required to report to your school district. However, keeping in mind that the school district has responsibility for checking on school-age children not attending school, you might avoid confusion by informing the district that you intend to home school or privately educate your children.

Yes. EC Section 48222 states:

“Exemptions under this section shall be valid only after verification by the attendance supervisor of the district, or other person designated by the board of education, that the private school has complied with the provisions of EC Section 33190.”

Because the Affidavit can be filed only by full-time private schools in order to get the exemption under EC Section 48222, a student being schooled at home in California should receive instruction in the various branches of study required in the public schools of the state. The State Board of Education-approved content standards and curriculum frameworks for core subjects that comprise these branches of study are both available on the CDE Standards and Frameworks web page. These standards and frameworks are the foundation for what is taught in public schools and can serve as guides for curriculum in schools outside the public system.

Standards and Frameworks https://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st

The State of California does not provide networking support for schooling at home. However, there are private associations of home schooling that may be located on the Internet.

Yes. Public school districts establish their own policies regarding the placement of new enrollees. Students from other schools, states and even countries must be placed in public schools in a fashion that is consistent with school district policy and practice.

Many public schools offer independent study or home-based study as an option. California has a growing number of charter schools which offer different types of schooling in non-traditional settings. To learn what options your local schools offer, start by asking the public school district in which you live what programs allow schooling at home. You might also contact other school districts near yours or your county office of education.

If your district or county does not offer a program that a neighboring district or county offers, you may be able to obtain an inter-district transfer that allows your child to be registered in another district’s program.

For assistance with public school options, visit the CDE’s independent study and charter schools web pages or call the Educational Options Office at 916-322-5012

Independent Study: https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/eo/is

Charter Schools: https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/cs/re/index.asp

Yes. If the Private School Affidavit is properly filed, and the school meets the criteria for a full-time private school, a local school district can allow an exemption. EC Section 48200 requires all children between ages 6 and 18 to attend public, full-time day school, and requires the parent or guardian to send the child unless the child is exempt. Public school officials have an obligation to ascertain whether a child not in public school is truant or being privately educated in accordance with an exemption from the compulsory education law. EC Section 48222 says that children may be exempt from compulsory public education if they are attending a private full-time day school. EC Section 33190 requires such schools to file the Private School Affidavit annually with CDE. For families schooling at home, filing the Affidavit is a required first step toward an exemption from compulsory school attendance.

The exemption has two parts: first, parents or guardians schooling their student(s) at home must file the Private School Affidavit, thereby registering the intent to educate their student(s) privately. Second, the public school district listed in the Affidavit makes a determination of whether a home-schooled child has met statutory requirements and therefore is exempt from public school attendance.

Yes. EC Section 33190 requires a copy of the Affidavit be kept at the school. Requirements of what must be included in the Affidavit are also outlined in EC Section 33190.

EC Section 48222 states:

“The attendance of the pupils shall be kept by private school authorities in a register, and the record of attendance shall indicate clearly every absence of the pupil from school for a half day or more during each day that school is maintained during the year.”

Yes. EC Section 33190 requires a copy of the Affidavit be kept at the school. Requirements of what must be included in the Affidavit are also outlined in EC Section 33190.

EC Section 48222 states:

“The attendance of the pupils shall be kept by private school authorities in a register, and the record of attendance shall indicate clearly every absence of the pupil from school for a half day or more during each day that school is maintained during the year.”

Parents who are privately educating or schooling their children at home must select and provide all curriculum, instruction, and materials.

Parents schooling at home and exploring a student’s next steps after high school might check with specific colleges, technical schools, and prospective employers (e.g., branches of the U.S. military) to learn about student admission or eligibility. Because there is no law or regulation that establishes graduation or diploma requirements for California private schools, any such requirements set for an individual home school may not be generally recognized. Understanding how post-secondary institutions and prospective employers recognize course work completed in alternative education settings is important for parents/guardians considering home school for their high school student.

Inquiring about post-secondary program and job eligibility requirements is also recommended for high school students schooled at home and using commercial curricular programs or enrolled in out-of-state, online courses of study.

Alternative diploma equivalencies for students not attending public school include the General Education Development (GED) Test and the California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE). For information about the GED and CHSPE, please visit the respective Web sites.

GED https://ged.com/policies/california/

CHSPE https://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/cp.asp