CHECKLIST
For Missouri Homeschoolers
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Sample Withdrawal Letter
- New to the state OR child never enrolled in the MO public schools – NO notification/letter needed
- Kindergarten Letter to withdraw during 1st semester of school – Contact FHE for the appropriate letter
- Private School – follow the school’s exit policy
- For all other children - Click Here
- Please do NOT sign the school’s letter of intent. It’s always recommended to send your own..
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Special Needs and IEP
- Talk to the school about services
- If you decide to continue with IEP services, note that on your withdrawal letter
- If you decide to cancel services, send the Revocation letter found HERE.
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New Recommendations for 7-year-olds
- If the child has NOT been in public school for K or 1st grade, then no records or hours will be needed until age 7.
- Click Here for details
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Prorate Hours (if needed)
- When withdrawing from a school or moving into the state mid-school year, then the hours can be prorated for the balance of the school year. Contact Kim Quon for assistance if needed.
- Don’t forget to get hours and/or days from the school when withdrawing from a public or private school mid-year. This will help in determining remaining hours.
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MO Homeschool Law (changes effective August 28, 2024)
- Missouri Homeschool Law
- You also need to keep some records.
RSMo 167.012 2.
(1) Maintain the following records:
(a) a. A plan book, diary, or other written record indicating subjects taught and activities engaged in; and
b. A portfolio of samples of the child's academic work; and
c. A record of evaluations of the child's academic progress; or
(b) Other written, or credible evidence equivalent to subparagraphs a. to c. of paragraph (a) of this subsection; and
[Note: (b) has not been defined in court and would recommend legal help to utilize, so it's recommended to just do the other 3 since we have almost 40 years of experience in the courts with those and it must be equivalent to them anyway.]
(2) Offer at least one thousand hours of instruction, at least six hunderd hours of which shall be in reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, or academic courses that are related to such subject areas and consonant with the child’s age and ability. At least four hundered of the six hundred hours shall occur at the regular home school location;
(3) The requirements of this subsection shall not apply to any pupil sixteen years of age or older.
RS MO 167.012 3. The production of a daily log by a parent, guardian, or other person having control or custody of a child showing that a home school has a course of instruction that satisfies the requirements of this section and section 167.031 or, in the case of a pupil sixteen years of age or older who attended a metropolitan school district the year, a written statement that the pupil is attending home school in compliance with section 167.031 shall be a defense to any prosecution under section 167.031 and to any charge or action for educational neglect brought under chapter 210. Home school education enforcement and records pursuant to this section, and sections 210.167 and 211.031, shall be subject to review only by the local prosecuting attorney.
- Consider getting our First Things First resource book and Homeschool Journal:
FHE Books
- Find our next New Homeschool Zoom or Regional In Person Event HERE
- Covers the withdrawal, records, hours, what to count, and more.
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Schedule
- Our year is July 1 to June 30 (RS MO 167.031), and you have that full calendar year to get the required 1000 hours. However, your school schedule is up to you. Learning happens all year and on weekends.
- School year around OR follow a basic public-school schedule OR something else
- Don’t forget to count summer activities and learning even if you haven’t opened the schoolbooks.
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Records and Hours
- (Effective August 28, 2024 changes “and” to “or”) We need 1000 hours of instruction during this time frame. At least 600 of the 1000 hours needs to be in the following subjects that we like to call core: “reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, or academic courses that are related to such subject areas and consonant with the child's age and ability”. While each of the subjects are still in our law and are important, you will now have the flexibility to determine which you need to teach each year. As an example, there really is not a high school credit for Reading. It’s part of literature under a Language Arts credit. So now you will have the flexibility to log all reading hours under language arts if you wanted. Also, “academic courses related to subject areas” means that history, government, current events, geography, economics, etc are all academic courses UNDER the related subject of Social Studies. And we continue to teach to the age and abilities of our children.
You are not required to have a certain number of hours in each subject, just the total of the 600. At least 400 of those 600 hours needs to be at your regular home school location which for most of us is our own homes. That leaves you with 400 additional hours (1000-600) that can be whatever you want: more of the core, all non-core or a combo. Non-core are subjects like PE, music, art, life skills, computer skills, etc. (see the Missouri Law link above)
- A plan book can be anything: teacher lesson book, calendar, journal, notebook, Word/Google doc, etc. It does need to be broken down by subject. Non-core subjects can be lumped together or split into subjects like PE, art, music, etc. Just needs to list out what you have done and where you have gone.
Example: Tuesday, Mar 10
Math - lesson 50 OR multiplication worksheet (30 minutes)
Language Arts- spelling list #25 and read chapter 2 of Charlotte's Web (45 minutes)
Science - field trip to Science Center (3 hours) Keep things split out by subject.
The non-core can be dumped into one title (non-core) or into different subjects (PE, music, art, etc).
- The portfolio of samples is just that. You don't have to keep everything, but you do need some throughout the year in the subjects.
- The evaluation can be a standardized test IF that is what you choose. We are not required to do testing as homeschoolers. Other options for the evaluation are creating a report card, high school transcript, keeping quizzes/tests (can also be part of our samples), or doing a brief write-up of what has been accomplished and what still needs work.
Example:
Math - knows multiplication tables and ready for double digits, still needs practice on division
Language Arts - finished 2nd grade spelling and grammar, ready for 3rd grade; needs work on reading comprehension
- The daily log of hours (#3), while not requried in the law, is your first line of defense if you ever have an educational neglect charge. It is usually a spreadsheet of just numbers (hours). Many will note the time on their planner and then transfer the numbers to the spreadsheet to keep a running total of the hours to prove compliance with the law. It needs to reflect the 5 required subjects with home and away since those are our legal requirements. Non-core can be lumped together or split into subjects since there are no requirements for those hours.
- The word "CORE" is not in our law and has no legal definition so should not be used in your records. This is a made up word only so that we do not have to always list off the 5 subjects.
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Online Curriculum and Records
- Many families are using online programs that help keep track of their hours and grades. Just a side note that it is unlikely that these programs will cover ALL your requirements. They will only track the time your child is IN the program. You will want a separate notebook or planner of some type as mentioned above to include your other hours and activities such as bedtime reading, audio books in the car, PE activities, field trips, co-op classes, outside classes or other educational apps, library time, life skills, art, music, etc. Combine the two (online records and your notebook) to reach the 1000 required hours per year.
- Also, since the recommendation for us itsto always keep the current year records plus 2 previous (until high school when we keep all 4 years until after graduation), the online programs are unlikely to keep your child’s records for that long. To ensure that you have what is needed, you may want to use a flash drive stick to save information from the program to cover your record requirements such as hours, grades, lessons, samples, etc.
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Styles of Homeschooling
- Click HERE for a list of the most common homeschooling styles including traditional, unschooling, eclectic/relaxed, unit studies, classical, and Charlotte Mason.
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Curriculum and Resources
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Regional Support and Local Co-ops/Learning Centers
- Find out what REGION your county is in and then head to that page for local information including events and links to regional groups.
- Join our MO Homeschooling Parents and MO Homeschooling High School pages on Facebook
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Find FHE Homeschool Events around the state and our FREE Zoom Workshops
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High School Help
- Find one of our Homeschool High School Events for all the information about high school.
- Covers classes, transcripts, GPA, dual enrollment, and more
- If withdrawing from a public or private school, request a copy of the high school transcript for your records.
- If your teen is 16, the homeschool law no longer applies other than compulsory age of 17 or graduate early.
- We have NO graduation requirements and recommend tailoring your high school classes based on what is needed for after graduation: college, trade school, military, workplace
- As the parent, you are responsible for the transcript and diploma. These are not sent to the state or local school district or kept by any group sponsoring a homeschool graduation.
- Recommended College Prep Route:
4 credits of English
3-4 credits of Math (MO state universities require 4)
3 credits of Science
3 credits of Social Studies ( 1 credit each of US History and World History, and a semester credit each of US Government and elective)
1 credit each of PE, Fine Arts, and Practical Arts
Semester each of Health and Personal Finance (can be the Social Studies elective)
2 credits of the same Foreign Language (some colleges no longer require)
Electives
Total of 24 credits or more
1 full year credit = 120+ hours (Carnegie credits)
semester = 60 hours
- 4 Year Planning Worksheet
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Consider supporting FHE
