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 Iowa.

What you need to know:

• Iowa Homeschool Law does not require you to inform your school district if you decide to homeschool your kid.
• If you need to remove your kid, you need to contact your school to inform them that you are withdrawing your kid for homeschooling.
• There are no particular required requirements for homeschool teachers.
• There is no minimum number of hours per day that your kid must be taught.
• There are five required academic subjects for homeschooled learners: mathematics, reading, language arts, science, and social sciences.
• Iowa does not require that you keep particular records of your homeschooling.
• Homeschool learners in Iowa do not have to let their kids participate in standardized testing.
• If you re-enroll your kid in a public school, your local district can assess what grade level your child should be placed in.

Resources

Iowa offers a funding assistance program entitled HSAP (Homeschool Assistance Program). Your local public school district may offer the resident or open-enrolled homeschooled learners; however, your district must not provide this funding.

You can learn more at the Iowa Department of Education, Homeschool Iowa, and the Home School Legal Defense Association – Iowa.