I homeschooled my son for two years in Pennsylvania. I had to notify the school district, write and have notarized in advance as to the curriculum and textbooks to be used, keep a portfolio of the work and have that portfolio reviewed by an outside source, and then take that porfolio to the district at the end of the year for further review.
PA has one of the most restrictive home schooling laws in the country. We lived there for a few years.
In PA they now want medical records, too. Askin’ ain’t gettin’, but they require at the very least a note from a doctor confirming that the child has been examined for various things. They word the “requirement” so that if a parent doesn’t study the law with a comb and a magnifying glass, parent will just provide them with the complete results of the exam. Medical privacy is out the window.
Cyber charter schools are the same when not worse. You can’t even enroll a child in an online school if he hasn’t been vaccinated — just in case they have an optional field trip! You are also asked to provide your SSN in case they have to sue you for damage to the equipment. State guidelines to the contrary notwithstanding, they ask for information they’re not entitled to and you have no control over where it goes from there.
PA’s a great state for some things...like guns! :) ...but really stinks for homeschoolers.
BTW, the “outside source” the law requires to evaluate your child’s progress, now charges, typically, $100. You don’t have it, you don’t get approval to homeschool again, and may be prosecuted for truancy.
Some school districts are very unfriendly and antagonistic to homeschoolers. All operate on the same premise: your homeschooled child deprives them of several thousand dollars a year.
Money which, need I add, is almost totally wasted on them.
My son is now in college and kicking ass!