Can you homeschool a step-daughter's kids legally? They do not live in the same household. Can you receive pay for this?

-- Rose (open_rose@hotmail.com), March 22, 2002

Answers

There is no family relationship (in that step (whatever) is a term used whether the other parent is living or dead) at all?

One problem may be that of qualifications--if you are a credentialed teacher, probably no problem, but if not, the school district (of course depending upon where you live) will want to know the parent's qualifications, which usually allow for simply a high school diploma or perhaps two years of college. If she doesn't have this, I don't know.

As to pay, I guess if they feel you're qualified and they want to pay you...

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), March 22, 2002.

I would assume that the answer is no, but you would need to research it more. It is not legal to do that here in Wisconsin, but I am not sure where you reside or what the laws are there.

If you were to recieve pay for teaching someone else's child you would probably run into more requirements such as a teaching certificate being required. I am sure there are considerable differences between many states.

Rose, let us know what state you are in and perhaps someone from your own state can answer your question .

Talk to you later.

-- Bob in WI (bjwick@hotmail.com), March 22, 2002.

It depends on your state. In the state of Texas for example you can homeschool someone else's child but you can't accept payment for it. However you can charge hourly for babysitting for the time you are not actually teaching(yes that is a loop hole). At least it was that way several years ago when I was considering taking on another child(law might have changed since then). Go to your local homeschool store and they should have a booklet on the laws for your state. I am currently trying to convince a friend of mine to let me homeschool her daughter. Poor child was born prematurely and has been rather sickly ever since. Every time I see her she is sick. Her and my daughter are best friends. Of course I wouldn't want pay for teaching her.

-- Amanda (mrsgunsmyth@hotmail.com), March 22, 2002.

I should have been more specific. Texas, certified teacher, rural, no homeschool store. In fact, I don't know what that is. Help me!

THANK YOU

-- Rose (open_rose@hotmail.com), March 23, 2002.

I don't know how it works there, but in remore rural Australia it is quite common for station-owners (ranchers) to employ a governess or tutor to take charge of their children's education. Check on those terms as well for legal possibilities. I can't see where it would be wrong for a home-schooling mother (your step-daughter) to employ a tutor (particularly a qualified tutor - you) to help educate her children.

-- Don Armstrong (darmst@yahoo.com.au), March 23, 2002.

Rose, find and contact your State Homeschool Parents Association. They've probably got a handbook with the state laws in it. Here in Wisconsin, every library carries a copy of this handbook, you could start there. The thing you don't want to do is get into a situation where the truant police come knocking on yours and your step- daughter's doors. The other thing you want to do is make sure she's registered, if required, as a homeschooled child so that she gets credit for the hours/days spent homeschooling. We are currently in a situation where we have a niece (blood relative) staying with us and we are homeschooling her, so my husband and I read the handbook for our state. It was really helpful. You don't have to join the organization to get the information from them. Here in Wisc. they were very helpful.

-- rose marie wild (wintersongfarm@yahoo.com), March 23, 2002.

Check out this website . . . it lists lots of information on homeschooling in Texas including state organizations:

http://www.gomilpitas.com/homeschooling/regional/Texas.htm

For those unfamiliar with Ann Zeiss' site, she has tons of information on homeschooling and various state laws, support groups, etc. This link is for Texas information, but by going to this URL, you can get to the other information as well.

-- Julie Woessner (jwoessner@rtmx.net), March 23, 2002.

Yes, depends on the state. We are in Ohio, and I homeschooled some children from our church. They had asked me, and I was afraid so I called the school superintendent. The basic feeling is that the children have to pass the standardized tests at the end of the year, and the parents are the responsible parties. I was paid for teaching them.

-- Joyce Dingman (joycedingman@yahoo.com), March 23, 2002.

As in answers above it depends on the laws in your state and they vary from state to state. You can type in homeschool on your search engine and it will lead you to this info or contact Dept. of Ed. in your state.

-- Eve Lyn (evelynv@valuelinx.net), March 23, 2002.

You can do more with FAMILY than you can with strangers. For example, my parents often rent the back rooms to kids or grandkids, which would be illegal if they were not family. They were not allowed to put a kitchen in the family room, but they were allowed to put in a "wet bar" with stove, refridgerator, and sink so they did. They charge less rent, so staying at grandmas apartment is popular with teenagers wanting their first apartment.

I would personally check out the rules for FAMILY, which is likely to be different than for strangers.

-- Terri (hooperterri@prodigy.net), March 23, 2002.

Rose since you are a teacher and especially since you live in Texas (one of the greatest states to homeschool in) there should be no problem. The state of Texas considers homeschool to be a private school. There are almost no rules for homeschooling in Texas other than the obvious....you are required to teach them the basics. However there is no testing to assure that. Try going to your local bible book store...usually they either sell homeschool books or can order them. Your local library is bound to know some of the homeschoolers in your area.....we generally make pests of ourselves :o). I do not suggest going to your local public school for information. Some schools are honest but many are not and will do just about whatever they can to convince you to send your child to public school(been there done that...burned the shirt when I was through). What part of Texas are you in? If you are in northeast Texas I can put you in touch with lots of folks...including myself. I'd be happy to correspond with you if you like. I have 6 years of homeschooling experience and I've mentored lots of new homeschoolers. Amanda

-- Amanda (mrsgunsmyth@hotmail.com), March 23, 2002.

Terri, most areas will let you rent rooms to strangers--the assumption is that they have kitchen priviledges--usually you can't have more than 4 unrelateds per house. You of course would want to have extra bathrooms for those tenants, so you don't have to share, and if you have enough space for the extra vehicles (not constantly parking in the street or in your front yard, which makes any neighborhood look low-end fast), it can be a good solution for all parties concerned. Usually you can find ads in "Shared Housing Wanted" or "Room for Rent" in the classifieds.

An excellent book on the subject (though sadly, out of print) is Doreen Bierbrier's Living With Tenants: How to Happily Share your House with Renters for Profit and Security. Your library is probably your best bet for finding it.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), March 23, 2002.

Rose, I have known people that homeschooled friends with no problem. I would call Home School Legal Defense Association. They are great at giving advice on any homeschool matters.

-- Lou Ann in KY (homes_cool@msn.com), March 23, 2002.

GT-Not where my parents live, you can't. Different communities have different laws, and in San Jose they are enforced. I know some communities in California allow you to rent out bedrooms, but not where my parents live.

-- Terri (hooperterri@prodigy.net), March 23, 2002.

Wow, I think they allow it in Fremont (have friends there). I've never seen it where they said you couldn't rent a bedroom long-term as long as you were still in the house. CA is a bad place to be a landlord anyway, from what I've heard.

-- GT (nospam@nospam.com), March 24, 2002.