Homeschooling In Utah ~ Everything You Need to Know!
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Are you considering Homeschooling in Utah? Are you wondering what you need to know/do to homeschool in Utah? If you are just starting out with homeschooling or are considering a move to Utah, you will need to know all the details of homeschooling here. Utah is a very homeschool friendly state and I feel lucky to live here. There are a lot of homeschool families in Utah and it is definitely easy to homeschool in this state. The people who live here are quite accepting of it as well.
The best place to start when studying the homeschool laws in Utah would be the Utah Home Educators Association. It is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1981 to help protect homeschoolers in Utah and to also work with the state on various issues. It is a great organization and their website has a wealth of information. It has all of the specifics on the laws and other topics.
Utah Homeschool Laws
Anyone has the right to homeschool in Utah. According to the state laws, you have to submit a notarized affidavit stating that you are homeschooling to your local school district office. You used to have to do it each year, but this year they passed a new legislation stating that you only have to do it once, unless you move to a new district. Once you submit your affidavit, it will remain on file and in effect with the school district year after year. Each year, the school district will then send you an exemption certificate for you to keep as proof that you are exempt from enrollment. There is no required curriculum, attendance, record keeping or testing for homeschoolers in Utah. It is quite simple!
Dual Enrollment and Extracurricular Activities for Homeschoolers in Utah
Homeschoolers in Utah are allowed to participate part-time in any classes or extracurricular activities offered through the school district. Homeschoolers can take advantage of anything offered to students enrolled in the public schools. This means that if you want your child to go to a public or charter school for sports, music, drama, it is allowed. You are also able to homeschool part time and have your kids in school the other part of the day. During the time they are in the school, they are considered to be a student of the district and are under the same rules and obligations as the other kids in the school. If there are mandatory attendance requirements for the activities, this does not apply to the homeschooled students.
This is a wonderful benefit that many people take advantage of. I know some parents who started by taking their kids out for only half of the day to get used to the idea of homeschooling. After doing it for a while, though they eventually ended up keeping them home the whole day. I know others who have their kids go to school just for orchestra or band so their kids can be a part of this group experience. There are so many great options! The nice part is having the freedom to choose.
Public Funding Options for Utah Homeschoolers
Homeschooling can really get expensive, so if you are looking for funding options to help give your kids a great education, there are a couple of great ways to do that in Utah. There are a few different organizations that collaborate with homeschoolers to give them public funding for their curriculum. If you do this, you are actually enrolled in a local charter school (in name only) and given funds to purchase non-religious curriculum for your family. You are re-mimbursed for classes as well as given a technology allowance. It has been a great option for our family because it allows us to get all of those extras that we could not afford otherwise. You do have to do the state testing if you take this route, however a new law passed this year allowing homeschoolers to opt out of it! So if you are not concerned about actually having your children enrolled in the schools, this is a great option!
There are three different organizations in the state that do this:
Harmony Ed., My Tech High, and Canyon Grove
They all work in a pretty similar way, but there are some differences. So if you are interested in this route, you will want to research them on your own.
You can also enroll in an online school called K-12 or Connections Academy for free as a homeschooler in Utah. These are online schools. The curriculum is sent to you for free and you do daily attendance reports. It is as if you are enrolled int he regular schools, but it is all done online.
Co-ops and Homeschool Support Groups in Utah
Most people, when they are homeschooling want a group of like-minded people to meet with for activities. They want homeschool friends to go to the park with and to have group activities with. There are a HUGE amount of these opportunities in Utah. There are classes, holiday parties, field trips, and co-op groups that meet all over the state. I was so surprised when I chose to start homeschooling that there were so many homeschoolers in Utah. It is a community you are not really aware of until you start digging a little, but they are everywhere! 🙂
I have done some research and found a lot of support groups and communities around the state to support homeschoolers. I have been the most successful at finding people in Yahoo groups and Facebook groups.
Wasatch Home Educators Network The largest website and support group I know of. They provide Spelling Bees and Geography fairs, field Trips, and more. It is a fabulous resource!
Utah-HS A Yahoo group email list with more than 1500 members from across the state.
Utah Homeschool Network A Facebook Group with nearly a thousand members to serve all of Utah.
Utah Valley Homeschoolers A Facebook group with more than 600 members in Utah Valley- This is growing quickly and there are many others similar.
Salt Lake Homeschool A Facebook Group for homeschoolers in Salt Lake and the surrounding areas
South Utah Valley Homeschoolers Another Facebook group serving the southern part of the valley.
Religious-based groups:
Utah Christian Homeschoolers Association
LDS Home Educators Association
LDS Homeschoolers Facebook Group (not Utah Specific)
LDS Homeschoolers in Utah– Yahoo Group
Utah Classical Christian Homeschool
The UHEA website has a great list of some other local groups around the state.
Homeschool Conferences in Utah
There are some great homeschool conferences in Utah! If you haven’t been to a homeschool conference, it is a perfect place to go to refresh, be enlightened and renewed when you are losing steam as a homeschool parent. It is also a great place to learn more about homeschooling. There are booths to explore, and experienced people to learn from. I try to go to one each year and it really helps me to be a better parent and teacher.
Utah Christian Homeschool Association
Latter-Day Learning Conference
I have also done a post on Field Trips in Utah. There are seem AMAZING things to see and do in this state!!
Utah is a great place to be as a homeschooler! What is it like to homeschool in your state?
I am collaborating with some great bloggers to bring you a series called Homeschooling State by State. We will be sharing the ins and outs of homeschooling all across the country.
Hi! In reference to the Dual Enrollment option in Utah, I think there may be one exception– the Dual Language Immersion program. According to this document (http://www.slcschools.org/departments/curriculum/world-languages/documents/RFPDLI14-15.pdf) , it looks like home schoolers don’t have access to the program. Do you know if this is true? I’d love to be wrong!
I had not read that before & it does say no homeschool on it. That is really too bad. It looks like an incredible program.
i would imagine that is because the time spent in each language and which subjects are taught in each are fairly inflexible. Generally math, science, and of course the target language are taught in the DLI language. But many schools alternate which language is at which time of the day from day to day and other things that would make part time involvement a logistical nightmare and leave the kids without the direct support in English specifically structured to help reinforce those concepts taught in the target language unless those teachers worked very directly with the homeschooling parent to know the timing of topics being presented and needing to be reinforced.
It is a great program, but I can totally see why they would not be super open to finding ways to work with that situation.
Recently, my sister asked me if she could homeschool her daughter in just a couple of different courses, specifically math and PE. Her school told her that her daughter has to take PE at school when she already does Ballet, Tennis and skiing on a regular basis. Would you know how to make that happen?
I have never had experience with it, just friends who have. I would say if they went to the school to get special permission, they would approve it. They are supposed to…
Please let me know what do you mean by technology classes. Is it like computers etc. where can I get more information about this. Please please help
These classes are done through the site My Tech High. When you enroll through their program you are given options of these classes.
I was wondering if you knew the laws on homeschooling other children along with my own. Some of my mommy friends need to work and want their children homeschooled. Do you know if this is legal?
Thanks
I don’t know for certain, but I have never heard of anything prohibiting it. I would say as long as the parent of the children turns in their affidavit, it should be fine.
Did you find out if this was possible or not? I’ve also had the same thought.
Thank you so much for this post! It’s invaluable research. I’m moving to Utah in January with my preschooler, and I’m seriously considering homeschool. (I have pretty much made up my heart/mind, just need to make sure my finances and schedule will be able to handle it.)
Hi, look at canyon grove academy. They offer a great distant learning education program. It might fit your needs with your child for kindergarten and on.
How much would you say it costs a month? I would love to homeschool my daughter but I’m not sure I can afford it!
You can really set your own cost! There are a lot of options for free or VERY inexpensive curriculum.
Thank you so much for all the valuable information. We may be moving to Utah and I have homeschooled all my children through a charter school in California. One of the things that made me saddest about moving was having to give up our great charter options. I am glad to hear they are offered in Utah and might even see if I can bring Celebration Education along with me. My daughter has really blossomed using it this year. I do have to say I will still miss our Disney Schooling but I guess you can’t have everything 🙂 Or maybe we will just have to cut down and only go once a month instead of once a week. Thanks again for the great links for me to check into. I am so relieved to know i have options.
I am looking to homeschool my oldest child, she suffers from serious anxiety, but she would like to play in the school band. Do I arrange this through the school? How does that work? If it’s just the one thing, the only program she wants to be in. Thanks for all the tips and info.
Hi Melanie! Yes, you just arrange things like that directly through your local schools. 🙂 Best of luck!
Hi, I’m just doing research and we really want to homeschool, these resources are great, how active are the groups listed especially in the Orem area? And do you know if it’s very heavy religion based? I’d love ideas on how to get freebie and cheap materials starting with kindergarten. Do you know if there are any conferences coming up for this?
What programs are available for Jr. High aged kids who want to do part time homeschool and part time charter/public school?
Heather, they will vary from school to school. I would just check into the ones near you. Schools are willing to work with kids on part-time options!
I want to home school my 13 year old autistic son. His needs are not being met in the public school system. I have no idea where to start. Where can i find what the state requires?
Hey Marcie! Check out this link: https://www.hslda.org/laws/ It should help you find what you need!
I have a 15 year old son in High School that struggles with his grades, attending class and a group of friends with bad influence on him. I want to home school him but dont know if we can do it on line or if we should do a basic classroom type of deal. He does not want to home school but I dont know of another way to keep him going to school. If he continues the way he is he will never graduate. What do you think the best options are for this type of situation?
Hi Yvette! I apologize for my delayed response! I am sorry for your tough situation! There are a lot of homeschooling options! I would look into the different options as well as look into some co-op citations where he can find some homeschooling friends. There are some great Utah homeschooling facebook groups that may help you find some good answers.
Hi, I am moving to Utah this summer (Sandy/Draper area) and have a 15-year-old son who has not been successful in a traditional school. He has been at Heritage in Provo for the past year. It is a residential treatment center for behavioral issues. The education specialist there says that my son should not be placed right back into a traditional high school in the fall so I am researching what our options are in Utah. I am considering homeschooling him or at least some kind of hybrid. He is going to be a sophomore (kind of). So I didn’t know if you could point me in the right direction with some kind of education specialist in Utah or if you have any additional insight into our situation. Thank you!
I do not know of any education specialists, but I would definitely ask this question in one of the Utah homeschooling facebook groups. There are some big & very helpful ones that may be able to give you more support. Sorry for the struggles you are having! <3
Do you know if there is a way of being reimbursed for curriculum etc outside of the online charter school options listed
In Utah, I believe that is the only way to do it. I wish there were another way! I am pretty sure some states have tax write-offs.
HI. Are there any high school graduation requirements in Utah for homeschoolers?
Hi,
I’m considering homeschooling my daughter, but as a single mom, quitting my job and staying home isn’t an option. What are the rules regarding having someone else homeschool your child (I couldn’t find anything in the homeschool bylaws)? I can pay someone to homeschool, and am a teacher myself, so I could help write curriculum. I just want to know what my options are.
Hey Ashley! As far as I know there are not any laws against it. I know many people hire tutors to teach their kids, so I don’t see why this would be any different.
I went to pull my kids out of school and went to fill out the Utah alpine school district afadavit for homeschooling and on the back it says now that it expires in one year. did the law change in the October 2018 session?! I’m not the best at navigating the laws. If anyone knows I’d love to hear from them. I will also be visiting my district’s office.
My family and I are moving to Southern Utah, Cedar City this summer, August 2020. My son will be a first grader, I don’t know where to begin. We are currently with iLead in California and receive funds from our charter school to assist with curriculum.. I’ve heard Utah doesn’t offer the same luxury regarding charter funds for children’s learning. Is that correct? Are there available charters that support homeschoolers with funds in Utah? This will be a major loss otherwise. I appreciate any suggestions you may have.
The way I’m reading it is that there is no required curriculum for homescholers, is that correct? So, someone can just pull their child from the public education system and say they’re homeschooling but only teach whatever they feel appropriate for their student? I also read that there is no mandatory state testing. How does the state even know if your teaching your child anything? Don’t get me wrong, the further the state/government stays out of our lives, the better but this just seems too easy to be true.
It definitely depends on the state. Some states have more requirements than others. Some states require portfolios showing work and have people check in on them. Some states have no requirements at all. State testing is the same- not mandatory in some states, may be in others. In UT, it is not mandatory.
As for your question about how does the state know that you are teaching them anything- ultimately it is not up to the state what my children are taught. They are my children. I do not believe the government should have any requirements there. Thankfully we live in a free country. I strongly believe in a good education, as do most homeschoolers. We want our children to be well educated and productive members of society. The goal, most often, is to give our kids MORE than they could get at school.
Hi there, I’ve decided to home school my 6-year-old each morning and keep him enrolled in his local public school each afternoon, for various reasons. Do you know of any charter schools that would still reimburse for some of the costs of homeschooling, even if it’s not full-time? My Tech High and Canyon Grove have both already told me they won’t allow it unless the child is 100% home schooled 🙁
Thank you for any help you can give!