Do you know the difference between an online homeschooling program and an online school? If your child is attending an online school, do you still need to follow your state’s homeschool requirements? There are actually quite of lot differences between online homeschooling programs and online schools, so I’m hoping this blog post will help answer some of those questions that people often have.
Contains affiliate links
Online Homeschooling Programs
We’ll start with online homeschooling programs. These are essentially online curriculums. They are not schools. So think of it like this. You as the homeschool parent are deciding on a curriculum for your kids. You’re considering a bunch of different options. Some of those curriculums are available in print form and you’ll be teaching the lessons. Others are available online and your child will be watching video lessons or reading lesson transcripts. In either case, you are still homeschooling your child. Therefore, all the usual homeschooling laws for where you live will apply.
Since an online homeschooling program is a curriculum and not a school, an online homeschooling program cannot be accredited. Only a school can be accredited. A child using an online homeschooling program is not attending a school, they are being homeschooled, so accreditation is not something to even be concerned about. Some online homeschooling programs will claim to be accredited, but what they really mean is that the curriculum is from an accredited school.
A good example of this is Power Homeschool. This is an online homeschooling program that uses the Acellus curriculum. Acellus Academy is an accredited online school. So if you use Power Homeschool, you’re getting a curriculum that is used by an accredited school. But power homeschool is not accredited, because it is not a school.
More on Online Homeschooling Programs
Some other examples of online homeschooling programs include Time 4 Learning, Miacademy, Monarch, Easy Peasy All in One, and Study.com. All of these programs offer a full curriculum that you can choose to use in your homeschool. But as a homeschooling parent, you are still responsible for following all of the homeschooling requirements for where you live. You will also probably need to keep your own transcripts (at least for high school) and determine when your child has graduated and issue a diploma.
Study.com – Get 30% Off Your First 3 Months!
And this is where it gets tricky and a lot of people assume they need an online school if they’re planning to homeschool through high school. But as a homeschooling parent, in most cases you are the one who is supposed to keep the transcripts and determine when your child is ready to graduate. Employers and colleges should recognize these homeschool transcripts. It’s actually preferable to getting a GED, because many people will look at a GED and assume the person dropped out of school and never graduated.
With homeschooling, you determine when your child has graduated. My point here is, you do not need to enroll your child in a virtual school just to get a diploma and transcripts. And remember, a diploma is really just something nice to hang on a wall. The transcripts are what matter most.
Online Schools and Virtual Schools
So now let’s talk about what an online school is. An online school or virtual school is a school that someone attends online. So it shares more similarities with brick and mortar schools than it does with homeschooling. Online schools can be either public or private, although most are private schools. Online schools can be accredited, and should keep records and transcripts for all of its students and issue diplomas when they graduate.
If your child is enrolled in an online school, then you are not technically homeschooling. They’re still “going to school” perse, they’re just going on the computer rather than in person. So this can also be considered distance learning. If your area does not have an online public school, an online private school will be your only option.
More on Virtual Private Schools
There are MANY online private schools to choose from. It can be kind of overwhelming to narrow down your options. I do have a blog post of the 10 Best Online Schools for High School that you can check out. Many people consider this option during the high school years because they want their child to get a transcript and diploma from a school. But most of these same online schools also accept students in elementary and middle school.
Online private schools can be significantly more expensive than online homeschooling programs. But at the same time, they are often much less expensive than in person private schools. And while you’ll see a lot of Christian schools if you do a search for online private schools, there are also quite a number of secular options. Some popular choices include Laurel Springs School, Sora Schools, Ignite Christian Academy and the Keystone school. These schools vary greatly in what they have to offer, so do your homework before deciding on one.
Which Laws Do I Need to Follow?
Now that you hopefully understand the difference between an online homeschooling program and an online virtual school, there’s an important question you may have. If you enroll your child in an online school, do you still have to follow the homeschooling laws where you live?
And the short answer here is, you’re probably still going to be considered to be homeschooling. For instance, in Massachusetts, a state with more strict homeschooling requirements, unless a child is attending one of the approved Massachusetts online public schools, parents need to follow the homeschooling requirements, even if their child is enrolled full time in an online private school. Similarly, in NY, a student enrolled in an online school that is not located in the state of NY is considered to be homeschooled.
In Texas, homeschools are considered private schools, so there is no difference whether you choose to use an online homeschooling program or a virtual school. So based on what I’ve been able to find, it seems that if you send your child to an online private school, even though you aren’t technically homeschooling them, you most likely still need to follow your state homeschool laws.
Hopefully this helped to explain the difference between an online homeschooling program and an online school. Of course, if you have any questions, please let me know in the comments and I’ll do my best to give you the correct answer.
