Compliance with State Requirements

Legal Formation: Some states have specific legal requirements and restrictions for the legal formation of educational organizations (such as New York). Please see the section on Becoming a Legal Entity if you haven't already for an overview of some possibilities.

Homeschooling Collectives:

There are a number of websites which can help you sort out your local requirements and limitations if you’re structured as a homeschooling cooperative or resource center. Some have information for countries outside the U.S. Use Google or your favorite search engine to find and take advantage of resources designed to support homeschoolers. Typically, parents have to notify their school district that they homeschool and submit regular reports (quarterly or annually) about their educational plan. Some states (like Hawaii) still require homeschool students to participate in standardized testing.

Private Schools:

Each state has different laws about what private schools are required to do with regard to curriculum, health, and safety. Some have very few requirements or oversight (Colorado), while some are more restrictive (Michigan). Some states even have school choice voucher possibilities. We can’t document requirements for all states (from 2009) (updates here). Here, we will try to alert to you to major categories to watch out for.

Health

All states have some sort of immunization requirements for children. Schools are basically the enforcement arm for ensuring that vaccinations happen. You will be required to collect immunization records for all your students (or a convincing letter of exemption for either medical or religious reasons (Exemption requirements also vary by state).

Most states have immunization reporting requirements that have to be submitted fairly early in the school year. Some states (e.g. Hawaii) will not permit a child to attend school who has not proven that they’re immunized or scheduled their missing immunizations.

Zoning, Fire & Safety

There may sometimes be zoning restrictions about where schools can operate, but many communities allow schools and churches to operate in any standard residential, agricultural or commercial area. Check the zoning restrictions in your area if you don’t want to get shut down for operating in a place schools are not allowed to operate.

States typically have fire safety requirements for school, as do many local municipalities. You will need to be conscious of adequate (and safe for children) fire exits, appropriately placed extinguishers and alarm pulls, and you may need to perform and document a certain number of fire drills to ensure children know how to exit the school safely.

There are sometimes other safety requirements based on local laws (for example, children under the age of 6 must be on a ground floor and be able to exit the building without stairs). Again, this varies by location. You can often find these out by calling your local zoning permit office and tell them you’re going to be “shopping” for a location for your school and need to know about any restrictions that may apply.

General Reporting Requirements & Testing

Many states collect demographic data about students (race, gender, age, etc) and most also require thorough attendance records. Some states require you to submit this information, others may require you to have it on file ready to be audited.