California Charter Homeschool Students

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California Charter Homeschool Students

California’s non classroom based public charter schools

Families will often say they are homeschooling through a charter school. Although these families consider themselves homeschoolers, their children are public schools students. Like all public schools, charter schools have special education services, require state testing, and prohibit religious curriculum. Some offer instructional funding or computers.

Programs differ considerably in flexibility, funding, and parent choice. Some charters have more of a focus on k-8 and do not offer a strong high school program and limited support, while others have dedicated high school directors and rich options.

All charters offer A-G courses. Learn about A-G here.

Virtual Schools

The most well known charter homeschool option is the virtual school. A virtual school requires all classes be on the computer and most virtual schools use a single learning platform such as Edgenuity, K-12, or Apex. In California courses are almost all A-G approved and many are NCAA approved as well. If the student is an athlete who plans on competing for an athletic scholarship virtual schools offer the safest option for NCAA approved classes. Virtual schools typically provide a computer and teacher meetings take place in a virtual setting.

Virtual schools do not offer funding for enrichment activities or supplies.

Charters that offer an A-G and a non A-G track

Many charters offer an A-G and a non A-G option. Most provide funding which allow a student to purchase online courses, enrichment activities, and supplies. The amount funding for high school students ranges between $2,600-$3,200 annually.

The A-G track

Each school has different methods for providing A-G approved courses with some being completely virtual or completely textbook or mixed. A school may offer their own online courses, or they may use a learning platform such as Edgenuity, K-12, BYU, or Apex. Each charter differs in their online options with some offering a large variety of courses from different online vendors and others offering limited choices.

A limited number of charters also offer classroom based A-G approved courses using their own staff or local learning center courses which have been pre-approved.

The non A-G track

This path varies from charter to charter. For some programs parents are given an outline to follow which cover california common core standards. The parent has flexibility as long as they cover what is in the outline. Schools have outlines for required courses and will also have a large selection of elective outlines. If a student would like a course that is not offered (no outline has been created) some schools will allow for a parent to create their own while others make adding a course very difficult.

Some charter schools allow curriculum to be used for the non A-G track. Typically this curriculum must be approved and most follow common core standards. Some commonly used homeschool curriculum is not approved, or will only be approved with additions because it does not meet California standards. Luckily most well known curriculum has been updated to include the requirements of common core so this is often not a problem, but a parent must check with the charter school to insure that their favorite curriculum is approved.

Independent Study Charter Schools

Very few charters offer a truly independent study program. While many charters offer a customized track, there is a lack of parent choice or a large amount of oversight or approval required. A very limited number of charter schools allow a parents to create customized courses which are rigorous yet allow the family freedom to decide how a student will show learning. These charters allow more project based learning, customization of required courses, learning center approve A-G courses, and parent created courses. While all charters are considered independent study in the eyes of the state of California, most don’t follow the spirit of independent study which should be a course created by a student and a teacher together which allows a student more interest based and in depth learning.

Independent study charters will still offer A-G courses but most will supply a large selection of online vendor, learning center, textbook, and project based options. They typically will not indicate an A-G track and non A-G. A student can choose to take only A-G, customized, or a mixed set of courses.