"Homeschooling FAQs" #17

**Disclaimer: All information presented on this blog is based on our best understanding of current homeschool laws in the state of Florida at the time of each posting, and in particular the homeschool laws for Hillsborough County, where Class Source is located. However, we are not legal experts, and the information posted in this group does not constitute legal advice. Homeschool laws can vary by county and state. If you are uncertain of the homeschool regulations and requirements in your area, please verify using your local resources. The HSLDA website has a resource which allows you to look up homeschool laws by state, and is a good place to start: https://hslda.org/legal.**

This week's FAQ is:

Isn’t homeschooling mostly for conservative Christians and/or people who want to keep their children in a bubble?

The short answer to this? Not anymore. (The days of the jean-skirted, socially-awkward homeschooler stereotype are over!) Homeschooling is rapidly growing in popularity due to the freedom and flexibility it affords to adapt each child’s education to their – and your family’s – specific needs, situation, and priorities. With homeschooling’s rising popularity, the former stigma – and misconceptions – are quickly fading.

While homeschooling was traditionally viewed as a choice for conservative Christian families, today families are homeschooling for a growing variety of reasons – to more strongly pursue their child’s specific talents or interests, health struggles or learning disabilities, a desire for more family time or a more flexible schedule, to allow freedom for travel for a family business or mission work, or because they simply don’t feel the public school environment is the best fit for their child’s educational, emotional, physical, or spiritual needs. Some families home-educate all their children, while others do a combination of homeschool, public school, and private school, depending on each child’s individual needs. Some families even decide which schooling environment to utilize for each child year by year based on what works best for them in that particular season of life.

Whatever your personal reason for home-educating, you can find a community of support. There are groups in the Tampa area which focus in on one particular ideology for homeschooling, but there are also plenty which welcome homeschoolers with a wide variety of backgrounds and beliefs. At Class Source, though our instructors are all believers in Christ and our code of conduct is founded on Biblical principles, our community is made up of homeschoolers from all walks of life who have chosen to home-educate for a variety of different reasons. Every group has its own vibe—the goal is to find the one that works best for you.

If you want more info on Homeschooling in Florida, we've just started a Homeschool Q&A group on Facebook! You can find it here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/HomeschoolQATampaBay/.