LeapingFromTheBox.com provides information about Alabama homeschool laws and on choosing a church school to families wishing to home educate or unschool in Alabama. Alabama church school listings and descriptions (cover schools, coverings, umbrellas); Alabama homeschool support groups; Alabama homeschool co-operatives (co-ops); Alabama homeschool email lists; Links to the Alabama Education Code.

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The Homeschooling Handbook
From Preschool to High School, a Parent’s Guide
by Mary Griffith
If you're looking for practical, commonsense advice about homeschooling, if you're looking for answers to the really touch questions from someone with real insights to the movement, if you're looking for sensible commentary backed up by experience and savvy, Mary Griffith's The Homeschooling Handbook is just what you're looking for. -- Helen Hegener, Home Education Magazine
Kindle Edition
We should...be able to see that our interest would be best served not by asking the state to promulgate our values but by forbidding the state to promulgate any values at all. If the state can espouse some value that we love, it can, with equal justice, espouse others we do not love.
~ Richard Mitchell

    Alabama Homeschooling

    state of alabama graphic Homeschooling in Alabama, at first glance, can appear to be difficult and onerous, given the fact that there is no actual homeschool law and that it is a requirement to enroll in a church school. Gosh, haven't the people here in Alabama heard of separation of church and state? Why do we have to mix religion (church schools) into how we can homeschool?

    It is the very fact that there is no legal definition of homeschooling that protects us from unnecessary state oversight. We enjoy the ability to homeschool through the separation of church and state principle, enabling us to homeschooling pretty much as we please without interference from the State of Alabama.

    In Alabama we are legally considered church schoolers, not homeschoolers. We enroll our children in a Church School, sometimes called a church cover school, a covering or an umbrella school. These church schools are not actual bricks and mortar schools, but a service offered to homeschoolers and often thought of as part of a church's mission to its members and/or community. And since there are so few rules set by the State to oversee church schools (both the bricks and mortar type and those offered as a service to homeschoolers), the church schools themselves are free to set their own rules and regulations as they deem necessary. And we are free to pick and choose amongst those church schools to find the one that best suits us. It might be that your family desires a church school that requires testing. Or one that requires its members to be of a particular religion. Or one that does not care at all about your religion (or lack thereof). Or one that requires monthly reporting. Or one that requires yearly reporting. Whatever your family's needs are, likely there is a church school that will work for you.

    If you don't find a church school that suits your needs and you belong to a church, you might consider asking your church to begin a church school for homeschoolers. Also, many people decide that since they home church, they will be their own church school. Over the past decade or so, more and more families are choosing the option of forming their own church school. If this is an option that appeals to you, I suggest you ask around on the various Alabama e-mail lists for others who are doing the same and talk with them. Know the Alabama laws governing church schools. Be prepared to defend your belief (in a court of law) that your home is your church. I don't say this to scare you, simply to urge you to be informed and knowledgeable. One never knows when the homeschooling climate might take a sudden change for the worse in Alabama and who might be the first to be a test case in the court systems. My guess is that it'll be the individual family church school rather than the large church-sponsored church schools. NOTE: In 2013 ALSDE (Alabama State Department of Education) proposed the creation of a Board of Non-public education and also created a handbook to provide "information pertaining to the establishment, creation, and licensing of all non-public schools operating in the state of Alabama." (I will be posting more information about the 2013 proposals soon on the LeapingFromTheBox.com blog.

    So, take your time. Follow the links here, read the laws, investigate several church schools, ask questions of the church school administrators/directors, ask questions of other homeschoolers to find out what they like and don't like about their particular church school, and then choose. And remember, the church school that fits your needs this year may not fit your needs two years from now and that is fine. It is not difficult to change church schools. Also, new church schools open all the time - no one site can possibly list them all. So ask around, join e-mail lists (see the e-lists directory), and see what's out there!

    Disclaimer: The information provided here is based upon my personal experience and those individuals I have come in contact with. In no way should any information on this site be considered legal advice. I urge everyone to familiarize themselves with the State of Alabama Education Code, to seek out other web sites pertaining to homeschooling, and talk to your own legal counsel. Do not rely solely upon what you find at any one site!


    Alabama Homeschool FAQs

    For more specifics about how we homeschool (church school) in Alabama.



    The Code of Alabama 1975

    Link to the State of Alabama Education Code that pertains to church schools. The best way to be informed is to read the code for yourself!



    Church School Directory for Alabama Homeschoolers

    Descriptions of many church schools offering services to Alabama homeschoolers. (If your church school is not listed here, please contact me!)



    Support Groups for Alabama Homeschoolers

    Descriptions of many Alabama homeschooling support groups. (If your support group is not listed here, please contact me!)



    Church School Questionnaire for Alabama homeschoolers

    A list of questions prospective homeschoolers can use when searching for a church school.



    Co-operatives for Alabama Homeschoolers

    Descriptions of many homeschool co-operatives in Alabama. (If your co-operative is not listed here, please contact me!)



    E-lists Directory

    Check the Alabama page for homeschool email lists, support groups, Facebook Groups, Associations, message boards, forums and newsletters. State groups and/or local groups can be a wonderful place of support in your homeschooling journey.



    SouthEast Law Institute

    Support the Southeast Law Institute (formerly The Rutherford Institute of Alabama, Inc.), a legal organization providing free legal and educational services in five areas of priority, two of which are 1)Defending individual religious freedoms; and 2)Protecting parental rights.





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Home Learning Year by Year
How to Design a Homeschool Curriculum from Preschool Through High School

by Rebecca Rupp
A structured plan to ensure that your children will learn what they need to know when they need to know it, from preschool through high school. Based on the traditional pre-K through 12th-grade structure.
Kindle Edition


Deschooling Gently
by Tammy Takahashi
Deschooling Gently will help you whether you are new to homeschooling, or if you are experienced, but are in need of new approaches. Discover the best way to educate your children at home, not through rote process, but by learning how to find the answer within yourself.
Kindle Edition


Christian Unschooling
Growing Your Children in the Freedom of Christ

by Teri J. Brown, Elissa M. Wahl
Utilizes the essays of Christian, unschooling parents from across the United States and Canada to reveal a new way of homeschooling-one that is respectful of the child, the parents and the way God created children to be.


Finding Joy
A Christian’s Journey To An Unschooled Life

by Julie A. Brow Planco
As we explore the scientific and educational evidence, the Bible, and anecdotes, we will discover together the joy and peace that God intends for us in our homeschool journey.


Homeschooling the Child with Autism
Answers to the Top Questions Parents and Professionals Ask

by Patricia Schetter, Kandis Lighthall
This practical, highly accessible guide answers parents' and professionals' questions about teaching children with autism spectrum disorders at home.



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