Quick Start - Florida School Choice Options

Personalized Education or Homeschooling is legal in every state. However, there are different rules depending on the state you are in. Families of Faith Christian Academy International has its main campus in Lakeland Florida, so we focus on the rules for Florida, which are detailed briefly here and in more detail down the page and via the links on the sidebar.

Even if you are not from Florida, hopefully you will find much of the information on this website about curriculum and the options for enrolling in FOFCAI helpful, so feel free to use the rest of the website in your research for the best options for your students. If you are not from Florida, you definitely want to check the rules from your state. The best source for that is Home School Legal Defense Association. HSLDA

Educational Choice Options (Other than Public School)

• 

  Home Education Program.

  There are six requirements or steps.
  County registered homeschoolers can use the Family Empowerment Scholarship for Unique Abilites (FES-UA) if they qualify.

  

  Private School (Two School Types)

  This would include private schools that offer a Full-time campus program, Part-time or Blended Classes, Distance Learning and or Virtual options like FOFCAI.

  

  Personalized Educational Program.

  This is the new program option that goes into effect on July 1, 2023 and inclues an Education Savings Account (ESA) scholarship.

  

  Private Tutoring

  Must be with a Florida Certified Teacher.

  Refer to the side bar for links providing details on each option above as well as Scholarship Options.

  Details on how the options above meet the "Regular School Attendance" Requirement for Florida are provided below.

  School Attendance Requirement

  Florida Statute (F.S.) f.s 1003.21 School Attendance.
  (1)(a)1. All children who have attained the age of 6 years or who will have attained the age of 6 years by February 1 of any school year or who are older than 6 years of age but who have not attained the age of 16 years, except as otherwise provided, are required to attend school regularly during the entire school term.

  Florida has five options for meeting the "Regular School Attendance" Requirement that are detailed in Florida Statute (F.S.) f.s 1003.01(13) below. NOTE: Option (b) and (c) below were combined in the "Private School" listing above because for purposes of the Florida scholarships they are grouped together in all other statutes. (Comments inside of Parentheses are for clarification, and not part of the language in the statute.)
  
  f.s. 1003.01(13) "Regular school attendance” means the actual attendance of a student during the school day as defined by law and the rules of the State Board of Education. Regular attendance within the intent of s. 1003.21 may be achieved by attendance in:"      

• (a) A public school supported by public funds; (This includes Charter Schools and full-time enrollment in the Florida Virtual School (FLVS), which are defined as public schools in Florida statutes.)      
• (b) A parochial, religious, or denominational school; (Examples would incude, but is not limited to a Cathotic School.)      
• (c) A private school supported in whole or in part by tuition charges or by endowments or gifts; (This would be a private school that is not a part of a specific church, and can be a traditional five-day a week campus program, and/ or allows home-based students and/ or offers a virtual program.)      
• (d) A home education program that meets the requirements of chapter 1002; or (This would be a student that is registered with the local school district as a homeschooler. For complete details on this option, refer to Homeschooling Details on this website. )      
• (e) A private tutoring program that meets the requirements of chapter 1002 or (contracting with a Florida Certified Teacher to provide the required instruction. There are currently no scholarships connected with this legal option.)

Options for "Home-Based Education" in Florida:




Homeschooling under the Florida Homeschool Statute:

There are six requirements under the Florida "homeschooling statute", which are covered in more detail on the Homeschooling page.
NOTE: This option will qualify for the new "Personalized Educational Program or PEP as part of the Family Empowerment Scholarship (FES) based on the passing of House Bill #1, which goes into effect on July 1st, 2023. However, for the 2023-2024 school term, it is limited to just 10,000 scholarships.
     

• File a Notice of Intent to Homeschool.      
• Maintain a Portfolio of Records.      
• Make the portfolio available for inspection upon a 15-day notice.      
• Submit an Annual Evaluation for each student.      
• Preserve your child's portfolio for two years.      
• File a Notice of Termination when you stop homeschooling, move or transfer to a school.



Enrollment In a Private School:

In Florida, most students and families know about the Florida Virtual School (FLVS), which is a Florida public school. Full-time students enrolled in FLVS do their school work from home, but are not "homeschoolers"; they are public school students. The same is true for students enrolled in Families of Faith Christian Academy International (FOFCAI). They are private school students, even if they complete some or all their course work at home.

Many private schools only offer a full-time on campus option, but many schools like FOFCAI provide additional choices,  including but not limited to:      

• Full-time attendance in a classoom or Learning Center.      
• Part-time attendance in a classroom, which we call Blended Classes.      
• Home-based under the direction of his or her parent.      
• Virtual On-line Program.
NOTE: Many families choose to enroll in an accredited private school like FOFCAI (instead of registering with the county as a homeschooler) for the guidance and official record keeping and eventual high school graduation. But it should be noted that FOFCAI also allows county registered homeschoolers and students on the Personalized Education Program to participate in any of our programs.

Private Tutoring Program:



Regular school attendance may be achieved by attendance in a private tutoring program if the person tutoring the student holds a valid Florida certificate and meets some additional documentation requirements.

This is not a commonly used option, in part, because the family must provide all of the costs of the hiring of a private tutor. However, students that are County Registered Homeschoolers and who qualify for the Family Empowerment Scholarhip with Unique Abilities, or the new Personalized Educational Program, they can use their education savings account to pay for the tutor.

What do I do on Monday?




FOFCAI - Choose the Components that Meet Your Need

Components refers to a sub-part of a program or a stand alone option that can be added to a program or taken individually. A way to add color and variety to your schooling choices.

Blended Options refers to an educational plan where parts of more than one option are combined. Here are some examples:
Student A is enrolled in FOFCAI under the Distance Learning Program (Parent Directed - School Verified) where he does his school work at home and mom and dad are the teachers. But Mom prefers that he attend the College Prep English class that meets two days a week with a live instructor. (We call that a "Blended" class.)
Student B is an 8th grader and is a county registered homeschooler. Although she is not enrolled in FOFCAI, she uses the Videos On-Demand Component to watch math lessons during the day, just like a regular student, then Dad helps her with her homework when he gets home, as needed.
There are dozens of combinations depending on the needs of an individual student.
For additional examples and listings of current options, go to the Blended Components page Here . .

Curriculum

Here is where the fun begins. The answer to "What do I do on Monday?" depends on the curriculum that is chosen, and there are lots of quality choices.
Traditional Textbooks designed for a classroom,
Self-Paced Curriculum, most often a series of workbooks,
Specialized Curriculum designed with "Homeschoolers" in mind,
Virtual or On-line must be added to the list, of course.

With all of the choices, how am I to find the "Right" curriculum for my student?

The reviews on this website are not a complete listing of every acceptable curriculum, but they are a listing of those products that have been used with success by us personally or by our families, and have been verified to meet national standards for required content. This  starts with a discussion of curriculum types and the students that do well with them, and continues to a Publisher List with links to a review of each publisher. You many not find the "Right" curriculum the first time out, but you will find quality.

Support Groups

Some of the support comes from a national group like Home School Legal Defense. (HSLSA) Then there are statewide groups that often are the best source for a Home School Curriculum Convention, like the Florida Parent Educators Association. (FPEA) But the most direct support comes from a local Co-op (or Blended Component) or Support Group like HOPE Homeschoolers or Lighthouse Homeschoolers in Lakeland, Florida. No Homeschool Support Page is ever really complete, as groups start all the time, but here is a list to get you started.

If you are a member of the leadership of a support group and would like to be listed, just contact the office at the email address listed in the footer, and we will add you to the list.