HomeschoolCPA - Can I homeschool other children?

About

I am a homeschooling mother and Certified Public Accountant (CPA) combining my experience and knowledge to help homeschool organizations such as co-ops, support groups, music and sports programs. HomeschoolCPA answers questions from homeschool leaders on many topics such as nonprofit status, liability, paying teachers, tax exempt status and taxes.

My New Book

HomeschoolCo-ops.com to read a sample chapter

Recent Posts

Will getting an EIN put us on the IRS's radar?
Tips for newbies to Homeschool Co-ops
Homeschool group avoids IRS tax notices
Starting a homeschool conference
Carnival of Homeschooling: Labor Day!
I'm Hosting the Carnival of Homechooling Next Week
Amazon Search Inside is so cool!
What is the benefit of non-profit incorporation?
A Homeschool Building
Insurance for a homeschool sports program
Homeschool group part of church ministry. Any problems?
Pros and Cons of Homeschool Co-ops

Newsletter

Email This Blog

7:57 AM, Jun. 17, 2008

Can I homeschool other children?

(view similar articles on Home Based Businesses)

I am frequently asked, "Can I homeschool other children?"

Carol,

I’m in Texas. Can I homeschool other children in my home? It might be one or two classes. For instance, I’m a certified Math teacher. Could I be the math teacher for other children and then be paid as an IC (Independent Contractor) by the parents if I determine the curricula and completely control what I would be doing?

I’ve been prayerfully considering if I should continue on as a Mary Kay Sales Director or try to find other stay at home pay that might integrate in with my homeschooling better. I have had several people approach me about “tutoring” their children. Unfortunately, we depend on my income so I have to find some way to work but still be effective in my homeschooling.
Any advice would be helpful.
Deborah

Deborah,
You can certainly homeschool or tutor other children. You would be an Independent Contractor as you mentioned and actually be running a small home-based business. There is a lady here in Cincinnati that's been doing what you describe for years. She is excellent at teaching math, prefers to do it from her home and is very much in demand!

Whenever you make a "career shift" it's recommended to take it in small steps. In other words, don't quit your day job (Mary Kay in your case). Perhaps you'd be wise to teach only one class to see how you like it first and to see if you can manage both jobs (MK and tutoring). Do a cost-benefit analysis after a few months. Is the tutoring paying off? Is the cost of your time worth what you are making in income? Where is your time best spent? Is tutoring too disruptive to your family?

You might also want to visit my Tax and Small Business Accounting website www.CarolToppCPA.com where you'll find a Small Business Start Up Guide and other articles on working from home.

Best of success to you and your endeavors!

Carol

View Comments (2)

Add Comment

Permanent Link

EMail A Link To This Article To A Friend

Teaching Others' Children

I work with the Texas Home School Coalition (www.thsc.org), the state support organization. I agree with Carol's answer, but I would like to add a bit to it. The laws about this vary from state to state. In Texas, yes, parents or guardians may give permission for another to teach their child. Home schools in Texas have been determined by the Texas Supreme Court to be non-accredited private schools. Private schools are not regulated by the state of Texas. There are no requirements such as teacher certification or curriculum approval. The ruling of the Leeper case states that a parent “or one standing in parental authority” may educate a child. However, if a person is teaching more than three students outside their family for more than two days a week, they may encounter problems with local zoning ordinances (Another option might be to have your classes meet in a church or some other place besides your home.), and/or the state may require that they be licensed for childcare.

Posted by Lyndsay Lambert on Jun. 20, 2008 at 10:32 AM

Link

States vary

Thank you Lyndsay for the insight into TX homeschool law about teaching other children. You are correct that state homeschool laws vary. I was mostly thinking with my "tax preparer" mindset and not my homeschool mindset.

Here in Ohio, our notification form asks us to list "persons teaching the child if other than parent". The guideline from our support group has been that more than 50% of instruction time from another person should be on the notification form. Even though my daughters receive instruction from our homeschool co-op teachers, I do not list those teachers on my Ohio notification because most of their instruction is still supervised by me in our home.

People wishing to instruct other children should be aware of what their state requirements are for homeschool notification and tutor qualifications.

Posted by HomeschoolCPA on Jun. 20, 2008 at 3:46 PM

Link

Back

Next
Currently viewing page 21 of 218

For a list of all articles, please visit the archives.

Helping homeschool organizations obtain non-profit status