Do I Need to Use an Accredited Homeschool Program?
With the slow but steady growth of homeschooling across the United States comes a parallel growth in online, distance learning programs and schools. While many parents continue to provide independent, customized instruction to their children, others seek “enrolled homeschooling”—that which provides teacher-guided instruction, report cards/transcripts/credits, and other familiar elements of traditional education.
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Choosing a provider for this type of schooling naturally leads to an increase in questions about accreditation: what is it exactly, and how does it pertain to homeschooling?
Accreditation in Brief
Briefly, accreditation of schools in the US means that an outside agency has reviewed a school based on a given set of standards, and certified that the school meets or exceeds those standards. This is not a one-time action, but requires periodic review and renewal in order to maintain this “seal of approval.”
Over one hundred years ago, the accreditation process was created to help high schools across the country standardize some courses and graduation requirements for college preparedness. Six regional agencies were set up for this purpose, and over time they expanded to include all levels of education: primary (K-8), secondary (9-12) and tertiary (college and university).
Some states continue to use regional accreditation through a consolidated group called AdvanceEd; others use their own state department of education to evaluate their K-12 public schools. Over time, this voluntary process became desirable, since it was seen as a way to build and maintain a credible reputation. This led to vocational programs – nursing, cosmetology, industrial, etc – wanting a similar system for quality assurance, and today there are about a dozen national accreditors based on specialty.
Get the Facts About Homeschooling High School
- College-Bound Course Planning for Homeschooling High School
- All About Homeschool Transcripts (and a Free Template)
- Do Homeschoolers Need a Diploma?
- Using an Online Homeschool Program for High School
- Do You Need to Use an Acredited Homeschool Program?
- Bad News/Good News of Starting Homeschooling in High School
- Resources for Homeschooling High School When Mom’s Not the Expert
- Homeschooling High School When Your Child is College Bound
- Homeschooling High School When Your Child is NOT College Bound
With the rise of online, distance learning programs for all grade levels comes a relatively new cottage industry of unofficial accrediting agencies. Shockingly, there are over 50 accrediting agencies of dubious nature in the US alone, designed primarily to support so-called “diploma mills.”
How Does Accreditation Relate to Homeschooling?
In a nutshell: Homeschool accreditation is not required.
No state requires that a homeschool program, curriculum, or diploma be accredited. Most institutions of higher learning do not require this either, although there may be exceptions by individual institutions or programs; and of course schools may change their requirements at any time.
Many families come to homeschooling from the public school system. As a result, they are asking questions based on a public school frame of reference, such as “How do I find an accredited homeschool program?” A better question to ask is, “Do I need to use an accredited homeschool program?” The answer is generally no.
Why Might a Homeschooler Want to use an Accredited Homeschool Program?
- The number of distance learning programs for all grade levels has grown so great that it’s hard to know how to choose. So while accreditation does not guarantee quality, it does provide assurance that there is oversight and adherence to standards. Some parents receive peace of mind knowing that they’ve invested in a program that has been reviewed and approved by an accrediting agency.
- If there is a likelihood that your student will return to public high school, then the transfer of recognized course credit becomes an important matter. Your state may have a list of recognized distance learning providers; any coursework completed with one on the list should transfer easily to public school.
- If your high schooler intends to pursue NCAA sports in college, more extensive documentation becomes necessary, and some families may find it easier to use an online or virtual school (which may or may not be accredited) and be evaluated as a nontraditional program rather than a homeschool program. Be sure to go directly to the source for updated information on NCAA requirements: http://www.ncaa.org/student-athletes/future/home-school-students
What’s missing from this very short list? Acceptance to community colleges, trade schools, the military, employment, and colleges/universities generally.
In years past, this was not always the case. For example, up until 2012, a high schooler interested in joining the military upon graduation would have been advised to earn an accredited diploma, since it was more readily accepted by military recruiters than parent-issued diplomas. New policies went into effect in 2012 that recognize the parent-issued diploma as the standard for enlistment in all branches of service.
Likewise, many vocational schools unfamiliar with homeschool laws have sometimes denied enrollment to a homeschooled student who does not hold an accredited diploma or a GED. These cases are usually based on erroneous assumptions, not on fact; and while frustrating to deal with, are usually resolved in favor of the homeschooled student based on state law.
Regarding employment: a prospective employer may ask if a distance learning program is accredited, and may see it favorably since it rules out the possibility of it being a “diploma mill”, but again, there is nothing in state or federal law that requires such accreditation.
Lastly, regarding colleges/universities: over the past several decades, it has actually been easier for a homeschooled graduate to gain acceptance to these than to vocational schools or military enlistment. In part, the latter two have dealt more with applicants who did not complete high school. Colleges/universities have a wide array of factors to evaluate for student admission: coursework, standardized test scores, letters of reference, written essays, personal interview, etc.; thus having an accredited diploma was not required.
How do I Find an Accredited Homeschool Program?
With the rise of online, distance learning programs for all grade levels comes a cottage industry of unofficial accrediting agencies. Make sure that the accreditation you see for a particular online school comes from a legitimate agency. The best choice is the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), which up until 2015 was known as the Distance Education & Training Council (DETC). https://www.deac.org/ Enter the name of a program you’re considering, or search the entire list. This will also help you to avoid the 50-plus dubious accrediting agencies and all the online schools they promote, thus saving your time and sanity.
Accreditation for homeschoolers applies mostly to those in very specific situations like potentially returning to public high school, and even that is only in certain localities. For the rest, accreditation is a nice-to-have, not a must-have.
Bravo! I’ve tried, almost in vain, to explain this to homeschool families for years. You did an excellent job in this article.
Hello,
Does accreditation only matter for high school? I want to start homeschooling my 2nd grader but I cannot tell if it matters before high school.
Hi Amy – Accreditation absolutely doesn’t matter for 2nd grade. As Karen mentions in the post, there are only certain circumstances in which in matters for high school. Best wishes on your homeschool journey!
If a homeschool organization wanted to be accredited, is there an agency that does that? I can’t find anything on where to go for that.
I’m not aware of any accreditation that exists for homeschool organizations. If your organization has a private school or is considering operating a private school, you would need to research accrediting agencies for private schools.
Typically, curriculum and organizations are not accredited; public and private schools are eligible for accreditation. Accrediting agencies vary and may be specific to Christian schools, online schools, private schools, or public schools. Some accrediting agencies, such as the Regionals, are considered the gold standard for certain kinds of schools. Some accrediting agencies are themselves of questionable reputation. Accreditation can be a mixed bag, even though some parents don’t understand this and may see accreditation as a “seal of approval.”
Jeanne
I want to thank you for all of this information. It is my first year homeschooling my two girls and I’ve worried about accredidation as well. Even though I’m teaching 8th and 6th grade, we know at least my oldest wants to go to college. I didn’t want to hurt her chances by not using an accedited curriculum. I use all curriculum except English which I want to use a website for. myepassignments. This site has an entire curriculum, but we have already been working through our purchased books for this year. We didn’t like the English and I looked elsewhere and came upon the easy peasy homeschool website. I believe it is more in depth than they would get in the school setting. As long as I keep records, will I need anything else to prove the learning online? This is the only online course I use. The other courses are through text books with online assistance to help with the lessons if needed.
Robyn, colleges have accepted thousands of homeschool students who do not use accredited programs. It’s just not an issue. (And keep in mind that many public high schools are not accredited but have graduates who go on to college, too).
What you do want is a transcript that shows credits for work done at home and outside evidence that your child is prepared for college work. Students seeking admission at age 18 right after high school (without community college) will probably need SAT or ACT scores, though this changing at many colleges. Students who transfer from community college may or may not need those test scores, sometimes even depending on the specific major or “school” within a college or university. Individual colleges can set their own standards for homeschoolers, and some have additional requirements for them, such as SAT II subject area tests or course descriptions to go with (or as part of) the transcript. I suggest you check some potential college websites to give you some ideas, maybe institutions that are public, private, in-state, and out-of-state. Search for homeschool admission. Many colleges also have a designated admissions representative who works just with homeschoolers, and you can direct your questions to them. There is no substitute for finding out directly from the colleges what they require. That said, it’s almost never accredited classes. You can choose whatever curriculum or method of learning that you want, and homeschoolers using all approaches to education have gone on to college.
Your girls are fortunate to have you thinking ahead on their behalf.
Looking forward,
Jeanne
Thank you. One quick question about the site. The students next lesson suddenly went back to one and I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get back to lesson 8. Help?
Thank you
Hi Robyn,
We can’t provide support for other websites, but hopefully they will be responsive if you contact them through their contact options.
All the best,
Mary Ann
Hi, My name is Dawn. My son and reside in Colorado. Upon looking up the CO Homeschool laws, I read this :
Homeschooling falls under non-public education and is not accredited by the Colorado Department of Education or a local school district –
Will you please help me make sense of that information?
Also per CO HS Laws, I have to file intend to HS days prior to starting. What happens if I file and do not wait the fourteen days?
Thank you for time,
Dawn
Dawn, we do not provide interpretations of state laws, since legal requirements to homeschool are different in all fifty states. Please contact your local and state homeschool support organization for state-specific information.
Typically, statements about accreditation are intended to be a type of “full disclosure” from school divisions and state departments of education. That’s so that parents don’t think that just because they are letting education officials know about homeschooling, their homeschooling is some kind of officially endorsed education. Ask homeschool advocates in your state to be clear.
Jeanne
Hi, my name is Robert, our son recently decided after attending our local high school for 4 weeks, he wanted to be homeschooled. We only had the weekend to get all necessary paperwork together and into the school by Monday, so we decided to go with Penn Foster Online High School. My question is, after joining because of recommendation by other parents in our local area, we have now found after doing research there is a short list of colleges who will accept this as a high-school diploma. Mary Washington University is the college our son wishes to attend, but it is not on the list. What do we do now that we’ve already joined and started paying for this program in order to show this college or any college our son has a high school diploma? Thank you, Robert.
Hi Robert – It sounds like you have worked hard to make sure that your son has the best opportunities available to him. Like most parents unfamiliar with how homeschooling is dealt with in college admissions, you may not be aware that most colleges, UMW among them, do not require a diploma from a physical or online school from their homeschooled applicants. The student is evaluated as a graduate of a homeschool, not of an institution.
Parents are the administrators in a homeschool, and students do not need to be limited to online schools or colleges that accept diplomas from those schools. The beauty of homeschooling is in its flexibility, and colleges recognize that. Homeschoolers who have never enrolled in any kind of distance learning program are accepted into colleges every year using parent-created homeschool transcripts. You may find the following posts on TheHomeSchoolMom helpful in understanding the relationship between homeschooling and college admissions:
College Admission Requirements for Homeschoolers
How to Create Homeschool Transcripts
Outside Evidence and College Admissions
Homeschooling High School
UMW has an admissions officer who deals almost exclusively with homeschoolers; you can find her contact information here. If you have any questions after reading through the information I linked above, I recommend reaching out to her to see what UMW likes to see from homeschoolers and incorporate that into your plans for your son’s high school courses and activities.
Best wishes to you and your son as he homeschools high school.