The Homeschool Laws You Need to Know

Inform yourself of the homeschool laws with the help of our organization based in Woodland Hills, California. California Homeschooling Now is committed to helping your learn about and follow the California homeschool laws so you can continue to give your family the education they deserve. The following is an informative lesson on how to fill out the Private School Affidavit required to homeschool.

The Private School Affidavit
The Private School Affidavit (PSA), which must be filed between October 1st and 15th of the school year, can be found at the California Department of Education Website. If you do not have Internet access, you can obtain the hard copy of the affidavit by writing to the CDE personally.

Figuring Out the PSA
It will be easy for parents to get hung up on some of the terminology and implications set forth in the PSA—but don’t. For instance, in Question #2, unless you are a commercially active private school, which is not a homeschooling family, you will not have a CDS code, so leave the answer blank.

Putting Down Your School Name
If your name is Smith and you call your school “Smith Academy,” there may be 5 or 10 other “Smith Academies” throughout the state. That is not a problem, either. You can choose a school name that is humorous or original or one that is simply utilitarian. Remember that it will appear on your self-generated transcripts, diplomas, and any other official documents you may someday have to provide, so you may want to avoid something completely foolish or tongue-in-cheek.

A Walkthrough for Filling Out the Affidavit
For the Address: Put Down Your Street Address—Not a PO Box or PMB
Question #12: Put Co-Educational
Question #13: Put Day Only
Question #14: For “Special Education,” Answer “No”
Question #17: If You Answer “Religious,” a Drop-Down Menu Will Offer
Denominational Choices, Including No Denomination.
Marking This Does Not Affect Anything.
Questions #26 – #36: Put Yourself or Your Spouse as Administrator and Yourself as Principal and One of You as the Custodian of Records, However You Wish to Do So.
Question #40 You Will Probably Check Off “None of the Above.”
Questions #41 – #51: Are Required to be Read and Checked by You Verifying Your Acknowledgement of Your Understanding of the Requirements Discussed.

Once you finish the affidavit, you just need to cut and paste it to your desktop or print it out for your records and then e-mail it to the address shown. You will receive an automated confirmation of receipt to the e-mail address you place in question #8. If you lack Internet access, you can call the CDE at (916) 319-0800 and verify the procedure for filing the Affidavit non-electronically. Let us be the first to welcome you to California homeschooling!