Home Study
If you are thinking of homeschooling your child, there are many choices. You can elect to work with one complete curriculum or you can blend a variety of curricula to meet your child's needs.
Once your plan is developed, complete the Home Study Educational Plan. It must be submitted when initially registering or reregistering with NDSP.
Please refer to the:
- FAQs
- Home Study DSSR Allowance
- Home Study Allowable/Non-Allowable Expenses
- Home Study Payments and Reimbursements
The tabs below explain Home Study in detail as an educational option in NDSP.
- Home Study Educational option refers to an age/grade appropriate complete academic program that uses virtual school, home school, private instruction or combination thereof.
- Reimbursements are limited to items, directly aligned to the chosen curriculum which do not have a broader use other than the course being studied and are normally provided at no cost by public schools in the District of Columbia, or one of the adjacent counties in Maryland or Virginia (hereafter referred to as the DMV).
- Become aware of and comply with the country requirements for home-based education. Some countries do not allow home-based education. The sponsor can contact the JAG office or legal counsel on base for more information.
- Select a home study educational program.
- Complete the Home Study Educational Plan and submit when initially registering with NDSP or re-registering in NDSP. The Plan is proof of adequacy of the educational curriculum and should contain the name or names of all curricula/programs used. If the sponsor is blending a variety of curricula, the sponsor needs to certify that the programs being used are in compliance with a state. Materials should support objectives and curricula in the plan. If outside group lessons are being used for art, music, or physical education (P.E.), the sponsor should also note "group lesson" on the plan.
- Enroll in NDSP by registering online through Student Online Registration (SOR) and submit your Home Study Education Plan.
General
Parents should be mindful of purchasing only one program to meet educational requirements for a particular content area (e.g., for a foreign language instruction, choose a local group class OR homeschool curriculum OR a specific virtual school, but not all three).
Note: Parents may not mix educational options by utilizing a tuition charging school at post and homeschooling.
Electives
For art, music, and P.E., parents may seek out group lessons in the community. Group lessons are lessons already established in the community for groups of children. No private lessons are authorized. For K-6, a maximum of 2 hours a week per subject area may be utilized for P.E., music or art. For grades 7-12, up to 4 hours a week can be utilized per subject area for P.E., music or art.
Review the Virtual Education document to learn more about virtual learning. Online courses can be used as a stand-alone curriculum, as part of a home study program.