Now that you are finished with the notification form you are ready to send it to your school superintendent. Most homeschool families send their paperwork in 2 weeks before school begins.

If you live in a school district that says Local School District in the title, you must send it to the county board of education. For instance, Southwest Local School District would be sent to Hamilton County Board of Education. If the title of your school district includes the word city in it you send it to the city’s superintendent. If you lived in Mason City School District you would send it the Mason school superintendent. If you do not know call your local school; they will be glad to help you.

It is advisable to take a couple of precautions before mailing your paperwork. Make a copy of all of your paperwork that you submit to the school in the event that it is lost or misplaced. It has happened! Consider sending it registered mail with a receipt. This service costs about $6.00, but it is worth the peace of mind to me. Things get hectic at the superintendent’s office as school is beginning and if  your paperwork would happen to get misplaced you have proof that it was delivered and received.

I would also mail it instead of dropping it off at the superintendent office. I have had friends drop off paperwork and then not receive their excuse from compulsory education.  As I stated previously, things are pretty crazy in August and paperwork could accidentally be misplaced. The school has ten business days to respond to your notification paperwork upon receipt. After that, it is assumed your student has been excused. I personally would not feel comfortable without receiving something in writing. If this happens to you call the office to inquire about it.

Once you receive your excusal letter make a copy once you receive it. Doing this is for a number of reasons.  First of all, I feel “official”! Second, in Cincinnati we have all kinds of perks for home schooling and the letter proves we are educators. Our library system has a teacher collection card and we can use our letter to also get this special card. Many places of business offer teacher discounts on books and educational supplies so your letter will act as proof of that for you. Last, if your student happens to be out during school hours  (babysitting, a part-time job, etc.) and is questioned by a police officer they can show the excusal letter. This never happened to my children, but I’d err on the side of caution.

Mail that paperwork in with confidence and have a great year!