Homeschool Basics
For more information about homeschool requirements, you can visit the Illinois State Board of Education at https://www.isbe.net/pages/homeschool.aspx
Illinois State Homeschool Requirements
Illinois Annotated Code Section 26-1:
"Any child attending a private or a parochial school where children are taught the branches of education taught to children of corresponding age and grade in the public schools, and where the instruction of the child in the branches of education is in the English language" is in compliance with the Illinois compulsory attendance law and is therefore not truant.
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According to People vs. Levisen, a homeschool is a private school if it does those things that private schools are required to do.
Academic
Requirements
None, other than you must teach those branches of education taught to children of corresponding age and grade in the public schools and in the English language.
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Mount Sinai Academy teaches ages 8-10 (grades 3-5) in English.
Subjects
The topics required to be taught at any school in Illinois (Section 27-22) are the following:
1. Language Arts
2. Mathematics
3. Biological and Physical Science
4. Social Studies
5. Fine Arts
6. Physical Development & Health.
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Mount Sinai Academy teaches all subjects stated above, in addition to teaching Bible and Latin classes.
Attendance
Students in Illinois (105 ILCS 5/26-1) must begin school by age 6 and attend* school until age 17, unless they have already graduated high school.
*Attendance does NOT mean sitting at a desk for five hours. Homeschooling, by its very nature, incorporates a wide variety of experiences.
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Mount Sinai Academy students range between the ages of 8 to 10. Students will learn in both a private school and home setting.
School Days
There are no mandated numbers of hours per day or days per year of attendance for private schools in Illinois.
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Mount Sinai Academy does it's best to reflect the school year schedule of local school districts. Our first day of school is in mid-August and our last day of school is towards the end of May. We observe a Thanksgiving break, Winter break, and Spring break.
Teacher Certification
Only public school teachers must be certified in Illinois (Section 21-1)
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Mount Sinai Academy is instructed by lead teacher, Miss Hope. Miss Hope has a bachelors degree in Elementary Education from George Fox University. She is an Illinois certified teacher with endorsements in English as a Second Language, Mid-Level Mathematics, and Mid-Level Science. She is also a published mathematics researcher specializing in children's thinking about negative integers.
Standardized Testing
There are no standardized testing requirements for private/homeschool programs.
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Mount Sinai Academy will administer the Classical Learning Test for students in each grade level at the end of each school year. Individual student reports will provide parents with information regarding their students (1) score for verbal reasoning & quantitative reasoning, (2) national percentile for verbal reasoning & quantitative reasoning, and (3) lexile & quantile measures.
Registration of School with the State
Illinois does not require any private/homeschool programs to be recognized by or register with the state.
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Mount Sinai Academy is defined as a private school under Illinois statute.
Graduation Requirements
Each Illinois private school develops their own and gives their own graduation diploma. For reference, State of Illinois graduation requirements can be found at: http://www.isbe.net/news/pdf/grad_require.pdf.
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Mount Sinai Academy instructs students in 3rd-5th grade and therefore does become involved with any such graduation credits or diploma distribution.
