Tutoring

Parents with a valid teaching credential can act as tutors for their children, or parents may employ a credentialed teacher. However, tutors and parents who choose to tutor their own children must fulfill all of the requirements of §48224:

• The tutor must have a valid and current California state credential appropriate to the grade level of the child or children being taught.
  This means that a parent with an elementary credential will not meet the legal requirement for tutoring his or her high school student; nor will a parent with an outdated elementary credential meet the legal requirement for tutoring his or her elementary students. Parents in these situations should find some other way to comply with the law.
• Children must be instructed in study and recitation. The definition of "study and recitation" has not been given, but quite possibly would not include someone with an unschooling style of instruction.
• Children must be instructed for at least 3 hours per day.
• Children must be instructed for 175 days each calendar year.
• Instruction must be offered between the hours of 8 o'clock a.m. and 4 o'clock p.m.
• Instruction must be in English.
• Instruction must include the branches of study required to be taught in California public schools (see §§51210, 51220, 51220.5, and 51221)

Tutors are not required to file with the county or state or to keep attendance records. However, we strongly recommend that they keep sufficient records to show that they have met the requirements of §48224 listed above. This would mean maintaining attendance records of the days and hours of study, a record of the course of study, and evidence that the tutor is certified for the grade level of the student or students being taught.

Many credentialed teachers who homeschool their children establish private schools instead of tutoring their children because of these restrictive requirements and because certain benefits may be available to private school students, but not to tutored students (for example, concurrent enrollment in community colleges). Still, the tutoring option gives credentialed teachers another avenue to consider when choosing the best homeschooling option for their families.