Office Location

The High Desert ESD Homeschool office is located at 2804 SW 6th Street in Redmond. To ensure we are here to properly serve your needs, please call us at 541-693-5656.

Age to Enroll in Homeschool

To comply with the compulsory school attendance law, parents of students between the ages of six (6) and eighteen (18) must notify their local Education Service District (ESD) of their intent to homeschool within 10 days of beginning to homeschool or withdrawing their child from school or moving to a new region.
A parent whose child is six (6) years old or older on or before September 1, and who is to be homeschooled, must notify High Desert ESD of their intent to homeschool their child within 10 days of beginning to homeschool or moving to the High Desert ESD region. You may register your child at five (5) years of age in preparation for your child’s sixth (6th) birthday.
Although a child may be home schooled at any time, it is not necessary to notify High Desert ESD until the beginning of the school year following the child’s sixth (6th) birthday.

How to Enroll

Withdraw student from the public or private school they are currently attending. Students must be enrolled as a homeschool student within ten (10) days of being withdrawn from public or private school.
File a Notification of Intent to Homeschool form in writing with High Desert ESD. The form may be emailed to homeschool@hdesd.org or mailed to High Desert ESD, Attention: Homeschool Office, 2804 SW 6th St, Redmond, OR 97756.
When High Desert ESD receives the Notification of Intent to Homeschool, you will receive a confirmation letter via mail for your records.
SUCCESS! The student is now enrolled in homeschool!
You do NOT need to notify the ESD of enrollment each year but we do ask that you notify us if you move from the area or the student returns to public school so that we can keep our records up to date.

State Requirements

The passage of House Bill 3013 during the 1999 Legislative Session dramatically changed the laws relating to homeschool. High Desert ESD has now adopted and implemented the resulting administrative rules. For Oregon guidelines for homeschooling, questions and answers please contact the Oregon Department of Education. Being that we are the registering agency for the Oregon Department of Education, information on students must be current and correct. Failure to inform our office of changes in address will result in removal from our rolls, and may cause a student to be non-compliant to the Oregon Administrative Rules.

Online Charter Schools

A number of accredited online public charter schools are available for students in the state. If the student is enrolled in one of these programs, they are NOT homeschooled students, they are public school students being educated at home. For more information, visit the Oregon Department of Education website at www.ode.state.or.us.

Testing

Under Oregon Law (ORS 330.035), all students who are homeschooled are required to test at the end of grades 3, 5, 8, and 10, with two exceptions:

Students participating in interscholastic activities are required to test annually. Guidelines and rules can be found on the OSAA web site at: www.osaa.org.
Students with disabilities, and an IEP or a PDP that indicates methods other than testing should be used to indicate satisfactory progress.

Testing for homeschool students is administered by independent test examiners. The cost of testing is the responsibility of the family. For information on local testers, visit the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) web site for a list of names and contact information. The High Desert ESD requests that copies of test results be sent to our office by September 30th of the scheduled testing year.

COCC High School Options & GED Option Programs

Central Oregon Community College (COCC) offers options for high school students to take college classes while in high school.

Students under the age of 18 who are being homeschooled and want to receive their GED must contact the High Desert ESD in order to receive the proper paperwork which will allow the student to take the GED tests. Homeschooled students in Oregon are eligible to participate in the Central Oregon Community College GED Option Program if:

They are at least 16 years of age.
They have an independent reading level (in English or Spanish) at the 8th grade level or above.
It has been determined that the GED option program is the most appropriate available at this time.
Have completed the appropriate homeschool testing as stated in OAR 581-021-0026(5).

School District Contacts:

Bend-La Pine School District – Bend-La Pine Schools Online
Crook County School District – Grizzly Mountain Homelink
Redmond School District – RSD Flex
Sisters School District – Sisters Online School
Central Oregon Community College GED Testing

Helpful Links and Resources:

High Desert ESD does not endorse the following resources. Resources are provided for your information only. Parents have full responsibility and freedom to design their student’s education.

Oregon Home Education Network
Homeschooling in Oregon
College SAT Information & Registration (Homeschool code is 970000)
Homeschool.com
Time4Learning
Onlineschools.org
College Counseling
All Schools Consulting
Homeschool Room Ideas: How to Set up a Homeschool Space