Hi, welcome to South Bay Homeschool Guide.
A free, sourced guide for South Bay parents
South Bay Homeschool Guide
South Bay Homeschool Guide is a living guide to homeschooling in the South Bay: one place for the routes, requirements, and local programs that are usually scattered across a dozen Facebook groups, forums, and word of mouth.
I'm a South Bay mom homeschooling for the first time. When I started looking into it, I couldn't find anything that pulled the pieces together, and I didn't really know what I needed or where to go. So I'm documenting my own journey here, checking each fact and dating it, in case it helps other families doing this same search, now or down the road.
Last updated
The short version
You're not required to join a charter to homeschool in California, and school isn't compulsory until age six. Most South Bay families choose one of three routes: filing their own private school affidavit (free, total curriculum freedom), joining a private school satellite program, or enrolling in a public charter's independent study program, which provides curriculum funds but requires secular materials. South Bay Homeschool Guide lists the charters, satellite programs and enrichment programs available to South Bay families, with ages, costs and contact details, each dated and sourced.
I'm just starting
What homeschooling in the South Bay actually looks like, and what to worry about first.
Compare my options
Every legal pathway, side by side: cost, curriculum freedom, and paperwork.
Find programs near me
Charters, satellite programs, district independent study, and enrichment near the South Bay.
Next deadline
Enrollment windows vary by program, so see each program's page in thedirectory for its current window, andkey dates for a South Bay wide calendar.
Hear when South Bay community events start
Plus major updates to this guide. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.