Homeschool Co-op Rules: Put Them in a Family Handbook¶

A family handbook puts your co-op's rules where every family can read them before the first class day: drop-off, who teaches what, fees, and what happens when a teaching parent is out. Families sign it once a year, and the group chat stops being the rulebook.

That is the whole idea. The rest of this post is how to write one, with a printable outline at the end.

This applies whether you run a homeschool co-op, a microschool, a hybrid school that meets two days a week, or a Classical Conversations community. The shape is the same. People are sharing a room, a schedule, and some money, and they need to know what was agreed.

Why the group chat is not enough¶

Rules that live in a group chat get lost in two ways. New families never see them, because they joined after the message was sent. And a rule that was said once, in passing, is easy to remember differently six weeks later.

A handbook fixes both. It is one document, it is dated, and a family reads it before they sign. When someone asks "wasn't pickup at 12:15?", you point at page one.

How co-ops work, in one paragraph¶

HSLDA describes two broad kinds. Informal co-ops "tend to be smaller and less structured" and "usually begin when a group of families decides to share the workload for a class or set of classes." Formal co-ops are "larger and more structured," and for those, "participation usually requires registration, fees, and participation agreements." (HSLDA, What Are Homeschool Groups?)

A family handbook is the participation agreement. If your group is six families in a church hall, it can be two pages. If you have a waiting list, it will run longer. Either way, the job is the same.

Can you charge for a co-op?¶

Yes, co-ops commonly collect fees, and HSLDA notes that formal co-ops usually require them. What you charge for and how you collect it should be written down, because money is where memories differ most.

Your handbook should say what the fee covers (room rental, supplies, a paid teacher), who pays it (per family or per student), when it is due, and what happens to it if a family leaves mid-semester. The rules for who may collect money, whether you need a bank account, or whether your group has to register as a business or nonprofit depend on where you live. Check your state's pages or ask a local attorney. This post does not give legal advice.

For fee structures in more depth, see our post on how to set up co-op fees.

What goes in the handbook¶

Keep each rule to a few sentences. A rule nobody can find in under a minute is not helping.

Schedule and arrival. Start and end times, the earliest a child can be dropped off, and the latest pickup. Say what happens when a parent is late.

What parents are asked to do. Many co-ops expect parents to teach, assist, clean, or run check-in. HSLDA notes that many co-ops require parental participation. Write down how many hours or which jobs, and how families sign up for them.

Who teaches what. List the classes, the teacher for each, and how a family can offer to teach next term. If someone is volunteering a subject they know well, that is worth saying plainly.

When a teacher is out. Name who covers, who contacts families, and how far ahead you will let them know. This is the rule most co-ops wish they had written before the first sick day.

Fees and refunds. As above. State the due date and the refund policy in one place.

Illness. What counts as too sick to attend, and when a child may come back.

Behavior and conflict. What you expect from kids and from adults, and who a family talks to first if something goes wrong. If you have written bylaws, link to them. Our guides on co-op bylaws and co-op governance cover the bigger decisions the handbook should sit under.

Photos and media. Whether you take pictures, where they are shared, and how a family opts out.

Leaving the co-op. How a family gives notice, and what happens to their spot.

Have families sign it, once a year¶

Reading is not agreeing. A signature is a family saying "I read this and I will follow it," and it gives you something to point to later without it feeling like an accusation.

Do it at enrollment, and again each year when the handbook changes. If you change a rule mid-year, tell families in writing and say what changed.

NavEd has a free family handbook agreement form that families fill out and sign online. It has a handbook section where you add your text, a set of key-policy checkboxes (drop-off and pick-up times, illness, what parents help with, photos and media) that you can edit to match your handbook, a date, and a signature line.

Printable handbook outline¶

Copy this into a document and fill in each blank. Delete any section you do not need.

[CO-OP NAME] FAMILY HANDBOOK
School year: ________    Last updated: ________

1. WHO WE ARE
   Our group in one sentence: ______________________________
   Meeting place and days: _________________________________
   Contact person: ________________________________________

2. SCHEDULE AND ARRIVAL
   Start time: ______   End time: ______
   Earliest drop-off: ______   Latest pickup: ______
   If a parent is late: ____________________________________

3. WHAT PARENTS DO
   Expected hours or jobs: _________________________________
   How families sign up: ___________________________________

4. WHO TEACHES WHAT
   Class / Teacher / Ages
   ________________________________________________________
   ________________________________________________________
   How to offer to teach next term: ________________________

5. WHEN A TEACHER IS OUT
   Who covers: ____________________________________________
   Who tells families, and how: ____________________________
   How much notice we aim for: _____________________________

6. FEES AND REFUNDS
   Amount: ______   Per family / per student: ______
   What it covers: _________________________________________
   Due date: ______   Late payment: ________________________
   If a family leaves mid-term: ____________________________

7. ILLNESS
   Stay home if: ___________________________________________
   Return when: ____________________________________________

8. BEHAVIOR AND CONFLICT
   What we expect of kids: _________________________________
   What we expect of adults: _______________________________
   First person to talk to with a concern: _________________

9. PHOTOS AND MEDIA
   We take photos: Yes / No
   Shared where: ___________________________________________
   How to opt out: _________________________________________

10. LEAVING THE CO-OP
   Notice needed: __________________________________________

FAMILY AGREEMENT
   Family name: ______________  Parent/guardian: ____________
   [ ] I understand the drop-off and pick-up times.
   [ ] I understand the illness policy.
   [ ] I understand what parents are asked to help with.
   [ ] I understand the photo and media policy.
   I have read the family handbook and agree to follow its policies.
   Signature: ______________________   Date: ____________

One last thing¶

You do not need to get it perfect. A handbook that is two pages and signed beats a perfect one that never gets written. Start with the sections where your group has already disagreed, and add the rest as they come up.

Rules and fee practices vary by group and by state, and they change. Check your state's homeschool or private school pages for anything that applies to how you operate.

Ready to try it? Use the free family handbook agreement form and have your families sign before the first class day.