Homeschool ID Cards

Posted by Nick Niesen on October 27th, 2010

The number of homeschool students grew from 1.2 in 2003 to a staggering 2.4 million in 2006 according to the National Home Education Research Institute. With this type of growth you have to wander what is the cause for the amazing increase in homeschool attendance.

Based on surveys, there are three primary reasons children are being trained at home instead of the government funded solution. The primary reason parents have chosen to train their kids is to incorporate religion into their curriculum. Tied closely are other parents that have decided to incorporate moral training into their courses. Both of these have been continuously removed from the education children receive when trained publicly. The third reason parents have chosen to train their own children is because the alternative is viewed as an inferior education in comparison to the education they could receive at home.

When reviewing the results of the education being provided these kids are commonly testing up to thirty percent higher than publicly educated students while saving taxpayers an astounding 16 billion dollars annually.

One of the major challenges these 2.4 million students and their teachers are faced with is being able to prove their status as homeschoolers. When students and teachers come from a public or even a private school they are provided with school ID cards. Alternatively homeschoolers are forced to seek out a solution for themselves when it comes to school identification.

There are several reasons homeschoolers need identification cards starting with the need to prove they are not breaking the truancy laws of the country. Commonly home schooled students are not on the same schedule as publicly educated kids. Having the ability to produce a school ID card would be a simple solution, but without one it appears the kid is ditching class.

Another reason homeschool students want identification cards is to receive the benefits that many retailers offer to kids in school. Even the local theater offers discounted ticket prices to students and teachers carrying their school identification card. Parents that have become homeschool educators can receive discounts from both office supply and school supply stores if they can prove they are teachers.

Other reasons for needing ID cards range from boarding a plane since 9/11 to even being able to take college entrance exams such as SATs. The reasons are numerous why teachers and students need an answer.

Creatively these homeschoolers have found their answer by printing ID cards on their home/office printer and then laminating them at the local office supply store. Others have found solutions to produce plastic ID cards. Plastic or PVC identification cards are obviously of a much higher quality than laminating paper cards, although until recently it has been an expensive alternative. One of the main reasons plastic ID cards have been expensive is because of minimum order sizes and setup charges often charged by vendors.

A new vendor, FullIdentity.com has developed an affordable plastic ID card solution that works well for homeschools. Students or teachers can design their school ID card online as well as upload their own pictures. Orders can be made easily for even just one ID card if that is all that is needed.