@bjkmom
In CA, there is no such thing as “home school.” From the legal point of view, there are public schools and there are private schools. A “home school” is a private school.
A private school is required to maintain a curriculum. Of course “maintain a curriculum” doesn’t mean the student achieves the goals of the curriculum (similar to public schools). All it means is what the school intends to teach the student. There is no laws saying what the curriculum should be. The law also requires a record of attendance. This is as simple as a calendar showing instruction days.
A private school is required to file a “private school affidavit.” See: http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ps/rq/affidavit.asp
Note that the purpose of the affidavit is to inform the state government that you are running a private school. It’s not to ask for a permit. Instead of filing the affidavit, you can choose to register the student at a “school” of which main purpose is to keep attendance record. An example of that is BayShore School (I’m not endorsing this school. I know the name because a person in our HS group used it).
It’s possible. These days universities, public and private, are well aware of homeschooling. Each year they admitted many homeschoolers. Just ask any admissions counselor. Even National Merit Scholarship Corp. allows homeschoolers to participate (my D was a finalist).
In order to get into college, you need to complete high school education. Homeschoolers DO complete HS. They just happen to do so NOT in a conventional school environment. My homeschooled D was admitted to several prestigious colleges, public and private. In the application, she submitted a detailed table of the classes she had taken (instructors, textbooks, scores, …). But none of the schools she applied to asked for, nor did she submitted, any “proof” that she’d completed HS education.
Unless there are signs of abuse, and someone reporting them, no one checks. It’s the same thing as a kid going to a private school, there is no way to tell if one day the parent decides to pull the kid out. My D was homeschooled since 5th grade, and no one bothered us at all.
For the record, before pulling our D out, we did talked to the local public schools. Either they were not interested in helping, or they were but didn’t have the necessary resources. They had their hands full with thousands other kids.
Sad but true. But the kid remaining in a conventional school doesn’t necessarily mean (s)he is getting an education.
I’m not saying that homeschooling is good or bad. It’s not for everyone. But that’s the way things are.