Setting Up a Microschool or Learning Pod Under the Law

One of the first steps to take in setting up a microschool or learning pod involves drafting a signed written agreement. This is the surest way to prevent disputes between members of a microschool or learning pod, or at least make resolving disputes easier. Along with all parents and guardians, you may include any teachers or hired instructors, although a separate section on those types of agreements follows below.

Here are a few things to consider including in your written agreement. This is not an exhaustive list, nor an absolute requirement. You will want to tailor your agreement and considerations to your own specifications.

Factors to Consider

  1. The goals of the microschool or learning pod
  2. Start and end dates (or an event that causes the microschool or learning pod to end, such as a full return to in-person schooling by the district or a COVID-19 infection within the group)
  3. Days and times of meetings
  4. Meeting location(s)
  5. Requirements of the meeting location (such as no pets, disinfecting schedule, or childproofing)
  6. The safety precautions that everyone will take during meetings (such as mask wearing requirements and social distancing)
  7. The safety precautions that everyone will take outside school (including a potential clause that everyone will follow federal, state, and local laws and emergency orders)
  8. A rough or detailed daily schedule
  9. Vacation days, or days that do not conform to the regular meeting schedule
  10. Funding and the cost of tuition or admission per child or family
  11. Contingencies based on families leaving the microschool or learning pod, hiring or letting go a teacher or other instructor, or bringing in new students (what happens when a new family asks to join?)
  12. If you plan to hire a teacher or other instructor, how the hiring will be done (such as which parent or guardian will solicit applications, if and when interviews will take place, and the hiring budget)
  13. The curriculum that your microschool or learning pod will follow (whether you will conform to your district's curriculum or deviate from it)
  14. Which supplies you will purchase and the supply budget
  15. The plan if a child, teacher, or parent tests positive for COVID-19 or is exposed to someone who later tests positive
  16. If and when members should get tested for COVID-19
  17. Whether flu shots or other forms of immunization will be required (and whether medical documentation is necessary)
  18. How to change or make amends to the agreement
  19. How members will be removed or replaced
  20. Who will be responsible for unresolved debts of the microschool or learning pod
  21. How disputes will be decided (such as the use of a mediator)
  22. Insurance requirements, if applicable
  23. Any efforts to address social inequity (such as donations to other schools or social services, scholarships for low-income families, or diversity considerations)

Always give all potential members the opportunity to consult with an attorney before signing any agreement.

Hiring a Teacher

Some microschools or learning pods may consist of simply a volunteer parent or caregiver, or a rotation of caregivers, but other groups may want to hire a teacher.

If you are supplementing a child's public or private school education with a teacher, that teacher does not necessarily need to be licensed. You may consider hiring a college student, an instructor with a skill to teach such as writing or coding, or even a personal trainer for your child's gym sessions.

However, if you are replacing school entirely for your child, some state's homeschool laws require homeschool teacher credentials. Be sure to check your state's Department of Education website for details.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of considerations when hiring a teacher or another paid instructor:

  1. Whether you will require background checks (even for other supervising parents)
  2. Experience, licensure, or certification desires
  3. Budget and how the individual will be paid
  4. Whether a teacher or hired instructor will be reimbursed for any expenses
  5. Employment laws and in-home employee or contractor laws (specific to your state)
  6. Whether the hired individual will sign a written contract separate from the group agreement
  7. Whether the contract will include a rough or detailed schedule
  8. Whether the contract will include sick or vacation days
  9. How a teacher or hired individual will be evaluated
  10. Occasions for the expiration or termination of the agreement (such as agreement by all members to let the hired individual go)
  11. How children may be disciplined, if appropriate

Be sure to give teachers or other hired instructors the opportunity to consult with an attorney before signing any agreement.

Picking a Location

When picking a meeting location for your microschool or learning pod, you may want to pick just one or rotate between locations. You also might want to keep meeting places confined to family homes, combine public and private meeting spots, or stick to public places. Either way, here is a list of considerations for picking your location:

  1. The ease of preventing injuries
  2. The ease of preventing property damage
  3. The feasibility of complying with emergency orders
  4. The ease of cleaning and disinfecting
  5. Ventilating, heating, and air conditioning
  6. Zoning restrictions
  7. Other costs and/or reservations necessary

Any decisions that you make about your meeting location should be included in some way in your written agreement to ensure that member expectations are clear.

Contact Information

The surest way for a microschool or learning pod to fail is when the families involved lack communication and are not transparent with one another. You may want to create a document, preferably accessible online, with child and family information, emergency contacts, and other helpful information.

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