How to get a homeschooling permit אישור לחינוך ביתי

Officially, for each child you need permission from the Ministry of Education.

The Ministry of Education claims that they approve 95% of all applications.

Here is a page of questions and answers in Hebrew on the official web site of the Ministry of Education:

http://cms.education.gov.il/educationcms/units/pniyot/shelotvetshuvot/….

The latest official Israel Ministry of Education internal guidelines for processing applications (updated April 2009) are online in Hebrew at:

http://cms.education.gov.il/educationcms/applications/mankal/etsmedorim/3/3-1…

Here is the official Application Form in Hebrew (PDF):

http://israelhomeschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/doc_st8ak_3_1_37_nishpach2_doc.pdf

Here are the official guidelines for writing a request in Hebrew(PDF):

http://israelhomeschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/doc_st8ak_3_1_37_nishpach1_doc.pdf

Requests for permission to homeschool are to be sent to the “Menahel Hamachoz”, the District Supervisor, in your region.

מנהלי מחוזות

As far as we know, in the Jerusalem region requests should be sent to Dan Grossman. His phone number is: 050-628-8974. His secretary, Zahava, can be reached at 02-560-1616.

The person in charge of Homeschooling in the Ministry is Yehudit Danilov. Her office’s number in Jerusalem is: 02-5603221, and her email address is:  yehuditd@education.gov.il

The Ministry’s guidelines say that you are supposed to explain your educational philosophy, your curriculum, how you will teach, and how you will evaluate the success of the education. However, the guidelines seem to allow for much less formal approaches, and many families have had success with a range of application formats. In the past, some have received permission with a terse letter stating their intention to homeschool, although the current guidelines might not allow for that. You should include your child’s name and ID number, as well as your own.

Many families are currently homeschooling without such permission, and have not been forced to send their children to school. How much they have been pursued by the Ministry has varied from case to case. Many have had no problems at all.