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.

According to the homeschool educators of today there are primarily three reasons why children are receiving their education outside of public education.  The first reason is because of educators wanting to train their children in religion which has been almost completely removed from the public education provided today.  Moral training was another reason that parents chose to educate their children at home and the third reason was because parents viewed the alternative to be insufficient in comparison to the education the students 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.

Since 9/11 airplane passengers are required to produce photo ID cards prior to boarding the plane.  Students are required to show a photo identification card prior to taking exams such as the SATs.  We could continue to review the reasons these students and teachers are in need of a solution.

Some of the solutions that have been utilized include laminating paper produced from a standard laser or ink jet printer, to finding a company to provide plastic identification cards.  PVC or plastic ID cards are obviously a higher quality but until recently it’s been difficult to find a provider that would produce only a few ID cards without charging minimum order fees and setup charges.

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.