FAQ- Frequently Asked Questions

What do I do about the school that my child is presently attending? Once you decide you are going to enroll with Deseret Academy, you will need to withdraw your child from his/her current school. Let them know you are enrolling with a private school, namely Deseret Academy. They will expect you to meet any financial obligations you have with them including text books, etc. before they can release your child's records. They will send the records to Deseret Academy after they receive a form that we will send them.

Can my child go to college if we enroll in Deseret Academy? Absolutely. Colleges are very happy to see our students enroll with them as they have seen the high performance levels of students that have the self-discipline it takes to get their work done on their own. Colleges generally require some kind of placement test which will determine in which classes your child would be enrolling. The colleges you choose will let you know which tests they want you to take as some will need to be taken during the 11^th and 12^th grade school year. We will make this information available to our juniors and seniors each school year so that they can register to take these tests in a timely manner.

Are you accredited? We probably get asked this question more than any other. The answer is no, we are not. To understand this better, one would need to become familiar with the accreditation process. First, we would need a stationary building where our students would attend every day. Secondly, we need to hire teachers certified in each of the disciplines for which we offer courses. Obviously, this would not be much of a home school setting and certainly could not be endeavored inexpensively.

This does not, however, prevent our students from attending colleges and going on to other academic pursuits when they graduate. To compensate for the number of students coming from unaccredited home school programs, colleges rely largely on placement scores to determine who will be accepted into their programs. Home schoolers have gotten a lot of press around the United States for the exceptional work they are doing in college.

Is this Legal? Absolutely! We have no desire to enter into any sort of illegal activity. Please refer to the Florida statutes regarding home schooling and private schools if you would like more information regarding the laws governing these types of activities.

What if I need a work permit? In order for a person who is of student age to be able to work during school hours (generally 8:00 a.m. to 4 p.m), they must obtain a work permit from their school indicating that it is all right for them to be employed during school hours. We are more than happy to do that for you under the following conditions:

• The student is maintaining (and continue to maintains) at least a 2.0 GPA. This information is included on your monthly report card.
• The student provides us with
  1. the name of their supervisor
  2. the name of the business
  3. the hours they will be working
  4. a way to contact the employer (either fax number or address) so that the work permit letter can be sent directly to them

Here is a link to a form you can fill out that will send your request to us directly.

What do I do about my Driver's License when it has been suspended due to non-attendance at my previous school? Once you have received a suspension notice from the department of motor vehicles, you must present a paper to the dmv indicating you are now in compliance. We have those documents on file and will be glad to issue one when a student has been with us for 3 months consistently attending their meetings and turning in their work on time.

Can I get a driver's license? Presently there is no law in Florida that prevents a student from getting a license as long as they have not received a notice of suspension from the Department of Motor Vehicles. Once a license is suspended (even if a student has never applied for a license), he/she must go through the proper procedure to reinstate it.

Do I get a diploma when I graduate from Deseret Academy? Yes, we are allowed to issue high school diplomas under the jurisdiction of the Department of Education for the State of Florida as long as we offer courses which follow the frameworks dictated by that body.

What do I do when I want to transfer to another school from Deseret Academy? If you are going to start attending college when you graduate, you will need to request a transcript. Information can be found in the section for seniors on how to do this.

If you are going to go to a government school or another private school, that school will have a form for you to sign that will be sent to us by the school. Simply go to that school and tell them you wish to enroll with them. They can fax the records request to us at 386-649-4479. We would also appreciate a phone call letting us know of your decision.