Graduating form high school, although not that big of a deal for many high school seniors, is a major milestone. In many cases it marks the end of childhood, and the beginning of adulthood, increased responsibilities, and more freedoms. Among the many rites of graduation involve receiving that hard-earned diploma. Of course, this is in a public school setting. What about kids who graduate from home school? Where do they get their diplomas from?

What is interesting is that since laws regarding home schooling vary from state to state, no two cases will be exactly the same but for the most part there are several similarities. If you are contemplating putting your child into home school and having them graduate from such a program, there some things to take into consideration.

First of all, according to state laws, home schools are not allowed to award diplomas to persons 18 and older, which means that a student will have to go through a GED program if they over 18 years of age.

Also, one important detail to know is that states do not issue diplomas to home school students. Students receive diplomas from the "chief administrator" of the program in which they are enrolled. In a home school setting, this would generally be the parent or guardian. Unfortunately, such a diploma would not carry the seal of the state in which you are living since only publicly funded schools are allowed to use the seal. Home schooled students receive diplomas that have been designed and printed by their chief administrator, or parent.