I have a friend homeschooling in California who, for the imposition of an annual meeting with a teacher (who has apparently been helpful if anything to date; she has had no trouble with using her choice of materials) and doing the standard state tests, gets what sounds like a considerable contribution to the cost of homeschooling. From her experience, that sounds like a sweet spot, which does exist!
Could you please comment further on what's involved and how she negotiated that arrangement, ColinsMum? It sounds pretty desirable! I can PM you if you'd prefer.
In California there exist homeschool charter schools. Some reimburse you a certain amount each semester for books, classes, and materials; others will lend books and equipment (e.g. microscope). You are assigned an Education Specialist, who meets with you periodically to make sure you're still on track.
In return, of course, you need to meet some requirements (e.g. you can't just not do science all year) and take standardized tests in the spring.
Some of our friends have great ES's who allow them to be more lax about what their kids are doing. Others seem to have to jump through hoops to prove that they're doing enough ELA or science or whatever. No one we know appreciated the standardized tests, but more because of the time it took (not because of the results).
We chose not to go this route, and we are homeschooling independently. DS8 was so burned by school that we wanted as much freedom in his education as possible. But it's definitely attractive.
