Is the guide really free?

Yes. Sign in with Google or LinkedIn and the PDF opens right away. Signing in doesn’t set up an organization, start a trial, or charge anything.

Do homeschool co-ops have to run background checks?

No single federal law requires a homeschool co-op to screen volunteers, but host churches, insurers and hybrid programs increasingly expect it. When you do screen, the Fair Credit Reporting Act governs how — the guide walks through the disclosure, authorization and adverse-action steps.

Can I share it with my board?

Please do. Print it for your next board meeting or forward the PDF. The policy checklist and family letter in the appendices are written to be copied and adapted.

Is this legal advice?

No. It is general education. Screening requirements vary by state, by how your co-op is organized, and by what your insurer and host facility require — confirm yours with your state homeschool organization, your insurance agent and qualified counsel.

Free guide · 2026 edition · For co-op directors & boards

Safeguarding the Co-op

A screening and child-safety playbook for homeschool co-op leaders

What the law actually requires, what a real background check covers, and how to roll it out in 30 days — without a fight or a budget.

17 pages, written for co-op directors and boards
11 chapters and a 30-day rollout plan
A policy checklist and a family letter you can copy
Cited sources — the FCRA, the FTC and the Bureau of Justice Statistics

Who this guide is for

Co-op directors, board members, and the parents who quietly hold these communities together. Whether your co-op meets once a week in a church fellowship hall or runs a three-day hybrid program, if adults in your co-op care for children who are not their own, this guide is written for you.

34%

of people who sexually assaulted a juvenile were family members of the victim.

Bureau of Justice Statistics

were strangers. The rest were acquaintances — people the child already knew.

Bureau of Justice Statistics

for a full, identity-verified volunteer background check — or $0 to the co-op if each family covers its own.

VolunteerBadge pricing

From the executive summary

Six things every co-op leader should know

1
A co-op has the access profile schools and churches screen for.
Small classes, closed doors, the same adults and children every week, bathroom help, field trips and carpools.
2
“We all know each other” is not a safeguard.
Harm to children overwhelmingly comes from familiar, trusted adults — not strangers.
3
No single federal law says co-ops must screen — but the FCRA governs how you do it.
The Federal Trade Commission treats background checks on volunteers as “employment purposes” under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which brings disclosure, authorization and adverse-action duties with it.
4
A real check is more than a name search.
National criminal records, all-50-state sex-offender registries, watchlists, an SSN trace, and identity verification that proves the person is who they say they are.
5
Screening is one layer, not the whole plan.
Pair it with a two-adult rule, visible spaces, a named reporting path and regular re-screening.
6
You can do all of it in 30 days.
Leadership goes first, families hear it with warmth rather than suspicion, and the whole program can cost the co-op nothing.

What's inside

01
The short version
The whole case on one page — read it before your next board meeting.
02
A co-op is not a playdate
What a teaching parent actually has access to, and the trusted-adult reality.
03
Why most co-ops haven’t screened — and why that’s changing
Host churches, insurers and hybrid programs are filling the mandate gap.
04
What the law requires, and what it doesn’t
The accurate picture, and what the FCRA asks of a co-op that screens.
05
What a real background check covers
Criminal records, registries, watchlists, SSN trace and identity verification.
06
Who in your co-op should be screened
Teachers, helpers, board members and teens — and where to draw the line.
07
Screening is the foundation, not the house
The everyday policies that catch what a background check can’t.
08
When a check isn’t clean
Four principles for a fair review, and the adverse-action steps the law requires.
09
A 30-day rollout plan
Week by week — plus honest answers to the hard questions you’ll hear.
10
Paying for it, and telling the families
What it costs, and how to announce it with love, not suspicion.
11
Classical, Christian, hybrid and university-model co-ops
What changes for your model, and why you re-screen.
A
Appendix A: Co-op safeguarding policy checklist
Adopt it as written or adapt it for your board.
B
Appendix B: Family announcement letter
A warm, ready-to-send letter introducing screening to your families.
C
Appendix C: Free tools and further reading
Workbooks, a policy creator, state requirements and cited sources.

Get the free guide

Questions

Is the guide really free?: Yes. Sign in with Google or LinkedIn and the PDF opens right away. Signing in doesn’t set up an organization, start a trial, or charge anything.
Do homeschool co-ops have to run background checks?: No single federal law requires a homeschool co-op to screen volunteers, but host churches, insurers and hybrid programs increasingly expect it. When you do screen, the Fair Credit Reporting Act governs how — the guide walks through the disclosure, authorization and adverse-action steps.
Can I share it with my board?: Please do. Print it for your next board meeting or forward the PDF. The policy checklist and family letter in the appendices are written to be copied and adapted.
Is this legal advice?: No. It is general education. Screening requirements vary by state, by how your co-op is organized, and by what your insurer and host facility require — confirm yours with your state homeschool organization, your insurance agent and qualified counsel.

Keep going

VolunteerBadge is owned and operated by ScreenForge Labs, LLC, an FCRA-regulated Consumer Reporting Agency that has obtained its FCRA Certificate from the Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA). This guide is general educational information and is not legal advice.