Parents in Maryland rarely go looking for a new school on a whim – it usually starts with something small that stops being small: the schedule no longer works, or a child has slipped a grade behind in math, or mornings end in tears at the front door. If you’re nodding along, know that leaving a school that isn’t working is a decision, not a defeat.
Legacy Online School – an online private school, grades K-12 – teaches in live classes of up to 15 students, small enough for the teacher to learn every name. A kid in Baltimore, Bethesda or Annapolis logs in from the kitchen table. Maryland and Florida share Eastern time, which means no clock math.
Maryland Law and Online School Options
In Maryland, school attendance is compulsory from age 5 through 18. A public school counts, so does a nonpublic school, and so does a home instruction program. Local systems also run online public school programs, and charter schools exist too, but those follow county rules and sit outside this page. We’re talking about one route here, a private online school.
Private schools are a separate matter. In Annapolis, the Maryland State Department of Education hands out Certificates of Approval to nonpublic schools operating in the state. Legacy runs from Florida – registered with the Florida Department of Education (School Code 9881) and accredited by WASC. What that means for you in Maryland is a question for your local superintendent’s office, so call before you enroll and ask two things: how an out-of-state online school fits the attendance rules, and whether a Home Instruction Notification is part of it. Prince George’s County, Anne Arundel County, anywhere else: the district answers.
What Changes When You Choose a Private Online School
You choose the format and the pace. There’s no county calendar and no bus schedule, so the day gets built around your family. The numbers are also on the table before you apply: group size, live hours, tuition. Legacy publishes all three.
The trade is the building. No campus, no cafeteria, no bus ride. Friendships happen in live class discussions, virtual clubs and virtual field trips instead, and some kids take to that faster than others.
Which Plan Fits Your Family
Live Group is the structured option: 15–25 live hours a week depending on grade, a teacher, classmates and a 9:00 AM start. Elementary school meets Monday through Thursday. Middle school and high school meet Monday through Friday.
Self-Paced works the other way around. It’s asynchronous, so you set the pace and a teacher steps in when your child gets stuck, which suits a family whose week keeps changing. Torn between the two? Talk to the admissions team, who will suggest one after a short chat.
Curriculum and Teachers
Under both plans, students work through the FLVS curriculum – built by Florida Virtual School, delivered on FlexPoint Education Cloud – covering math, language arts, science, social studies and electives. Labs are virtual, with digital instructions and tools and nothing shipped to your door, and every course material is digital. Want the grade-by-grade subject list? It’s on the curriculum page.
Live classes belong to qualified teachers. Progress updates for parents come from a Learning Support Specialist.
High School, AP and College Path
High school has 19 AP courses approved by the College Board, Honors classes, and dual enrollment through Arizona State University and the University of South Florida. There are three diploma tracks – Standard (24 credits), Accelerated (18) and Honors (24) – and every student has a transcript. Older students also get college guidance.
The diploma comes from Legacy; admission, though, is each college’s call, so read the requirements at your target schools. Legacy students have been accepted at Penn State, the University of Maryland, the University of Delaware and Northeastern, among others – the school profile lists more. Part-time courses and summer school work if a student needs just one subject added.
Accreditation
WASC, a regional agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, accredits Legacy (details on the accreditation page). The accreditation belongs to the school itself. How a particular college or district treats a transcript is up to them, so ask early.
Tuition and Enrollment
Tuition starts at $149 a month, and grade and plan move that number. Current figures are on the tuition and fees page. Enrollment is a one-time fee: $299 for the first child, $199 for each sibling, so two children come to $498 before tuition. Tutoring is $25 an hour. AP courses may need digital textbooks, usually $20–55 per course. If it isn’t a fit, a 7-day full tuition refund applies, though the enrollment fee is non-refundable.
One limit to know about: Legacy does not currently support non-verbal students. If you have questions about your child’s needs, ask admissions before you pay anything. And if you’d rather see a lesson first, join a free trial class.
