The Current PA Home Education Law
Table of Content
A child who has been in a formal school setting should file. Submit a Home Education Program affidavit to your local superintendent. Fill it out, attach your objectives, add immunization records or an exemption, and get it notarized.
One method for documenting qualifications is to create a simple block signature for the evaluation, listing the evaluator's credentials. As used in this clause, the term "grading" shall mean evaluation of classwork, homework, quizzes, classwork-based tests and prepared tests related to classwork subject matter. As used in this clause, the term “grading” shall mean evaluation of class work, homework, quizzes, class work-based tests and prepared tests related to class work subject matter.
Chapter 11. Student Attendance
For example, school districts can extend to supervisors of home education programs the opportunity to have home educated children participate in the district's health program, since these students must receive the same health tests as public school students. School districts may allow home educated students to participate in curricular courses and count that instructional time towards subsidy. We encourage school districts to establish policy and procedures for home education, including procedures addressing enrollment of students from home education programs. Since the affidavit or unsworn declaration is based on age, sometimes parents, evaluators and school districts are concerned about fulfilling their obligations when a family chooses to declare only the age of the student and not a grade. These obligations include submission of standardized testing results in the portfolio, and submission of evidence of immunizations and health and medical services to the school district. Prior to this legislation, affidavits and portfolios were submitted to provide verification of compliance with compulsory attendance laws.
If you are uncomfortable with certain methods of homeschooling, it is best to let potential clients know this up-front. PA law requires that home education students who have been formally identified as “special ed” must have their program pre-approved. "At the request of the supervisor, persons with other qualifications may conduct the evaluation with the prior consent of the district of residence superintendent." ""Appropriate education" shall mean a program consisting of instruction in the required subjects for the time required in this act and in which the student demonstrates sustained progress in the overall program."
From: From: 24 P.S. § 15-L Educational and Professional Development Online Course Initiative
To you, "stating that the certification is past due and notifying the supervisor to submit the certification within ten days of receipt of the certified letter. If the certification is not submitted within that time, the board of school directors shall provide for a proper hearing..." Since no time can be recorded toward the mandatory hours or days until the affidavit or unsworn declaration is submitted to the school district , the evaluator can consult the notarized affidavit/unsworn declaration to determine the start date of the program if questions arise. A school district must allow homeschooled students in their district to participate in the district's extracurricular activities. These are the activities that are subject to the provisions of 24 P.S. §5-511, including, but not limited to, clubs, musical ensembles, athletics and theatrical productions, interscholastic athletics, varsity sports and intramural sports, with certain qualifications. The law does not require a school district to allow participation in certain activities such as the senior prom, commencement exercises, or music classes/lessons which are considered a graded course; these are decisions made at the local school district level.
“Department” shall mean the Department of Education of the Commonwealth. If you want to award this type of diploma to your student, you should discuss with your evaluator what she wants to see in the portfolio so that she can confirm that the student has completed the graduation requirements and is therefore suitable for graduation. My curriculum page lists a few homeschooling suppliers, some websites where you can buy used curriculum, and homeschooling conferences/conventions across the state, where you can browse materials offered by vendors and attend workshops on various homeschooling subjects. [Evaluator's name] knows my children, understands our educational program, and is an experienced Pennsylvania homeschool evaluator. Students in grades 3, 5, and 8 are required to complete an approved standardized test in reading/language arts and math. It is clear beyond any doubt that—if it is done correctly—a homeschool family can file an unsworn declaration rather than an affidavit.
Schools that Teach
They are similar to the affidavits, however, unsworn declarations do not need to be notarized but instead, are governed under perjury statutes. If a hearing is required by the provisions of subsection (h.1), (i.1) or (j.1), the board of school directors shall provide for a proper hearing by a duly qualified and impartial hearing examiner within thirty days. The examiner shall render a decision within fifteen days of the hearing except that he may require the establishment of a remedial education plan mutually agreed to by the superintendent and supervisor of the home education program which shall continue the home education program. The decision of the examiner may be appealed by either the supervisor of the home education program or the superintendent to the Secretary of Education, Commonwealth Court or Court of Common Pleas. For the purposes of this subsection, the school district of residence shall provide the grade for each cocurricular or academic course to the home education program supervisor, who shall be responsible for maintaining the material in the portfolio of records. The department shall establish eligibility criteria and an application process for approving diploma-granting organizations to award high school diplomas to students enrolled in home education programs.
Such nonpublic teacher or administrator shall have the required experience at the elementary level to evaluate elementary students or at the secondary level to evaluate secondary students." Supervisors of home education students are not required to state a reason for not selecting the statewide tests. However, the statewide tests may be taken at their school district without cost to the homeschooled student whereas parents must bear any cost for an alternative test and its administration. The home education supervisor, a parent or a guardian of the child may not administer the alternative test.
A board of school directors may adopt a policy to implement the requirements of this subsection. A policy under this paragraph may require that the cocurricular or academic courses taken under paragraph be taken consecutively during the school day if the school or a child’s parent or legal guardian is not able to provide adequate supervision for the child between cocurricular and academic courses. The policy shall only apply to participation in cocurricular or academic courses and shall not conflict with any provisions of this section. The letter of transfer, required by clause , must be filed by the supervisor of the home education program with the superintendent of the new district of residence. In the case of pending proceedings, the new district of residence superintendent shall continue the home education program until the appeal process is finalized. “Home education program” shall mean a program conducted, in compliance with this section, by the parent or guardian or such person having legal custody of the child or children.
Please double-check legal information with appropriate sources. Scheduling information will be provided by the school district. Many evaluators believe that a sample from the beginning, middle, and end of the subjects is sufficient. You can mail return-receipt or, if your school district allows, you can email. Submit the home education evaluation to the school district by June 30. Evaluators may consider keeping a record of evaluations they have completed and a list of the students for whom they have signed diplomas.
Governor's Goals Schools that Teach Provide universal access to high-quality early childhood education. If a law of this Commonwealth requires that a sworn declaration be presented in a particular medium, an unsworn declaration must be presented in that medium. As used in this clause, the term “grading” shall mean evaluation of classwork, homework, quizzes, classwork-based tests and prepared tests related to classwork subject matter. If you are a returning home educator, your start-of-year paperwork is not due until August 1.
Students may begin a new home education program or continue in a home education as long as they are of school age (graduation or the end of the school term in which the student reaches the age of 21, whichever comes first; 22 Pa. Code § 11.12). Children who are 14 and satisfactorily completed the equivalent of the highest grade of elementary school in their district who hold a permit recommended by the district and approved by the Secretary of Education to engage in farm work or domestic service in a private home. Regardless of the student's age, it is advantageous to continue to submit an affidavit and evaluation until graduation.
Attendance at a school operated by a bona fide church or other religious body which provides a minimum of 180 days of instruction or 900 hours of instruction per year at the elementary level or 990 hours per year of instruction at the secondary level. A certification that the supervisor, all adults living in the home and persons having legal custody of the student have not been convicted of the criminal offenses enumerated in subsection of section 111 within five years preceding the date of the affidavit. During the school year, the supervisor maintains a portfolio of records and materials, demonstrating that an appropriate education is occurring. Information about home education in Pennsylvania, including the Pennsylvania law on home education and related statutes and regulations, and a list of home education organizations serving Pennsylvania families, is available on our Home Education and Private Tutoring webpage. Code §11.31a states that school district approval is not required to commence a home education program when all necessary paperwork has been filed. The instruction must be given during the school year for a minimum of 180 days of instruction or for a minimum of 900 hours of instruction for an elementary level student and a minimum of 990 hours of instruction for a secondary level student as the equivalent of 180 days of instruction.
In 1988, the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed Act 169 , amending the Pennsylvania School Code. It amended section 1327, Compulsory School Attendance, to define a properly qualified private tutor and to allow a parent, guardian, or person having legal custody of a child to home school their children as an option for complying with compulsory school attendance. It added section 1327.1, Home Education Program, to specify the rights and responsibilities of the parents and the school district where the family resides. A database of online courses for students enrolled in grades kindergarten through twelve and shall be accessible by school entities, nonpublic schools, home education supervisors and the general public.
Option 4: Enrolling your child in a satellite of an accredited day or boarding school.
In these situations, possibly a district may ask to see the portfolios they have not reviewed since the passage of Act 196 or ask for a formal evaluation that lists the completed courses so that the school district can accept credit for them. Otherwise, schools no longer have the same grounds for placement as when they reviewed portfolios. If a child is homeschooled, a school district is not required to accept an affidavit or unsworn declaration for kindergarten before the child attains the age of enrollment set by the school district. Considering this, a parent may want to establish that the individual they select to evaluate the portfolio in the twelfth grade is willing to co-sign the diploma. If the evaluator is not willing to do so but their evaluation is submitted to the superintendent, a state-recognized diploma issued by the supervisor is no longer possible; the only individual that may co-sign the diploma is the student's twelfth grade evaluator. Compulsory attendance laws require students to attend school until they are 18 years old or have graduated; therefore, a portfolio must be submitted to provide evidence of compliance with compulsory attendance laws up to age 18.
Alternately, a grade could be assigned in place of a simple indication that the course was completed. The particular courses and the number of classes a homeschooled student may take by dual enrollment are determined by each school district's policy. The intermediate level program (grades 4-6) shall ordinarily be completed by children who are approximately 11 years of age. Comparing the age of the child with the law and regulations, in conjunction with a yearly review of the portfolio contents, may help reasonably infer an approximate grade in determination of the various grade-specific requirements of the laws and regulations.
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