IHBG

ALLENSTOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT

HOME EDUCATION POLICY

Eligibility

The Board recognizes that home education has provided New Hampshire parents a viable option for seeing to the educational preparation of their children toward meeting the demands of assuming a self-reliant adult role in life. The Board also is aware that R.S.A. 193-A provides the legal right for parents to pursue the home education option within the parameters of certain requirements of enrollment and evaluation set by the New Hampshire State Department of Education. In order to provide home education, parents are required to notify either the Superintendent of Schools, the principal of a non-public school or the Commissioner of Education of their intention and must receive a letter acknowledging the planned program meets state requirements. The procedures which follow are meant to:

1. Standardize the enrollment and evaluation process for parents who choose the Allenstown School District as the agency to participate in the home education program.

2. Make possible a fair and consistent relationship with all the home education programs for which the district is designated as the participating agency, especially in those areas left by State of New Hampshire Public Law to the discretion of the local school district.

Enrollment Procedures

1. The Superintendent of Schools will develop and revise, as needed, a form to be used by parents in registering their intent to operate a home education program with the Superintendent of Schools. This form will be consistent with the requirements of R.S.A. 193-A and the accompanying regulations of the New Hampshire Department of Education. The purpose of the form will be to provide for efficient and economical handling of program registration, and to comply with RSA 193-A and ED 315.

2. Parents seeking to establish a home education program must file their letter of intent with the Superintendent of Schools within 30 days following the start of their home school program.

3. To facilitate the process of filing a letter of intent, parents are requested to use the Notification of Intent Form prepared by the Superintendent of Schools.

4. Parents must provide for their child’s attendance at a school within the District, a State of New Hampshire-approved private school, or receive acknowledgement of the establishment of a home education program. Conventional attendance policies of the District and the statutes of New Hampshire apply to all students within the district until the Commissioner of Education, the Superintendent of Schools or anon-public school principal acknowledge the establishment of a home education program and immediately on the termination of any home education program so acknowledged.

APPROVED: October, 1995

REVISED: October, 1996; September, 2002; June, 2006

Evaluation Procedures

1. Parents must maintain a portfolio of records and materials relative to the home education program and must provide for an annual education evaluation documenting the child’s demonstration of education progress at a level commensurate with the child’s age and ability, in accordance with RSA 193-A:6 and ED 315.05-.09.

2. Parents electing to request the school district’s participation in the annual evaluation must make arrangements to do so with the appropriate building administrator at least 30 days prior to the end of the public school year. Arrangements for the district’s participation will be at the discretion of the building principal based upon the availability of necessary resources. Parents are responsible for making arrangements for formal assessments administered by the school 45 days prior to their student’s participation.

3. In cases where the school district does not participate in the annual evaluation, parents are responsible for filing the results of the outside evaluation with the Superintendent’s office by July 1. ED 315.06(d) and (e)

4. The Superintendent will develop and revise as needed, a form to be used by parents in filing the results of the outside evaluation. The same form will be used by the building principal in filing the results of an evaluation with the Superintendent’s office.

Principals will copy home educators on evaluation forms that they have filed with the Superintendent. The Superintendent will notify parents if their child has demonstrated progress within 21 days of receiving the annual evaluation data. If progress is not demonstrated, the Superintendent will notify parents in compliance with ED 315.08.

Re-enrollment into the district program

1. Parents deciding to re-enroll their children into the school district program following a period of home education will make arrangements with the building principal to provide for an evaluation process to determine appropriate placement in the school’s program. Placements will be consistent with the School Board policy governing student placements, and are subject to the same appeal process.

2. Parents are responsible to remain aware of the scope and sequence of the district curriculum and for aligning their home education program in ways that may eliminate conflicts to age appropriate placements.

3. Parents must notify the Commissioner of Education and the resident district superintendent or non-public school principal within 15 days of the termination of the home education program and shall promptly enroll their children with the District or a State of New Hampshire approved private school.

Use of district facilities/programs

1. Home education students will be permitted to utilize the school district facilities and to participate in the district’s academic curriculum program as well as its nonacademic extracurricular programs subject to the same requirements and restrictions governing usage and participation by the district’s regularly enrolled students.

2. Home education students will be subject to the same rules, requirements, and consequences as regularly enrolled students using the facilities or participating in the programs. These rules include, but are not limited to, the district’s immunization requirements.

3. Some interscholastic activities, such as those governed by the rules of the New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletic Association, have academic eligibility requirements for all participating schools. When a home education student seeks to participate in such an activity the home educator must submit evidence satisfactory to the governing body (i.e. NHIAA, etc.) that the student meets the academic requirements for eligibility.

Graduation

No home educated student at the middle school level will be granted a diploma or be allowed to participate in the graduation ceremonies without completing at least their final year within the school’s regular program.

EVALUATION SUMMARY

FOR HOME EDUCATION

SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT #53

267 Pembroke Street

Pembroke, NH 03275

(603) 485-5187

(603) 485-9529 (Fax)

An evaluation summary for each home education student must be filed with the designated participating agency on or before July 1. Home educators filing summaries with School Administrative Unit #53 may use this form to report the results of their child’s evaluation. For parents electing school district participation in the evaluation, the appropriate building principal within the district will take care of the necessary filing and will provide a copy of this form to the parents. Parents electing to have an outside evaluation are responsible for filing results on or before July 1.

Student information School District

Allenstown

Name Chichester

Deerfield

Street Address

Epsom

Town Zip Telephone Pembroke

Date of Birth Grade

Evaluation Summary: If the evaluation is conducted by a teacher who is not an employee of the school district, please attach the teacher’s certification and the teacher’s evaluation in compliance with ED 315.06. If the student takes a standardized test administered outside the district, please include the name and address of the test administrator and the composite results of the test.

Evaluator’s Name Certification

Street Address Town Zip Telephone

Description of work reviewed (Can include any standardized testing date, course grades from approved programs student portfolio, etc.) and summary of the student’s educational progress.

Has has not made adequate educational progress.

Student’s Name

Evaluator’s Signature Date Parent’s Signature Date

PARENT NOTIFICATION OF INTENT

FOR HOME EDUCATION

SCHOOL ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT #53

267 Pembroke Street

Pembroke, NH 03275

(603) 485-5187

(603) 485-9529 (Fax)

Parents wishing to establish a home education program for children between the ages of six (6) and sixteen (16) are asked to register their intent by completing this form and filing it with the office of the Superintendent of Schools at the above address.

This form will serve as your letter of intent. In order to officially register your home education program it should be completed in its entirety. If your program(s) will be requesting access to District facilities/programs, please also attach a photocopy of the immunization records for each student.

Please provide the name, date of birth and grade level for each child participating in your home education program:

student name date of birth grade

student name date of birth grade

student name date of birth grade

student name date of birth grade

student name date of birth grade

Please provide the necessary contact information for your home education program:

street address telephone

town zip

As parent(s)/guardian(s), I (We) recognize that a home education program must consist of instruction in science, mathematics, language, government, history, health, reading, writing, spelling, the history of the constitutions of New Hampshire and the United States, and exposure to and appreciation of art and music.

name of parent/guardian parent/guardian signature date

name of parent/guardian parent/guardian signature date