Home Education Policy
Eligibility:
The School Board recognizes that home education has provided
1. Standardize the enrollment
and evaluation process for parents who choose the
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
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 RSA 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 initiating home education programs
with the Superintendent of Schools must file their letter of notification of
intent with the Superintendent of Schools by August 1 pursuant to RSA
193-A. Parents wishing to initiate a
home program after August 1 must file a letter of intent with the Commissioner
of Education.
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.
Upon receipt of parents’ notification of intent before August 1, the
Superintendent will provide notification to the Department of Education.
5. 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
APPROVED: October, 1995
AMENDED: October, 2002
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
a non-public school principal acknowledge the establishment of a home education
program and immediately upon the termination of any home education program so
acknowledged.
Evaluation Procedures:
1. Parents must maintain a portfolio of records
and materials relative to the home education program and must provide for an
annual 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 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 that may 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 the parents if their child has demonstrated progress within 21 days of
receiving the annual evaluation data. If
progress is not demonstrated, the Superintendent wall notify the 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 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 facilities and participate in programs run by the school district 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 and supervision requirements.
3. In programs having restricted
enrollments home education students will be allowed to participate only if the
maximum enrollment has not been reached by regularly enrolled students, and
then on a first-come-first-admitted basis.
4. Some inter-scholastic
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 requirement for eligibility.
Graduation:
No home educated student 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.