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HOME INSTRUCTION / EXEMPTION
TO COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE
Forms
Notice of intent to provide home instruction
Request for exemption from compulsory attendance based upon religious beliefs
Certificate of Progress
The following information is provided to assist families who are interested in
providing instruction in their home or who are interested in requesting an
exemption to the Compulsory Attendance Statute. The Central Office contact for
Home Instruction and Compulsory Attendance information is Gayle W. Hock, MSW,
Supervisor of Guidance and Social Work Services. You may reach her at 775-5833
ext 8614. Please call before coming to the School Board Office to determine if
she is in the building as she has duties which take her to the school buildings
and out of the School Board Office on a frequent basis. She may be reached by
email at
ghock@kgcs.k12.va.us.
Contents: Policy / Documents / News and Updates / Notifications
Policy :
I. PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is establish procedures governing home instruction by
parents as an acceptable alternative form of education as authorized in the Code
of Virginia § 22.11-254.1 for King George County Schools.
II. CODE OF VIRGINIA VA§ 22.1-254.1.A
When the requirements of this section have been satisfied, instruction of
children by their parents is an acceptable alternative form of education under
the policy of the commonwealth of Virginia. Any parent of any child who will
have reached the fifth birthday on or before September 30 of any school year and
who has not passed the eighteenth birthday may elect to provide home instruction
in lieu of school attendance if he
i. Holds a high school diploma in any subject from an accredited institution of
higher education;
ii. Is a teacher of qualification s prescribed by the Board of Education;
iii. Has enrolled the child or children in a correspondence course
iv. Or provides a program of study or curriculum which, in the judgment of the
division Superintendent, provides evidence that the parent is able to provide an
adequate education for the child. To assess a parent’s ability to provide an
adequate education, the school division superintendent should determine whether
the information submitted exhibits a mastery of language by the writer; whether
it includes plans for instructional activities; and whether it presents a
reasonable scope and sequence of content that shows a broad overview of what the
parent plans to teach the child during the school year.
III. NOTIFICATION TO KING GEORGE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Any parent who elects to provide home instruction in lieu of school attendance
shall annually notify the division Superintendent no later than August 15 of the
intention to so instruct the child and provide a description of the curriculum
to be followed for the coming year and evidence of having met one of the
criteria for providing home instruction. Any parent who moves into a school
division or begins home instruction after the school year has begun shall notify
the division Superintendent of the intention to provide home instruction as soon
as is practicable and shall comply with the requirement of this policy within
thirty days of such notice. The division Superintendent shall notify the
Superintendent of Public Instruction of the number of students receiving home
instruction.
The parent must also submit evidence of a curriculum to be followed for the
coming year or provide evidence that the parent is able to provide the child
with an adequate education. The form for the proposed curriculum shall contain,
at a minimum, the following information:
a. Child’s name and birth date;
b. Address where child resides;
c. The base school to which the child would have been assigned;
d. A list of subjects being taught;
e. A plan for the provision of core curriculum
A description of the curriculum is a broad overview of what the parent plans to
teach the child in each course during the coming school year.
f. Names of individuals providing instruction.
A
form is available upon request describing the options which meet the
requirements of VA § 22.1-254.1. The Superintendent/designee shall review the
revised submittal and shall notify the parents as to whether their request
satisfies home instruction requirements.
IV. EVIDENCE OF PROGRESS
To comply with the law, the parent is required to provide to the Superintendent
by August 1, following the school year in which the child has received home
instruction, evidence of the child’s progress in one of the following ways:
a. Evidence that the child has attained a composite score in or above the fourth
stanine on a battery of achievement tests which have been nationally normed.
b. An evaluation or assessment which, in the judgment of the division
Superintendent, indicates that the child is achieving an adequate level of
education growth and progress.
c. An affidavit describing the evidence submitted as proof of progress.
Parents are responsible for securing test materials and administering tests to
home instructed students.
V. CONSEQUENCE OF PARENT NOT PROVIDING EVIDENCE OF PROGRESS
In the event that evidence of progress as required above is not provided by the
parent, the home instruction program for that child may be placed on probation
for one year. Parents shall file with the division Superintendent evidence of
their ability to provide an adequate education for their child in compliance
with the Virginia Statue and a remediation plan for the probationary year which
indicates their program is designed to address any educational deficiency. Upon
acceptance of such evidence and plan by the division Superintendent, the home
instruction may continue for one probationary year. If the remediation plan and
evidence are not accepted or the required evidence of progress is not provide by
August 1 following the probationary year, home instruction shall cease and the
parent shall make other arrangements for the education of their child which
comply with VA § 22.1-254. The requirements to report progress shall not apply
to children who are under the age of six as of September 30 of the school year.
VI. DEFINITION OF PARENT
For purposes of this section, “parent” means the biological parent, adoptive
parent, or guardian or other person having control or charge of a child by legal
means.
VII. PLACEMENT OR AWARDING OF CREDIT FOR
CHILDREN RETURNING TO SCHOOL FROM HOME INSTRUCTION
Students who have received home instruction and seek admission to King George
County Schools will be admitted and placed in accordance with the following
provisions:
a. Children who have been home instructed who wish to enroll in the King George
County Public Schools in grades K-8 will be placed at the appropriate grade
level as determined by school administrators and will typically be placed with
age related peers. Children may be required to take examinations in order to
determine appropriate grade level.
b. Children who have been home instructed in grades 9-12 will be required to
take the final examinations in each course for which they wish to receive
credit. In order for credit to be awarded, the child must take and pass a final
examination which was required of students
enrolled in the same course offered in the King George County High School. A
maximum of 11 credits earned by home instruction can be applied toward the
requirements for a King George High School diploma. A grade of pass (P) or fail
(F) will be granted for credits earned by home instruction and any such credits
will not be included in determining the grade point average of a student. A
student may have no more than 11 credits awarded from home instruction courses
to be considered for valedictorian or salutatorian In order to earn a verified
credit, the student must take and pass the relevant SOL tests while enrolled in
King George County Schools. All credits awarded for Home Instruction courses are
to be reviewed by the Home Instruction Review Committee composed of the
Coordinator of Guidance and Social Work Services, the Director of Testing for
the division, the Director of Guidance at King George High School, and an
administrator of King George County Schools.
VIII. ENROLLMENT OF HOME INSTRUCTED CHILD IN COURSES AND PROGRAMS OFFERED
IN THE SCHOOL DIVISION
Parents who have been approved to provide home instruction may also enroll their
child in courses and programs offered in the school division, provided the child
satisfies the enrollment criteria for such course or program and further
provided that space is available. Parents who desire to enroll their child in
one or more courses or programs are to notify in writing the principal of the
school in which enrollment will be sought and are encouraged to do so by April 1
preceding the school year of anticipated enrollment, as courses and programs are
offered on a space available basis with full time students having priority in
class assignment. Parents are to provide the principal with a copy of the letter
of approval of home instruction. A maximum of two courses may be taken per
semester. Coursework in a division school is provided on a credit basis only.
Grades will be assigned for all course work undertaken.
Transportation of the child to and from the school shall be the responsibility
of the parent. An enrolled child shall be required to comply with all rules and
regulations of the schools and the division, including the Student Code of
Conduct.
IX. APPEALS
Any party aggrieved by the decision of the Home
Instruction Review Committee may appeal the decision within 30 days to the
Director of Education of King George County Schools by filing a written letter
of appeal.
X. IMMUNIZATIONS
Any parent, guardian, or other person having
control or charge of a child being home instructed shall comply with the
immunization requirements provided in sections 32. 1-46 and 22.1-271.4 in the
same manner and to the same extent as if the child has been enrolled in and is
attending school. Upon request of the Superintendent, the parent shall submit
the documentary proof of immunization in compliance with the Code of Virginia.
XI. NOTIFICATION TO PARENTS OF HOME INSTRUCTED
STUDENTS OF AP AND PSAT TESTING OPTIONS
Students receiving home instruction and their parents will be notified of the
availability of Advance Placement (AP) and Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude test
(PSAT) examination and the availability of financial assistance to low-income
and needy students to take these examinations. Such notice will be given when
the parent notifies the division that the student will receive home instruction.
Adopted: September 19, 1993,
Revised: July 25, 2005, September 28, 2005, June 14, 2006
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Legal Refs.: Code of Virginia, 11950 as amended, sections 22.11-254, 22.1-256,
22.1-258, 22.1-261 through 22.1-265, 32.1-46, 22.1-271.4
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