Home Instruction

In accordance with Va. Code § 22.1-254.1 and King George County Schools Policy LBD, below you will find information for completion of the home instruction process.

Home Instruction Process

Step 1: Submit a Notice of Intent to Provide Home Instruction (NOI) via US Mail, Fax, Email, or by dropping it off in person to the King George County School Board Office. This must be submitted by August 15 of each school year.

Step 2: Choose the home school option that you are pursuing. Please also provide the appropriate documentation according to the option that you have selected e.g., diploma, teaching license, etc.

Step 3: Submit the curriculum that the student will be taking. This could include a list of courses being instructed by the parent, an enrollment letter from a correspondence or virtual school, acceptance letter/course schedule from a private school, or other information listing the subjects or describing the course of studies the child(ren) will be learning.

Step 4: Submit progress information at the end of the school year. Certification of progress must be received by August 1 of each school year.

If you discontinue home instruction in King George County, (i.e. you move or enroll the child in school), please notify this office by submitting the following form. Although this form is optional, it is very helpful in closing out your family's file so that we are not awaiting your NOI the following year.

End Of Year Testing Resources

Listed below are some resources for annual progress purposes. This list is provided as a resource only and has not been vetted by KGCS. You may know of or prefer to use another company. Testing is only one option of many for certifying your child's progress for home instruction. You may reference Va Code § 22.1-254.1 for further information.

• http://www.homeschooltestingservices.com/
• http://www.catforms.com/
• http://pesdirect.com/index.html
• http://www.setontesting.com/

Home instruction students are not permitted to take end of year SOL tests in King George County Schools.

Transferring to King George County Schools from Home Instruction

From the Virginia Department of Education's (VDOE) home instruction manual:

"This section includes relevant information from the Board of Education's Regulations Establishing Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in Virginia (SOA). These provisions impact any home schooled student who wishes to transfer back to a public school and wants to receive credit for courses taken while home schooled.

Section 22.1-253.13:4 of the Code of Virginia (Standard 4 of the Standards of Quality) requires local school boards to make provisions for students who transfer between secondary schools and from nonpublic schools or from home instruction as outlined in the SOA. The SOA provides:

Students transferring in grades K-8 from Virginia public schools or nonpublic schools accredited by one of the approved accrediting constituent members of the Virginia Council for Private Education [VCPE] shall be given recognition for all grade-level work completed. The academic record of students transferring from all other schools shall be evaluated to determine appropriate grade placement in accordance with policies adopted by the local school board. (8VAC20-131-60.A)

A secondary school (grades 9-12) shall accept credits toward graduation received from Virginia nonpublic schools accredited by one of the approved accrediting constituent members of the [VCPE] ... . (8VAC20-131-60.D) Information about the VCPE and its members can be found at http://www.vcpe.org/.

There is nothing in the regulations that prohibits public schools from accepting standard units of credit toward graduation that have been awarded to students who transfer from non-accredited schools. This is a locally determined process and decision and will vary from division to division. If a school division does provide for a review of non-accredited programming, at minimum the courses for which the student received credit must match the description of, or can be substituted for, courses which the receiving school gives standard credit, and the school from which the child transfers certifies that the courses for which credit is given meet the requirements of 8VAC20-131-110 (140 clock hours of instruction).

Parents who wish to transfer students from home instruction to a public school should contact the local school division for information about the transfer process before choosing their home instruction programming."

If you wish for your student's home instruction record to be reviewed for transfer credit consideration, please contact this office for additional information.

Notices of Intent are due August 15 and Certification of Progress is due August 1. These annual requirements and deadlines are established by Virginia statute. You may begin submitting these documents after June 1.

To ensure accurate processing of your family's file, please note the following:

• Make sure your child's name is written on all documents. Loose papers with no name on them (e.g. a list of subjects) cannot be identified properly.
• When able, send end of year progress and new Notice of Intent at the same time, in the same envelope.
• Include last name and address on the return of the envelope (not just the address). During the busiest times for submission (late July - mid August), envelopes are filed alphabetically and processed once a week. Many times, families call with questions ("I can't remember if I included my....!"). If the envelope has not been processed but has no last name, there is no way to readily find the family's information.
• While email is usually easiest, postal mail is preferred to prevent these important documents from going to email spam folders.
• To document receipt of delivery, you may wish to mail your items with tracking or confirmed delivery with return receipt. Please do not request a signature for confirmed delivery, as this may significantly delay delivery or cause your documents to be returned undeliverable.
• Families should keep a copy of their completed Notice of Intent for their own records as this is often required for such things as DMV, RCC, etc. We do not provide copies of any submitted documents.

Please mail all documents to:

King George County Schools
c/o Home Instruction
PO Box 1239
King George, VA 22485

Acknowledgement Letters

The Code of Virginia does not require school divisions to provide letters of acknowledgement to home instruction families. However, KGCS recognizes that families use these letters for many purposes.

Documents that are received before the established statutory deadlines (Aug 1 and Aug 15), are processed beginning on August 16. Acknowledgement and/or probationary letters are mailed at the end of September through early October.

Documents that are received after the statutory deadline has passed through November 30 will be processed in batches. These acknowledgement and/or probationary letters will be mailed periodically through December. Please note that this means if any documents are received past the deadline, you may not receive a letter until late December. We are unable to respond to requests for letters ahead of this timeline.

Any notices submitted after December 1 will receive a letter upon request only.

If we have not received a Notice of Intent and all supporting documents by September 15, and we have no indication of meeting the compulsory attendance statute by other means, a CHINS-truancy petition may be filed with the courts.

Probationary Status

By the Code of Virginia 22.1-254.1 (excerpt, emphasis added):

In the event that evidence of progress as required in this subsection 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 subsection A 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 provided by August 1 following the probationary year, home instruction shall cease and the parent shall make other arrangements for the education of the child which comply with § Compulsory Attendance 22.1-254.

By this section of the Code of Virginia, a student's home instruction program may be placed on a one year probation for two reasons.

1. The parent submitted the evidence of progress on time but it did not meet the required statutory standards; and/or,

2. The parent did not submit progress on time.

If either of the above occurs, the family must submit a remediation plan which describes how the plan will address the deficiency as well as evidence to support this.

If the home instruction program does provide an acceptable remediation plan, the home instruction program will be placed on a one year probationary status. Following this one year of probation, if the home instruction program still does not meet statutory standards, home instruction must cease and compulsory attendance must be met by some other means.

If the home instruction program does not provide an acceptable remediation plan and evidence, home instruction must cease immediately and compulsory attendance must be met by some other means.

Home Instruction Manual

The Virginia Department of Education has developed a manual to assist families with the home instruction process. You can find this manual here:

Home Instruction Handbook from the Virginia Department of Education

Home Instruction Letters Update (February 2019) 

If you submitted your home instruction documents prior to August 15, letters were sent out through the fall, with the last batch being mailed December 20. 

If you submitted your home instruction documents after August 15, or filed under certified tutor, certified teacher, or religious exemption, letters were sent out through January, with the last batch being mailed February 1. 

If you were out of compliance due to missing components or failure to show adequate progress, your home instruction may be placed on probation. These letters were mailed out in January and February. 

If you have not received a letter by February 15, 2019, please contact Mary Fisher at mfisher@kgcs.k12.va.us

---------------------------
*AP EXAMS are scheduled by the College Board during two weeks each Spring. The registration deadline for exams that will be offered locally at KGHS is March 7, 2019. Contact Terri Morrison at 540-775-3535 x 3201 for registration information, as well as the list of exams KGHS offers.

*PSAT/NMSQT EXAMS are scheduled by the College Board at various testing locations around the country on specific dates. KGHS typically hosts the PSAT in October of each year. Contact Terri Morrison at 540-775-3535 x 3201 for registration information.

For more information about these exams, or the availability of financial assistance to low-income and needy students, please view the College Board website at https://www.collegeboard.org/

PreACT is not offered at King George County Schools. Caroline County Schools and Rappahannock Community College are the nearest testing centers. For more information, including registration deadlines and financial assistance, please visit the ACT website.

Student Records

Parents should maintain copies of all documents regarding home instruction. This includes your NOI, evidence of progress, and the letter of acknowledgement received from KGCS. We do not maintain or provide additional copies. We can not discuss your child's home instruction with anyone, including colleges, military recruiters, or employers. With written parent permission, we can acknowledge whether or not the student completed the notification process.

From the Virginia Department of Education's (VDOE) home instruction manual:

"Neither VDOE nor public school divisions maintain any academic records, such as transcripts or diploma status, for students who have been home schooled. Thus, the Department cannot verify a home schooled student's high school graduation status for military recruiters, colleges, universities, technical schools, employers, or any other entity. With the parent's permission or the student's permission if the student has reached the age of 18, organizations or individuals may contact the relevant local school division for information as to whether the student completed the home instruction process."

Section 22.1-254.1.G prohibits school divisions from disclosing to the Virginia Department of Education or any other person or entity outside of the local school division information from a parent or student regarding election to provide home instruction or regarding a claim of a religious exemption without the parent's written consent.

Additional Information

We would like for students and parents to be aware of the services and opportunities available to the Home Instruction community via King George County Schools and/or the Virginia Department of Education.

• College and Career Planning - The Virginia Department of Education has produced a website www.vawizard.org for career and college planning with tools for elementary, middle, and high school students.

• Special Education - Evaluation and related services may be available for students who are identified as needing additional support in their educational process. Please contact the Supervisor of Special Services at 540-775-5833 ext. 8621 for additional information.

• Registration and Financial Assistance - Please contact the King George High School Counseling Office at 540-775-3535 to register for Advanced Placement tests or the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Tests (PSAT), as well as for information regarding the availability of financial assistance to low income families to take these exams.

Part-Time Enrollment in King George County Schools

Section 22.1-253.13:2.N of the Code of Virginia allows (but does not require) school boards to permit part-time attendance of children receiving home instruction under the provisions of § 22.1-254.1 of the Code of Virginia.

KGCS does permit home instruction students to apply for part-time enrollment. If you are a current home school student, please contact this office to begin the application process.

If you are a current KGCS student and you wish to withdraw to home instruction and enroll as a part-time student, you must withdraw to home instruction first by submitting your Notice of Intent and then apply for part-time enrollment. Children are not permitted to remain enrolled in school or attend class during the application process. Schools/teachers do not have the authority to enroll students on a part-time basis. Please contact this office to begin the application process.

Deadlines: Students in grades K-8 must apply before July 1 for the upcoming school year. Students in grades 9-12 must apply before July 1 for the Fall semester and before December 1 for the Spring semester.

Part time students enrolled in courses with SOL tests are required to take these tests under the same regulations as full time students.