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Resources
Basic
guide to homeschooling
Items to do prior to starting your homeschool
instruction
Select
your curriculum. (See the Links
page for help.) It is very difficult to file
course objectives and scope if you have not
chosen your curriculum. File appropriate
documents with the superintendent of your school
district.
- If
your child has reached compulsory age
(presently 8 years), the documents must be
filed prior to starting
homeschooling.
- To
continue homeschooling in subsequent years,
you must file new documents each year by
August 1 prior to the new school
year.
The
documents for the required filing
include:
- A
notarized affidavit (see "Affidavit
Confusion"
for the specific content of the
affidavit)
- A
list of your goals and objectives for each of
the required subject areas for the level of
instruction for each student. (If you have a
child that has been identified as handicapped
by the school district, then the
Individualized Education Plan must be
substantiated by a qualified
person.)
- Evidence
of the child's immunization and evidence that
the child has ongoing health and dental care
OR a notice of Health Examination Exemption
due to religious beliefs.
Items
to do during the school
year:
- Secure
an evaluator that will be willing to do your
child's evaluation at the end of the
year.
- Make
sure they are in agreement with your
philosophy of home education.
- It
is wise to make this contact early in the
year to avoid conflict.
- Compile
a student portfolio including:
- Samples
of daily work
- A
list of books read by the student and used in
the education process
- In
grades 3, 5 & 8, results of nationally
normed, standardized achievement tests. These
tests cannot be administered by a related
party to the student.
- Contemporaneous
log of work being done, and the hours of
education or the days of
education.
Items
to do at the end of the school year by
July 1st
- Have
your qualified evaluator perform an evaluation
of your child(ren). An evaluator
must:
- Interview
the child
- Review
the portfolio
- Give
written substantiation that the student has
made progress in their educational
program
- Submit
the following to your district
Superintendent:
- A
copy of the portfolio for each child (see
above for content)
When
can you start your new
year?
The
homeschool law does not state any required dates
for instruction. It does, however, set times for
turning in required documentation. But these are
two different considerations.
- Your
homeschool program may not officially begin
until you have notified the district with the
affidavit. But, once you notify them the first
year, you are merely informing them each year
that your homeschool program is
continuing.
The
difference here is between starting and
continuing your program. We have 365 days of the
year from which to choose 180 days or 900/990
hours to document for the district. Which
calendar days we select is up to us as the
supervisors.
Since
the district does not have any authority to
'approve' your objectives, you do not have to
wait until they approve them in order to begin
your new year. Since the state law does not give
us specific time frames for instruction, like
the public schools have, then we are free to
choose the time frame that best suits our
family.
*Reprinted
with permission from the PA Homeschool Exchange,
a publication of PA Homeschool Connection,
650 Company Farm Road
Aspers, PA 17304717-528-8850
www.homeschoolheadlines.com
Again,
if you have any questions at all, the CHALC
Board is here to serve you however they can. See
our Contact
page
for more information on how to talk to a Board
member.
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