Submitting paperwork in highly regulated states

[mom of 2 boys]

Hi there - we live in NY, and from what I can tell, our district is not homeschool friendly. What is the best way to go about getting confirmation that I have submitted my paperwork? We have to submit paperwork regularly - I think 6 or 7 times a year, so I'm going to be doing this on a regular basis. Should I hand deliver it and request some sort of "receipt"? What would something like that even look like? 

 

Thanks!

[freesia]

I am in NY.  I send it via mail and get "return receipt" where I get a postcard back saying they received my envelope.  Some folks will hand walk in the paperwork and have the person receiving it sign a coverpage that lists everything that was handed in.  My paperwork has been lost several times, so if my district did more than just say to send it again, I'd start walking it in again (I did orignally) and get the signatures..

[Ellie]

Hi there - we live in NY, and from what I can tell, our district is not homeschool friendly. What is the best way to go about getting confirmation that I have submitted my paperwork? We have to submit paperwork regularly - I think 6 or 7 times a year, so I'm going to be doing this on a regular basis. Should I hand deliver it and request some sort of "receipt"? What would something like that even look like? 

 

Thanks!

 

This is what one of our former members wrote about NY law:

 

Politics of the homeschool groups:

 

There are 2 homeschooling “factions†in NY: LEAH [Christian] and NYHEN [secular].

 

LEAH has several chapters thru out the state. NYHEN is more of a loose coalition of independent secular groups and more Yahoo-groups-discussion oriented.

 

I learned more about homeschooling in general thru LEAH, and more about the regs in specific thru NYHEN. NYHEN seems to have a bit of a beef against LEAH and HSLDA [i’ve seen it get down right vitriolic sometimes]; LEAH tends to lean towards placating school officials: i.e. send in your paperwork return receipt requested to cover your bu** [while NYHEN asserts that this is not necessary and puts you more in a defensive mode].

 

I’m more of an “assert your rights†kinda gal, and knew exactly what the school district can and can not do.

 

My best advice for NY? learn your regs!!! be able to quote them!

 

Check out this site first: http://nyhen.org/RegsSum.htm, *especially* read the part about “Revised Questions and Answers on Home Instruction --  85 questions and answers on some aspects of the regulations which the State Education Department considers important†BECAUSE that is info straight from the state, not other homeschoolers. No bias problems there, eh? LOL! Print it out and have it on hand. I’m not sure if LEAH includes it in their own manual, but I suggest getting one of their manuals anyway. very helpful :-)

 

Here are some basics:

 

First, you need to notify the school district [*not* the local school or principal] every year. This is called your Letter of Intent [LOI]. The regs state that it should be in by July 1, but the regs also allow for it being in w/in fifteen days of deciding [or “commencingâ€] you will be homeschooling. You can simply take the position that you will be reassessing your child’s educational needs on a year-by-year basis and NOT worry about getting your LOI in till the end of August if that suits you better :-)

 

Once you have sent in your LOI, you need to send in an Individual Home Instruction Plan [iHIP]. This is simply a one-page sheet [per child] that lists all subjects required to be taught [see the regs] and what you plan to use for instruction [curriculum, internet, library, co-op, etc etc]. The school district can NOT decide if what you use is “ok;†they can only check to make sure that the subject *will* be taught: YOU are in charge of deciding how to teach. You can unschool in NY if you write up your IHIP correctly :-)

 

Don’t forget a disclaimer on your IHIP: “These plans are subject to change as needed for the child’s educational benefit.â€

 

You will need to pick 4 dates [somewhat evenly spaced] that tell when you will be sending in your Quarterly reports {Quarterlies}. Pick a time that you know will not be stressful; putting down December as a quarterly date is asking for STRESS, lol! Usually some time the beginning of November, January, March, and end of May/June. Your school year does NOT have to follow the school district’s.

 

Quarterly reports:

This is basically your IHIP’s subject list, accompanied by how much of your “curriculum†you’ve covered, like lessons 1-50 in a workbook [if using library books, maybe 5 topics covered], and an assessment/grade level. I always put down “satisfactory†even my kid is a flipping genius. Period.

 

For “hours of instruction,†you are supposed to claim the hours but you are not required to DOCUMENT them anywhere except on those quarterlies and the state is NOT allowed to request “proof†of your hours; they can’t see lesson plans or daily schedules. Simply claim 255+ hours and be done w/ it. Many people use their IHIP that they typed up, copy it into another document, delete what they don’t need, and start updating it :-)

 

Attendance records:

You are required to document [and produce said documentation upon request] that your child attended 180 days of school.

 

1. find a school-year calendar [9 months on one page]. --check donnayoung.org—
2. At the top, write “Attendance Record for [child’s name]â€.
3. Under that, write “Absences Marked w/ an Xâ€.
4. File it.

 

Done.

 

You are required to do 180 days of school. YOU decide what counts as a day of school. You may decide to do 2 days’ worth of work in one day. Do your school work the way YOU want to do it, and don’t worry about the specific day count. Again: claim it, but you aren’t required to keep lesson plans, children’s work, or anything else except your attendance record.

 

Testing:

You are required to use a state-approved standardized test starting in 4th grade. Technically, you are s’posed to test “every other year beginning in 4th grade,†so 4th grade can be your “other†year and you can put off testing till 5th grade. there are about a dozen tests recognized by the state Ed. Dept., and the PASS test is one of them. Also, you do NOT have to send in your students’ results unless the district throws a fit; you simply have to say that they scored “at or above the 33d percentile.†For tests that require a certified teacher, ask your local groups or private Christian schools. More at NYHEN.org.

 

End of year assessment:

You are allowed to give a narrative of your child’s progress. The easiest? “[Child’s Name] has satisfactorily completed his school work for the 2004-2005 school year. Please see IHIP and Quarterly Reports for more details.â€

 

DONE!

 

All in all, your file of “paperwork†for NY would look like this:

1. one page w/ 3 sentences on it as your LOI
2. one page for your IHIP.
3. 4 one-page quarterly reports
4. one page end of year assessment

 

Home visits? Absolutely not allowed unless you are on probation [see the regs] AND they ARE REQUIRED to give you three days’ notice by certified mail.

 

That’s what I remember being the stickler parts when i was in NY; i may be forgetting something, but you can always post a Q on the NYHEN board and get immediate -and usually very good- answers.

 

More links:

 

nyhen.org [join their NYHEN-support list and read the regs and State’s Q&A’s regarding homeschooling]

 

leah.org [EXCELLENT convention in Syracuse! Highly recommended!]

 

homeschooling in NY is really simple, surprisingly. And if you get a packet of info from your school district that requires lots of intrusive forms to fill out, simply IGNORE it.

 

I take a very “make them prove they are communicating w/ me†approach :-). If you actually get a school district that asks you questions, simply quote the regs to them. If they persist, a simple “I will be having my attorney contact you if you continue to request information that is not w/in your rights to ask. Please contact the State Education Department to clarify what your responsibilities truly are. you can find these at [give them the state’s website on Q&A’s on homeschooling]. Have a nice day.†Click.

 

I *never* had the school district call me. One gal actually stopped by once.

Her: “We haven’t received your forms for homeschooling-- are you still doing that?â€

me: “Yes. I have sent them in. I can send a duplicate copy if you’d like.â€

Her: “That would be fine. Thank You!â€

 

Off she went. Easy peasy. Notice I didn’t offer her a copy then and there, lol!

 

I do suggest joining HSLDA the first year-- at least until you are comfortable w/ your knowledge of the regs and know more about the atmosphere towards homeschooling in your district.

 

From Julie in NY:

In the area of end of the year testing: 4th - 8th requires every other year (and yes, 4th can be your other year so you can start in 5th and then in 7th). Narratives can only be done in grades 1-8. Yearly testing must be done in grades 9-12 using an approved test (such as Iowa, Standford, etc.) I have also used the ACT, PSAT, and Sat and they have never questioned me. You must notify them when you turn in your 3rd quarterly report of the test you will use for your end-of-year assessment. If they ask for your scores, you must submit them. I used to say "Scores available upon request" and often they never asked. The district I am in now always asks, so I just say "Scores available the end of August." Then I send them in. You are only required to submit Core test scores. Full scores (social studies, etc.) can be submitted or omitted according to your choice. (Sometimes it's easier to just xerox the whole thing - up to you.)

IHIPs are due Aug.15 OR within 4 weeks after receiving notice from the school district that they received your letter of intent. Note: sometimes I put down a book that is supplementary and just say "selected portions". That way I'm not tied down to a specific amount and have to justify my 80%. Also, I often cite "topics covered" on my quarterlies if it fits better than "chapters covered".

As to attendance, this silly regulation IS required, but I have never kept records and they have never asked. I always put down on my quarterlies “Days absent: 0“ and I've never had a problem. I figure if they are at home, they aren't absent regardless of whether we do any schoolwork that day or not. We make it up on another day if they are sick and just don't count the sick day as school.

HTH!

Julie

[knitgrl]

:iagree:  It's hard to believe, but it's true. The end of the year assessment is exactly one sentence long.

[Based on Faith Academy]

I'm in NY and when I submit my reports I ask for a confirmation letter stating they received them. Both school districts I have been in have no problem with this. The district I'm in now is more by what they feel is the book, but we have been able to get along. Make sure you confirm what they desire for your annual assessment. The district I am in decided that they wanted the kids to come in with whatever test they were going to take and have it administered by a certified teacher. I talked to the superintendent and she waived that since I had tested my kids for the past twelve years and I followed through with all my reports on time. Also make sure you know what test they will allow. This district doesn't allow the PASS test.

[luuknam]

This district doesn't allow the PASS test.

 

 

I'm not a lawyer, but as far as I can tell they can't disallow it. It's NYS approved since 1995:

 

http://www.nyhen.org/addl-tests.pdf

 

The school can by picky about who administers it (so long as they stay within the law with their pickiness), so they can disallow you from administering it yourself, and they can make you pay for it yourself (which I think is a given in most/all districts unless you maybe take a test offered by them).

 

Anyway, as far as OP is concerned, I print out two copies of everything, and hand it in in person (my oldest is in speech therapy at school 3x/week anyway, so I'm not really going out of my way). I get them to sign one copy "received", which I keep, and they get to keep the other copy. I know other people who simply email everything and have been doing so for years.

 

Like others said, know the laws, and homeschooling in NY is no big deal:

 

http://www.nyhen.org/RegsSum.htm

[mom of 2 boys]

I'm not a lawyer, but as far as I can tell they can't disallow it. It's NYS approved since 1995:

 

http://www.nyhen.org/addl-tests.pdf

 

The school can by picky about who administers it (so long as they stay within the law with their pickiness), so they can disallow you from administering it yourself, and they can make you pay for it yourself (which I think is a given in most/all districts unless you maybe take a test offered by them).

 

Anyway, as far as OP is concerned, I print out two copies of everything, and hand it in in person (my oldest is in speech therapy at school 3x/week anyway, so I'm not really going out of my way). I get them to sign one copy "received", which I keep, and they get to keep the other copy. I know other people who simply email everything and have been doing so for years.

 

Like others said, know the laws, and homeschooling in NY is no big deal:

 

http://www.nyhen.org/RegsSum.htm

Thank you! I was planning to keep and file hard copies anyway, so having them sign it as "received" makes sense. Maybe...MAYBE if things go well for awhile, I will feel comfortable emailing, but not until I'm fairly sure they are going to leave me alone. Thanks again!

[mom of 2 boys]

:iagree: It's hard to believe, but it's true. The end of the year assessment is exactly one sentence long.

Do you know if I'm supposed to get approval to do my own end of year assessment? (Instead of having another person do it)

Edited May 10, 2017 by mom of 2 boys

[luuknam]

Do you know if I'm supposed to get approval to do my own end of year assessment? (Instead of having another person do it)

 

 

It has to be done by a person who's "mutually agreed upon" by the parents and the school district (superintendent?). I just write in the 3rd quarterly that [myFirstName myLastName] will administer [assessment], and so far I haven't heard a word from the district one way or another, and then in the 4th quarterly I write the same but in the past tense, and that the kid scored >33rd percentile. Same thing if it were a narrative assessment (which I haven't done, but other people I know have). So, it depends on whether your district wants to be nitpicky - they could make you use somebody other than yourself.

[knitgrl]

It has to be done by a person who's "mutually agreed upon" by the parents and the school district (superintendent?). I just write in the 3rd quarterly that [myFirstName myLastName] will administer [assessment], and so far I haven't heard a word from the district one way or another, and then in the 4th quarterly I write the same but in the past tense, and that the kid scored >33rd percentile. Same thing if it were a narrative assessment (which I haven't done, but other people I know have). So, it depends on whether your district wants to be nitpicky - they could make you use somebody other than yourself.

 

:iagree:

This is how I understand it. I had a professor who used to say it is easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission. FWIW, I know a hs family in the area that had reason to believe that the school district never even looks at the quarterly reports. They accidentally turned the same report in twice and school district never said anything about it. They do, however, care about test scores and want to know what your plans are for that on the 3rd quarterly report.

[luuknam]

:iagree:

This is how I understand it. I had a professor who used to say it is easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission. FWIW, I know a hs family in the area that had reason to believe that the school district never even looks at the quarterly reports. They accidentally turned the same report in twice and school district never said anything about it. They do, however, care about test scores and want to know what your plans are for that on the 3rd quarterly report.

 

 

Yep, I was talking to someone yesterday who sent the wrong year's quarterly one time too, and people who habitually send theirs late, or who forgot to send one and the school never said anything, etc. I also know one person who asked her school district about the "mutually agreed upon person" thing, and they're making her use a NYS certified teacher... but other people in her district just do it themselves without getting in trouble... so, don't ask. Either just do it, or tell them on the 3rd quarterly you're going to do it, but don't ask for permission.

[mschickie]

We just fax our quarterlies in but a friend of mine walks hers in and has the person who takes it sign and date a log so she has proof of submitting it.

 

As for the PASS test the state did try to state it was not approved a few years ago but later had to go back and say yes it was approved.  Now there are some districts that do not allow the parent to administer the test and that is a pain.  If you are part of a LEAH chapter many of them offer group testing for the standardized tests or can refer you to someone who is certified who administers tests.

 

I am lucky to be in a very homeschool friendly district.  I have never had a problem doing the narrative or administering the test myself.  This year I have also been late a few times with the quarterlies but they have not even contacted me.  As long as I have everything in by the end of the year the district is ok.