Weird state high school rules!

[kristinannie]

I just found out that several counties in West Virginia require that if you decide to send your DC to public high school, they are required to start in 9th grade regardless of which grades they have completed. So, if your DC wanted to go to high school for his senior year, they would put him in 9th grade. I find this completely appalling. Has anyone heard of anything like this? To us, homeschooling is a year to year decision based on prayer and other considerations. We are a LONG way from high school, but I couldn't believe this!

[Just Kate]

Well, I am in WV with small children (oldest is 7) and I just got a letter from our county stating that fact. They will not accept any high school credits if received while homeschooling. I will admit that I was a bit shocked by the letter, but since my kiddos are young, I didn't worry about it too much.

[Jean in Newcastle]

We've run into that in WA state too.

[Mynyel]

Source? :) I can't find it on the net.

 

Is that a law?

Edited August 18, 2011 by Mynyel

[dakarimom5]

When I withdrew my son from 7th grade last year I was told that I HAD to use an accredited cover school. Because WHEN I put him back in school they would start him in the next year he would have been in if I had kept him in ps. So if I homeschool until 11th grade the ps would put him in 8th grade regardless of test scores or anything else. This is a bunch of carp IMO! They can accept people without any documentation as long as they look under the age of 30,but they can't look at my documentation from my cover school and accept that?

[In The Great White North]

Has anyone tried that recently?

 

I'd like to hear what HLDA had to say about putting the 17 year old in 8th grade. And what all the other parents had to say about it. Should be quite the interesting read.

[Denise in Florida]

I believe there used to be a similiar regulation in Florida. I read something about it once. They no longer work that way here. They usually do some type of testing. I am not sure when or how things changed.

[Orthodox6]

I long have known that this is a requirement of many individual school districts. This is the first time that I have heard of a statewide blanket requirement. The threat of this is why I always warn friends that high school stands a strong chance of being an "all or nothing" decision with respect to homeschooling.

[Renee in NC]

That's pretty common - here in NC it is left up to the individual school district and/or principal. The county we used to live in accepts NO credits, while the charter school my oldest attended gave homeschoolers credit for coursework at home.

 

It's always been commonly repeated on a local homeschool email loop that once you decide to do 9th grade at home there's no turning back!

[Julie in CA]

That is what I was told by a representative of our local school district. :glare: I'm pretty sure they can't enforce that, since in CA many of us homeschool by filing an R-4 affadavit and legally becoming our own private school. I've never heard of a private school student needing to start over as a 9th grader when they transferred to the public high school.

 

I've never fully checked into it, because I never needed to know the real answer. :001_smile:

[newlifemom]

I have always thought this to be true. Unless the kids were in some sort of accredited program nothing would be counted towards high school. This has been something I have taken into account as I head towards high school. Once they start 9th grade, homeschooling through high school b/co their only option.

[chiguirre]

This is the way it works here too. I plan to use the rule to our advantage if dss return to ps in hs. Our district requires special needs students to be placed in the year that they'd be in by birthday in elementary school but you must start hs in 9th grade. We've held both of ours back. Ds1 has a late August birthday and would be the youngest by far in his class since even girls with Aug. birthdays are red-shirted here. Ds2 is a year behind his agemates in all of his activities and this is where he feels comfortable and successful. Since you must start in 9th, we can get around the "no holding back sn kids" rule by sending the boys to hs a year later. It's handy for us, but it stinks for typical students who need to return for some reason.

[Crafty Mathy Mom]

:iagree: I haven't researched to see if this is the case, but my brother in-law said that it was lucky for homeschoolers to be allowed to start with 9th grade because the entry point for NC schools is technically kindergarten. He is in training to become a public school principal. We have lovely conversations that end in bean dip.

[kristinannie]

I long have known that this is a requirement of many individual school districts. This is the first time that I have heard of a statewide blanket requirement. The threat of this is why I always warn friends that high school stands a strong chance of being an "all or nothing" decision with respect to homeschooling.

 

 

As far as I know this isn't a state wide requirement although it wouldn't surprise me if it became one. Our new superintendent is very hostile towards homeschoolers.

[kristinannie]

:iagree: I haven't researched to see if this is the case, but my brother in-law said that it was lucky for homeschoolers to be allowed to start with 9th grade because the entry point for NC schools is technically kindergarten. He is in training to become a public school principal. We have lovely conversations that end in bean dip.

 

 

:lol::lol::lol:

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I just found out that several counties in West Virginia require that if you decide to send your DC to public high school, they are required to start in 9th grade regardless of which grades they have completed. So, if your DC wanted to go to high school for his senior year, they would put him in 9th grade. I find this completely appalling. Has anyone heard of anything like this? To us, homeschooling is a year to year decision based on prayer and other considerations. We are a LONG way from high school, but I couldn't believe this!

 

Hawaii is the same way. They will not accept any homeschooled credits. Therefore a student will enter with freshman status no matter how much work they have done at the high school level.

 

I have heard mention of some families putting their kids into a private school in order to get a transcript that noted their homeschooled high school credits, then transferring to a public high school. However, this was very second hand and had no names attached so it might be far fetched. It seems like a lot of trouble to go through just to attend a Hawaiian public school (which aren't worth that level of effort imho).

[Lolly]

Same for our school district here. Not sure how they would handle all of us who are technically private schoolers.

[Night Elf]

:iagree: I haven't researched to see if this is the case, but my brother in-law said that it was lucky for homeschoolers to be allowed to start with 9th grade because the entry point for NC schools is technically kindergarten. He is in training to become a public school principal. We have lovely conversations that end in bean dip.

 

:lol: I want to see a 17 year old in a Kindergarten class.

[newlifemom]

:lol: I want to see a 17 year old in a Kindergarten class.

 

Ooh ooh, me too. :D

[FaithManor]

:lol: I want to see a 17 year old in a Kindergarten class.

 

 

Yep, please, oh please....put it out on you tube...17 year old, six foot tall boy sitting on a k chair doing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider!". :D

 

Snort, snort, snort

 

Faith

[FaithManor]

OH, and I'd like to tell you how my sister-in-law got around it with a Michigan school district that wanted her daughter to repeat 9th grade when they were seeking to enroll her in 10th. My sil just looked at the principal and said, "Well, I guess you don't want the $6200.00 per head funding and my husband and I's participation and volunteerism in your school. Thanks alot. We can use school of choice and do better elsewhere and I'm sure that school will be happy to gain the funding."

 

She didn't even make it to the door before he announced he'd be happy to award her credit if some samples of niece's work and grades were produced. She was enrolled as a sophomore and did not make up a single class.

 

Faith

[Ellie]

That's pretty common. It's one reason that many people recommend that you make that decision before 9th grade, because there are no guarantees that public (or private) schools will accept credits earned at home.

[Crafty Mathy Mom]

:lol: He was in the middle of a tirade about how homeschoolers only have one standardized test per year to go by. He thinks they should take the end of grade subject tests to prove equivalent education.

[phathui5]

:iagree: I haven't researched to see if this is the case, but my brother in-law said that it was lucky for homeschoolers to be allowed to start with 9th grade because the entry point for NC schools is technically kindergarten. He is in training to become a public school principal. We have lovely conversations that end in bean dip.

 

Yikes.

[kristinannie]

:lol: He was in the middle of a tirade about how homeschoolers only have one standardized test per year to go by. He thinks they should take the end of grade subject tests to prove equivalent education.

 

 

Has he seen the stats that in standardized tests, homeschoolers almost always outperform public schoolers???

[nowimscrappin]

That's pretty common - here in NC it is left up to the individual school district and/or principal. The county we used to live in accepts NO credits, while the charter school my oldest attended gave homeschoolers credit for coursework at home.

 

It's always been commonly repeated on a local homeschool email loop that once you decide to do 9th grade at home there's no turning back!

 

This is the same in our county. I could teach my child Algebra, she could test out of it and they would be HAPPY to put her in Geometry, but they won't give her the Algebra credit towards graduation. The adjoining county is more flexible.

 

I make sure I tell everyone in our county that 9th grade is a go / no go decision

[Old Dominion Heather]

Is is true in Virginia, I believe. If you wish to enroll in Virginia in high school, you must pass the VA SOL subject tests for eighth grade in order to have any classes that you take in high school count toward your diploma. Your HS diploma depends on your subject scores on the tests. If you can't pass the tests for the classes after attending all four years of high school, you are issued a certificate of attendance in lieu of a diploma. Many students end up getting extra tutoring in their senior year in order to pass enough of the tests to get the diploma. There are different levels of diplomas as well based on how well you score on the tests. Higher scores mean a better diploma.

 

However, since all this is based on the tests, the tests must be taken in order for credit to be given in a class. AND homeschooled students are not permitted to take the SOL tests in Virginia, so you don't know whether you will even get credit for any classes until you are already enrolled.

 

In Virginia, it does not pay to try to jump in at the end of high school.

[Jodi-FL]

my kids even attended our local public high school for one semester (2nd half of the year) when we moved here and when we pulled them out that summer they told us the same thing. they wouldn't even accept their own credits! ha!

 

but today i got a letter in the mail from the school district that says:

"Please except this letter as receipt that your homeschool objectives and affidavits have been successfully submitted."

 

i showed it to my son who will be a senior and he laughed and said how thankful he was for the homeschool option.

 

jodi in pa

[Photo Ninja]

CA public high schools don't accept hs credits, even though in CA we hs as private schools. They make the student start in 9th grade. Technically the ps doesn't have to accept credits from private schools either (brick and mortar private schools) but they usually do. They just won't accept the hs credits. Their reason is that they have standards that ps students must meet for graduation and diploma, and they can't verify that the hsed student has had the same academic standards, course content, that the grade awarded is valid, or that the work was actually completed, so they don't want to put their name on those credits by accepting them. In CA parents know that hsing high school means for all four years unless they can convince a private school to accept the hs credits. Others just enroll their dc in a community college instead of the public high school. Most don't bother trying to enroll in the ps unless it is for ninth grade. I suppose that individual ps principals could make exceptions, but in my area it has not happened as far as I know.

[jewellsmommy]

This seems so wrong! Colleges will accept homeschool high school credits, but the ps high schools won't? That is ridiculous! If you have any approved standardized test score that shows grade equivalency work, that should be sufficient.

[*********]

OH, and I'd like to tell you how my sister-in-law got around it with a Michigan school district that wanted her daughter to repeat 9th grade when they were seeking to enroll her in 10th. My sil just looked at the principal and said, "Well, I guess you don't want the $6200.00 per head funding and my husband and I's participation and volunteerism in your school. Thanks alot. We can use school of choice and do better elsewhere and I'm sure that school will be happy to gain the funding."

 

She didn't even make it to the door before he announced he'd be happy to award her credit if some samples of niece's work and grades were produced. She was enrolled as a sophomore and did not make up a single class.

 

Faith

 

Faith, could you tell me how I'd find the info on this for Michigan? I don't know if it's different rules depending on what school district you're in, or if it's a state-wide law, or what.

[Abbeygirlsouth]

I long have known that this is a requirement of many individual school districts. This is the first time that I have heard of a statewide blanket requirement. The threat of this is why I always warn friends that high school stands a strong chance of being an "all or nothing" decision with respect to homeschooling.

 

In Texas, we have so much freedom in respect to homeschooling that it is often not realized that individual school districts can require this in high school. One of my dk desired to attend ps their junior/senior year and none of their homeschool credits would be accepted. Each credit would need to be taken again on-line on top of the current school course load.

 

We could have tried another school several miles down the road, as I have heard of home schoolers transferring into that particular ps. However, in a few of those families, when graduation time came around, there were some last minute headaches having to do with accepting all homeschool credits.

[theYoungerMrsWarde]

CA public high schools don't accept hs credits, even though in CA we hs as private schools. They make the student start in 9th grade.... In CA parents know that hsing high school means for all four years unless they can convince a private school to accept the hs credits. Others just enroll their dc in a community college instead of the public high school.

 

Wow, I didn't know that (but we are new at this.) I am glad I read this thread! It doesn't change my mind about homeschooling through high school, but it is important to know!

[Firestar Academy]

so, just out of curiosity, how would one find out about this?? I live in NJ

 

Could I just go into the ps high school and ask them??

 

Robin

[Jean in Newcastle]

This seems so wrong! Colleges will accept homeschool high school credits, but the ps high schools won't? That is ridiculous! If you have any approved standardized test score that shows grade equivalency work, that should be sufficient.

 

You would think so but there is no logic or reason in these decisions.

[kristinannie]

my kids even attended our local public high school for one semester (2nd half of the year) when we moved here and when we pulled them out that summer they told us the same thing. they wouldn't even accept their own credits! ha!

 

but today i got a letter in the mail from the school district that says:

"Please except this letter as receipt that your homeschool objectives and affidavits have been successfully submitted."

 

i showed it to my son who will be a senior and he laughed and said how thankful he was for the homeschool option.

 

jodi in pa

 

 

That is just hilarious!

[TheApprentice]

I don't know if it's state wide where we live, but definitely in our county, you start at 9th grade no matter the age. The school system wants every kid to follow their curriculum to receive a diploma.

[DusksAngel]

Yep, please, oh please....put it out on you tube...17 year old, six foot tall boy sitting on a k chair doing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider!". :D

 

Snort, snort, snort

 

Faith

 

 

We could call it a socialization experiment.

[ChristusG]

What if you register under an umbrella school when your child begins high school? That's what I intend to do. Even though I plan to homeschool till graduation, I want that "just in case" protection.

[cindergretta]

We've run into that in WA state too.

 

Does that vary by district? We haven't encountered this and that makes me wonder if districts or principals make the call in WA or if it is OSPI who makes the call.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Does that vary by district? We haven't encountered this and that makes me wonder if districts or principals make the call in WA or if it is OSPI who makes the call.

 

I don't know, but my friend ran into this problem with Renton school district.

[SonshineLearner]

Yep, please, oh please....put it out on you tube...17 year old, six foot tall boy sitting on a k chair doing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider!". :D

 

Snort, snort, snort

 

Faith

 

Don't they have kids who are ahead... skip grades... So maybe the boy could do one week of each grade... before he moved all the way up through highschool. :)

[Jean in Newcastle]

Sorry...skipping to the end..read the first page so sorry if I repeat, but can't they test out of those grade levels? I would think a homeschooled kid would test over their appropriate grade level.

 

People answered this earlier - many of these districts will not allow them to test out of the grade levels.

[Ellie]

What if you register under an umbrella school when your child begins high school? That's what I intend to do. Even though I plan to homeschool till graduation, I want that "just in case" protection.

That works in some states, not at all in others.

[Margo out of lurking]

..

[Running the race]

I just found out that several counties in West Virginia require that if you decide to send your DC to public high school, they are required to start in 9th grade regardless of which grades they have completed. So, if your DC wanted to go to high school for his senior year, they would put him in 9th grade. I find this completely appalling. Has anyone heard of anything like this? To us, homeschooling is a year to year decision based on prayer and other considerations. We are a LONG way from high school, but I couldn't believe this!

 

I'm pretty sure California has the same rule.

[MamaJo]

Is is true in Virginia, I believe. If you wish to enroll in Virginia in high school, you must pass the VA SOL subject tests for eighth grade in order to have any classes that you take in high school count toward your diploma. Your HS diploma depends on your subject scores on the tests. If you can't pass the tests for the classes after attending all four years of high school, you are issued a certificate of attendance in lieu of a diploma. Many students end up getting extra tutoring in their senior year in order to pass enough of the tests to get the diploma. There are different levels of diplomas as well based on how well you score on the tests. Higher scores mean a better diploma.

 

However, since all this is based on the tests, the tests must be taken in order for credit to be given in a class. AND homeschooled students are not permitted to take the SOL tests in Virginia, so you don't know whether you will even get credit for any classes until you are already enrolled.

 

In Virginia, it does not pay to try to jump in at the end of high school.

 

 

I am pretty sure the decision is the principals in VA. I have known kids to go in after 9th grade at our local school.

[FaithManor]

Faith, could you tell me how I'd find the info on this for Michigan? I don't know if it's different rules depending on what school district you're in, or if it's a state-wide law, or what.

 

 

There aren't any laws about what school districts must accept. So, it varies by principal. Now, I can say that most homeschoolers I know who have done 9th or 10th grade at home and then enrolled them in school, did not have issues...principals seem more than happy to accomodate/give credit and get that per head funding. But, my sil happened to run into a newer one to our area and well, he has developed a reputation for being "a jerK".

 

But, there aren't any statewide norms, so no guarantees that a parent wouldn't have trouble. Though, my guess is with schools hurting for funding this year, it might be fairly easy in most areas.

 

Faith

Edited August 19, 2011 by FaithManor

[Sebastian (a lady)]

According to the law, each VA school district has the option to accept whatever it wants. Or doesn't.

 

I see an easy way around this. If your child were homeschooled through 10th grade, you can still send them to public school. It appears that most schools are willing to let the student into the appropriate class (geometry, for example). They just wouldn't get credit for hsed classes (algebra). So your child attends public school for 11th and 12th grades, and YOU determine, as a homeschool parent, that they've completed your homeschool. YOU give the diploma from your homeschool.

 

It's no different than outsourcing other classes, right?

 

_____

It is of course entirely possible that you couldn't work this in other states because of the way the law is written, but I don't see a conflict in VA. I wouldn't TELL my district I was doing this, but I'd do it if the only other option were to start my child back with 0 credit.

 

I'm trying to imagine how a college admissions office would view a transcript that started at home, went to the local public high school and then failed to graduate with the rest of the high school class and received a home school diploma instead.

 

I think that would raise a lot of red flags. If it were a case of partial enrollment with the high school, I think it would be rather easy to explain. But if the student were taking a full load at the local school, but not getting their diploma, I think there would be a lot of questions about why.

 

For better or worse, I think you have to make the call before 9th grade for the most part.

[angela in ohio]

That is the default in Michigan and Ohio (though school districts are free to be more generous.) We made our decision in 8th grade knowing that those were the stakes.

 

The local private schools all told us they'd be happy to give credit for anything done at home. Two of them didn't even want any documentation, they would just take my transcript with no proof.