OrdinaryTime Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 I'm a fairly new homeschooler in northern VA. Last year my son was 5, and we sent in the official Notice of Intent to homeschool to the local school. No problems. Virginia law has a proof of progress provision, but expliciting expempts children under the age of six as of Sept. 30 of the school year. My son was 5 on that day so I didn't submit testing. This year I submitted my Notice of Intent again. Didn't hear anything for weeks. Suddenly I recieved a call from the superintendent's office this week saying my NOI was pending because I didn't provide testing from last year. :confused: I tried to explain that the law clearly states that those under six do not have to submit testing. The poor woman just kep citing the age requirements for notification, not testing. I talked with them again today and still:banghead: The lower level minions seem to be done with me and now the superintendent is calling later today. I am sure it will all work out fine in the end, but am just so frustrated and annoyed! We only have one page of homeschooling regulations in VA; you would think the people enforcing them would actually READ them. I am being treated like a moron by the school board staff for quoting the regulations directly from their OWN WEBSITE! . This is when they will even let me say anything at all. Generally, they just keep interupting me whenever I try to say anything, insisting that my son needs tested. In theory, I'm not wildly opposed to testing, but there is no way in the world I am going to test him simply because they insist illegally that I must! Whew! That felt good to get it off my chest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brightside Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 I thought the exemption was for not having to send an NOI, if they were under 6. I was of the belief that if you sent the NOI that you had to complete the testing. If you belong to Virginia Homeschoolers or HSLDA, I am sure they can help you sort through this. It is not unusual for the schools/school board not know the law. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 You are correct, so stand your ground. The testing part of the law does state that if the child is not 6 years old by Sept. 30th of that year that they do not have to be tested. I had this happen with my dd and youngest son because their birthdays are later in the year. My local office simply said thank you for the information, because they understood and/or read the law. I've been lucky and my local person is very knowledgeable about the law. I sure hope the SI understand the law and this will all be over soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 I thought the exemption was for not having to send an NOI, if they were under 6. I was of the belief that if you sent the NOI that you had to complete the testing. If you belong to Virginia Homeschoolers or HSLDA, I am sure they can help you sort through this. It is not unusual for the schools/school board not know the law. "Standardized Tests: Only for parents choosing Option I, and only if the child was 6 or older by Sept. 30." This looks like you don't need tests for anyone not yet 6 on that date. BUT you do have to report if they are 5, even parents who plan to use PS must report if their five year old will be starting a year late. And they only have to score in the 23rd percentile on the tests....My standards are much higher than that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryTime Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share Posted September 23, 2011 I agree. My standards are much higher, too. I have no worries about my son's test results. There is just no way I am going to feed the local school officials' delusions of grandeur by sumbitting somthing I have no legal obligation to submit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryTime Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share Posted September 23, 2011 Thanks everyone for the feedback! I was very confident I was correct. It is fairly straight forward, plus my husband is a lawyer. Still, it is always good to hear from other homeschoolers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAS in LA Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 my husband is a lawyer. Mentioning this might get an interesting response. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 You could give the VA Homeschooler's office a call, and you might gets some immediate advice. Are you a member of the VAHomeschooler's yahoo group? You could also post there for some quick answers. I think that rather than going back and forth with these people on the phone, you might want to request that they send you a letter. Then you can print off a copy of the law, show them that you are in compliance and send it back to them. I think getting these things in writing might be a good idea. BTW, it does sound to me like you are in compliance, and have nothing to worry about... What county are you in, can you post that here? I am in No VA, too. And have heard that several counties around us can be a bit stickier to deal with, and may require more, a-hem, reminding of the specific laws. Lots of support coming your way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 I agree. My standards are much higher, too. I have no worries about my son's test results. There is just no way I am going to feed the local school officials' delusions of grandeur by sumbitting somthing I have no legal obligation to submit. I was not suggesting your standards weren't or that you should test because they are so low...I am just in shock at what they deem satisfactory. Is this what the expect from the PS kids before passing them to the next grade? If so...wow! My son took the first grade test in kindergarten and scored stanine 8 or 9 on all but one area. They just don't expect much of the kids in PS. That is a big problem in the system, expectations! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryTime Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share Posted September 23, 2011 Mentioning this might get an interesting response. :D Actually, when I recieved the original call from the office, my immediate response was to just say, "I have to check with my lawyer." It sounds much better than husband! The poor woman seemed so surprised she almost immediately hung up. I had to quickly ask for contact information to get back with her! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryTime Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share Posted September 23, 2011 You could give the VA Homeschooler's office a call, and you might gets some immediate advice. Are you a member of the VAHomeschooler's yahoo group? You could also post there for some quick answers. I think that rather than going back and forth with these people on the phone, you might want to request that they send you a letter. Then you can print off a copy of the law, show them that you are in compliance and send it back to them. I think getting these things in writing might be a good idea. BTW, it does sound to me like you are in compliance, and have nothing to worry about... What county are you in, can you post that here? I am in No VA, too. And have heard that several counties around us can be a bit stickier to deal with, and may require more, a-hem, reminding of the specific laws. Lots of support coming your way! Very good idea to go to paper. I'm definitely going to do request that if no progress is made on the next call. I'm in the City of Alexandria, not the county. In theory, I'm not suprised at these kind of hijinks around here, but when it personally happened to me, I was still kind of shocked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryTime Posted September 23, 2011 Author Share Posted September 23, 2011 I was not suggesting your standards weren't or that you should test because they are so low...I am just in shock at what they deem satisfactory. Is this what the expect from the PS kids before passing them to the next grade? If so...wow! My son took the first grade test in kindergarten and scored stanine 8 or 9 on all but one area. They just don't expect much of the kids in PS. That is a big problem in the system, expectations! I didn't think you were. :) Just wanted to make it clear that I'm not some flaky non-schooler trying to avoid truancy officers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 I was not suggesting your standards weren't or that you should test because they are so low...I am just in shock at what they deem satisfactory. Is this what the expect from the PS kids before passing them to the next grade? If so...wow! My son took the first grade test in kindergarten and scored stanine 8 or 9 on all but one area. They just don't expect much of the kids in PS. That is a big problem in the system, expectations! But would you want the legal bar for homeschoolers to be set higher? I wouldn't! I know enough folks who have kids with learning disorders or disabilities or mystery illnesses or probably-spectrum kids or other situations where a higher standard would be detrimental to the child's development/education. In PA, we have to test in 3rd, 5th, and 8th, but there is no minimimum score, and I'm glad of it! (Sorry to hijack OP! I find that when I know the law, eventually I get to talk to someone who will see that I'm right and let whatever their request was drop. I'm sure this will work out for you, but I know how frustrating it is when you're in the thick of it!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.