Plaid Dad Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 We live in a state that requires school district approval for homeschoolers' education plans. We have to have our education plan approved each year, show 180 days of instruction, and provide an agreed-upon form of evaluation at the end of the year. This year we are enrolled with a homeschool academy that takes care of some of the paperwork, but we have decided not to re-enroll next year so we can save some money. It's increasingly clear to me that I'm going to have to school year-round to avoid losing ground in our core subjects (Latin and math). How do those of you who live in "reporting" states handle this? Do you just track your 180 days during the "normal" September-June school year and report on those, or do you make it clear to the state that you're schooling year-round? Do you set a particular date on which you officially begin a new grade for your dc? Our curriculum is already so far out of the realm of what's considered normal around here that reporting is downright surreal for me. I'd like to keep it as simple as possible. TIA for any advice you can offer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue G in PA Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 I mean, from what date until what date? Here in PA, the homeschool calendar year runs from July 1 - June 30 the following year. We have to have 180 days w/in that calendar year. Our evaluations/portfolios are due by June 30 and we must have our education plan/goals and notarized affidavit in by Aug. 1 to our school district. This is our first year going it alone and having to report so I have no idea how it will go :) I use a blank grid w/180 squares I printed from Donna Young and just fill in the date we did any schoolwork. I count field trips, co-op days, and most 1/2 days if we got our core subjects in. I only keep track of grade levels for testing purposes (PA has mandatory state testing in 3rd, 5th and 8th) and our education plan. PA has required subjects we must teach in elem., middle and high but no specifications on what years to teach those subjects, KWIM? One could very possibly do math one year, english the next, science the next, etc. and get away w/ it b/c of the way the rules are written! I can't stand PA's hs laws. HTH a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafiki Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plaid Dad Posted February 23, 2008 Author Share Posted February 23, 2008 I mean, from what date until what date? I'm not sure that there is one. Applications have to be turned in to the district by August 15th to begin schooling in September, and evaluations are due the following July 15th, but you can actually submit your application and begin schooling at any point. Last year we submitted ours in February and didn't hear back until July, after we'd already begun our school year. :rolleyes: We have a similar thing with subjects - you have to cover X, Y, and Z but not in any particular year. I'm sure they'd balk if someone didn't want to teach math every year, but that's not an issue for us. I just try to fit what we're doing into their categories as best I can. Thank you for reminding me about the Donna Young attendance form. That will be very helpful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccm Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 I pulled out the legal info that my local home school support group gave me. According to the 2006-07 edition Home Schooling in the United States: A Legal Analysis (HSLDA), under Required Days of Instruction it states, None required, but school districts will use the public school's required number of days and hours of instruction time for purposes of comparison, i.e., 180 days; 900 hours at the elementary level and 990 hours at the secondary level. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 71,**1,4: Mass. Regs. Code tit. 603, *27.03 and .04. Also, later on, it says, Nearly each one of the 481 school districts has different rules for home schools, demonstrating the vagueness of the law. I don't see anywhere where the state has a say in the matter. I think it's up to the individual school districts. Cyrena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 Our law requires "no less than one hundred seventy-two days of instruction, averaging four instructional contact hours per day". I report exactly 172 days. We do math, reading and writing year round. I don't report those at all. I just plan the full school day for about 180 days, and the rest of the year I don't really plan we just do the next lesson and read for a half hour. Our local homeschool groups all advocate reporting only what is required and not a bit more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tutor Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 We just moved out of PA, and we had to report 180 days of instruction. We always did more than that, so what I did to meet the state requirement was print out a grid with 180 squares on it. Each square had all the state-required subjects listed with a place to check them off when done. Beginning on July 1, I would check-off what subjects were done that day. Over the summer, school was lighter, so I might count two days as one grid "day". I didn't date the grid; I just numbered the squares 1-180. (I can send you a copy if you'd like.) When I reached the end of the grid, I just stopped keeping track for the state and kept on teaching. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragons in the flower bed Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 I send my year-long plan in for approval, but send it on their timetable. In other words, I mail them what we're already studying, for their approval. You might also consider getting ahold of some unschoolers in your school district and copying their plans which probably explain in educationese the things all kids do anyway. That way you can go ahead with J.'s curriculum without giving any thought to whether or not it will please the school district. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plaid Dad Posted February 23, 2008 Author Share Posted February 23, 2008 Thanks, everyone. I've decided that we're going to consider our school year to run from July 1 (which is my dd's birthday)-June 30, but send in the forms when the district expects them. I'm not so much worried about approval as keeping my reporting to them as simple as possible. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly IN Posted February 23, 2008 Share Posted February 23, 2008 We don't report here in Indiana. However they say school schedule should be from July to June to get 180 days in. Holly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie in Ma Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 We school year round too and after reading the laws I came up with this that I write in our Letter Of Intent... - Our home school program will meet or exceed the standards of structured learning time as defined in 603 CMR 27.02. I refuse to agree or submit anything saying we will school the 180 days Ma requires because that is for the PS. I also don't want to be snotty and say that almost every day 365 we are doing something because it isn't any of their business KWIM? Hope that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plaid Dad Posted February 24, 2008 Author Share Posted February 24, 2008 - Our home school program will meet or exceed the standards of structured learning time as defined in 603 CMR 27.02. Our district has a form to fill out that stands in for the letter of intent, and now that I'm looking at it, all they require is that "a home-educated student receives instruction that is equal to public schooling in its thoroughness and efficiency, and in the progress made therein." I feel quite confident that we're doing that! Since there's no mention of a specific number of days or the need to document "attendance," I'm not going to worry about it. Thank you all for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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