| Delaware City School District |
| Administrative Guidelines |
9270 - PROCEDURE FOR EDUCATING A CHILD AT HOME
The District has established the following requirements and limitations to home education.
Notification of Intent to Educate Child At Home
A parent electing to home educate a child shall provide the Director of Student Services with the following information:
| A. | school year for which notification is made | |
| B. | name of parent, address, and telephone number [telephone number optional] | |
| C. | name, address, and telephone number [telephone number optional] of person(s) who will be teaching the child the subjects required by the State Department of Education, if other than the parent | |
| D. | full name and birthdate of child to be educated at home | |
| E. | assurance that the home education program will include the subjects required by the State Department of Education, except that home education shall not be required to include any concept, topic, or practice that is in conflict with the sincerely held religious beliefs of parent | |
| F. | a brief outline of the intended curriculum for the current year | |
| G. | a list of textbooks, correspondence course, commercial curricular, or other basic teaching materials that the parent intends to use for home education | |
| H. | assurance that the child will be provided with a minimum of 900 hours of home education each school year | |
| I. | assurance that the home teacher has one of the following qualifications: |
| 1. | a high school diploma | ||
| 2. | the certificate of high school equivalence | ||
| 3. | standardized test scores that demonstrate high school equivalence, or | ||
| 4. | other equivalent credential found appropriate by the Superintendent, or | ||
| 5. | lacking the above-listed qualifications, the home teacher must work under the direction of a person holding a baccalaureate degree from a recognized college until the child's or children's test results demonstrate reasonable proficiency or until the home teacher obtains a high school diploma or the certificate of high school equivalence |
| J. | the parent(s) shall affirm the information supplied with his/her signature prior to providing it to the Director of Student Services |
The Director or designee shall file in his/her office a copy of the notification of intent to provide home education and the information supplied by the parents, a copy of the excuse (if granted), papers showing the home education instructor's qualifications, and all other documents relating to the notification and actions thereon.
Review of Notification
The Director or designee will review the information submitted by the parent and determine if it is in accordance with State law within fourteen (14) calendar days after receipt of the information.
If the information provided by the parent is sufficient, the Director shall notify the parent in writing that the child will be excused from school attendance for the school year for home education.
If the information submitted by the parent is incomplete, the Director shall specifically state in writing the manner in which the information is incomplete and allow the parent an additional fourteen (14) days to supply additional information in writing or to schedule a conference with the parent, at which conference the additional information can be supplied.
If the information supplied by the parent in conjunction with a notification of intent to home educate a child is inadequate or if the Director has substantial evidence that minimum educational requirements will not be met under the proposed home education course of study, the Director shall, within fourteen (14) calendar days after receipt of the information, inform the parents in writing of his/her intent to deny the excuse. The notification of intent to deny the excuse shall inform the parents that they have a right to a due process hearing before the Assistant Superintendent to challenge the denial of the excuse.
At the due process hearing, the Assistant Superintendent shall create a record of the proceedings, including oral testimony of witnesses and any documentary evidence referred to during the hearing. The Assistant Superintendent may grant or deny an excuse from attendance based on evidence presented during the hearing.
If the Assistant Superintendent denies the excuse from school attendance, the Superintendent shall notify the parents in writing that:
| A. | they have the right to appeal the denial within ten (10) calendar days to the juvenile judge of the county pursuant to R.C. 3331.08; and | |
| B. | that they may be in violation of R.C. 3321.03 (duty to see that child receives instruction) and R.C. 3321.04 (duty to see that child attends school unless excused from attendance) if they refuse to enroll their child in school. |
Failure of Parent to Provide Home Education
Upon substantial evidence of cessation of home education, the Director shall notify the parents in writing that s/he intends to revoke the excuse from attendance and that the parents have a right to a due process hearing regarding the revocation of the excuse. The due process hearing shall be conducted in the same manner as described above for a due process hearing regarding the denial of an excuse from school attendance for purposes of home education.
If the excuse is withdrawn after the hearing, the Assistant Superintendent shall notify the parents in writing that they must enroll their child in school and that they have the right to appeal the revocation of the excuse within ten (10) calendar days to the juvenile judge of the county pursuant to R.C. 3331.08.
Participation in School
Students who are excused from attendance at school by reason of home education will be deemed to have withdrawn from enrollment in District schools during the period of home education. However, home-educated students may enroll to attend a District school on a part-time basis. In order to participate in school-sponsored athletic programs, co-curricular or extra-curricular activities or programs, students must be enrolled and attend school in the District for a minimum of one (1) full credit courses or the equivalent. To be academically eligible for school-sponsored athletic programs, students in grades 7 or 8 must have passed seventy-five percent (75%) of the courses for which they receive grades in the previous grading period and maintain at least a 1.5 grade-point average. Continued eligibility will be determined by their receiving passing grades on seventy-five percent (75%) of the quarterly assessments in core courses administered to full-time students. Students enrolled in grades 9, 10, 11 or 12 must have been enrolled in the District the immediately preceding grading period and receive passing grades on the quarterly assessments administered in core courses of the regular school program each grading period in subjects that earn a minimum of 5.0 credits per year.
Assessment
If a parent elects to home educate a child for another school year, upon providing subsequent written notification, the parent must provide the Assistant Superintendent with an annual academic assessment report, including information related to the assessment used and the performance results of his/her child that confirm that the student has mastered the content of the course. This assessment report should include:
| A. | a written narrative indicating that a portfolio of work done by the child has been reviewed and that the child's academic progress for the year is in accordance with the child's abilities; | |
| B. | examples of tests and test scores; | |
| C. | resources and books used in the course; | |
| D. | course of study completed; | |
| E. | the number of hours devoted to each course of study. |
The home-schooled student will be permitted to take achievement/ability tests normally given at each grade by the District. This is to be done cost-free but must be done during the regular testing cycle. It is the parent's responsibility to make the appropriate arrangements with the school principal. The District will not pay for any standardized testing of students not enrolled in the School District. The student may take tests such as the PSAT, PLAN, etc. normally given at the high school at the same cost charged District students.
Re-Enrollment in School
If a parent wishes to have his/her child return to a District school, s/he must follow normal enrollment guidelines. The conditions described in AG 5463 - Student Transfer from a Nonaccredited School will apply.
In grades 9-12, if the student wishes to enroll, the parent must provide an academic assessment report for each class taken at home. In addition, the school will need the grades from the last public or private school attended. Athletic eligibility will be determined by OHSAA guidelines and District athletic policy.
Students are encouraged to enroll at the beginning of a semester.
All home-based, private education courses will be given a grade of P/F (Pass/Fail) and transcripts will denote "home-education, private education" with "P/F grades" and "credits" assigned.
The student's grade-point average will be established only after s/he has completed two (2) consecutive semesters of attendance at the high school. To be eligible for awards such as Valedictorian or Salutatorian, Distinguished Scholar, Ohio Academic Scholarship, National Honor Society, etc., the student must be enrolled for four (4) consecutive semesters prior to the second semester of the senior year.
If the student wishes to graduate, s/he must pass the 10th grade Ohio graduation test and meet the requirements as specified in Board Policy 5460 and graduation guidelines.
Revised 11/03
Revised 1/21/09
Revised 5/17/10