IMPORTANT UPDATE: In spite of the favorable changes to the law that took effect almost 2 years ago, many school administrators persist in requesting portfolios, test scores or proof of evaluator qualifications. If you are new to homeschooling, I urge you to educate yourself about exactly what is required by law. This article and website will help but if you have a non-compliant superintendent, you should consider joining the private member community to help you recognize and resist illegal and inappropriate requests by school administrators. You can learn more about the private community here.
On Friday, October 31, 2014, Governor Corbett signed HB 1013, which took effect immediately.
New Law Eliminates Portfolio Review by Superintendent
The new law, Act 196 of 2014, eliminates the requirement of a portfolio review by superintendents (or any school personnel), gives parent-issued diplomas the same status as a Commonwealth-issued diploma and requires more accountability by a superintendent who questions whether an appropriate education is occurring.
Under the prior law, a portfolio, consisting of a log, samples of work and results of standardized tests in grades 3, 5 and 8, was reviewed by a qualified evaluator during an interview with the student. After the evaluation, the supervisor was then required to submit the portfolio, including the evaluator’s certification of an appropriate education, to the superintendent no later than June 30.
Supervisor Should Not Submit Portfolio Materials to School District
Under the new homeschool law, supervisors are only required to submit the certification by an evaluator that an appropriate education is occurring. The supervisor should not submit (and school district personnel have no authority to request or collect) a log, samples of work or results of standardized tests. Those materials will only be reviewed by the evaluator during the student interview and will be the basis of the certification of an appropriate education. The superintendent must accept the certification.
Superintendent Must Specify Basis That Appropriate Education Not Occurring
If, at any time during the school year, the superintendent has a reasonable belief that an appropriate education is not taking place, he or she must send a certified letter, return receipt requested, to the supervisor which specifies the basis for a reasonable belief, requesting an evaluation. A certification by an evaluator that an appropriate education is occurring must be submitted within 30 days. The superintendent must accept the certification by the evaluator.
Parent-Issued Diploma Equal to State-Issued Diploma
Finally, a diploma issued by the supervisor (parent) after successful completion of a home education program carries the same rights and privileges as a Commonwealth-issued diploma.
A diploma form created by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and made available on its website must be signed by the student’s twelfth year evaluator.
This eliminates the previous requirement for a superintendent’s signature certifying successful completion of a home education program in order to receive certain grants and aid for higher education.
Expect Your School District to Be Unaware of the Changes
Finally, it’s worth noting that school administrators are notoriously misinformed about the requirements of the homeschool law. Do not be surprised and don’t panic if you receive a request for portfolio materials (log, samples and test scores). As always, the best way to combat inappropriate and extra legal requests by uninformed school district personnel is to read and understand the law yourself. You can read the final print version of the bill here.
I strongly urge you NOT to comply with such a request (even though you have prepared those materials for your evaluator). The new law ONLY requires a certification by your evaluator that an appropriate education has taken place.
“Appropriate education” is defined in the statute as follows: “A program consisting of instruction in the required subjects for the time required in this act and in which the student demonstrates sustained progress in the overall program.” That’s it.
I urge you to find an evaluator who adheres to the definition of “appropriate education” when reviewing your student’s work.
If you’re interested in a free, simple form letter that your evaluator may use to certify that an appropriate education has occurred,
This is a wonderful informative post! I plan on contacting all of my student’s parents quite soon to be sure that all are aware of this change in the law. What great news for all of us homeschoolers!
I agree and I think it’s important for all homeschool parents in Pennsylvania to be proactive about letting everyone know about this law. So many of us have experience with school administrators asking for information or other things that aren’t required. Thanks, Carol.
There is something I have been wondering for some time about evaluations. Can a school district deny your choice of an evaluator and force you to choose one of their own approval?
I also want to thank you for posting this. 🙂
Hi Melissa,
No. As long as your evaluator has the qualifications under the law (Pa Certified teacher, non-public school teacher with 2 years classroom/grading experience within last 10 years, clinical or school psychologist-these are the basic qualifications), the school district can’t challenge your choice. Moreover, under the new law, the superintendent MUST accept the certification by an evaluator that an appropriate education has taken place. BOOM! DONE! YAY! I strongly discourage anyone from using district evaluators (even if they meet the qualifications under the law) as they will likely apply the wrong standard, compare them to the public school students and look for specific benchmarks and types of work which is completely inappropriate and unsupported by the law.
Hope this clears it up for you.
Actually, a superintendent can deny your choice of evaluator, if you request one based on “other qualifications.” (Act 169: At the request of the supervisor, persons with other qualifications may conduct the evaluation with the prior consent of the district of residence superintendent.)
I don’t have a teaching credential, but families can request that their district allow me to evaluate. (Only one district has declined in the 8 years I’ve been evaluating.)
Hi Melissa,
I’m not sure which post your comment clarifies. Please direct me to the language so I can refine it but you are correct. A superintendent can deny a request by a parent who seeks approval of an evaluator based on “other qualifications”. That is completely within the superintendent’s discretion. However, a superintendent may not reject a certification by an evaluator who has the qualifications defined in the law.
Do you know if the PDE plans on sending memos out to the public school districts? Also When do you think the PDE website will be updated with these changes? I am sure when school districts start receiving only evaluation letters as well as possible parent letters explaining the reasoning, they are going to to go straight to the PDE website and it won’t be listed yet.
Kelly,
I don’t know when the PDE will update its website. I have the same concerns that you have and suspect that even if the PDE updates the website AND notifies superintendents, plenty of school administrators will continue to request portfolios or some element of them that was required under the old law. As long as parents are aware of the change, they can be firm and ignore those requests. I’ll let you know if I hear anything, though.
What advice can be share as we are about to relocate to PA in December 2015? What do we need to do to make sure we are prepared if approached? We are coming from a relaxed state (NJ).
Hi Steph,
If your children are compulsory school age (8-17) you should file an affidavit, list of proposed educational objectives and evidence of health services (or a religious exemption) with the school district when you relocate. Your home education program can not be rejected or disapproved. I don’t see why you would be “approached”. PA definitely has a reputation for being a high regulation state (more paperwork than most) but school officials aren’t walking around looking for homeschooled kids and checking their paperwork. Don’t stress about filing the paperwork. Download my affidavit form and objectives (they each comply with the law), make sure you remember to sign the affidavit in the presence of a notary and just mail them in to the new school district, certified mail, return receipt requested. Hope this helps.
I was wandering if there is a place where you can pri t this new law as a way to turn it i to the school upon request of a portfolio as to not break the trust between District and supervisor. I have been in a school district where they literally went out of their way to make things as hard as possible and now i have a great school district where they are so loving sweet and trust worthy. I love this relationship. They actually repect homeschoolers here ♡
Heather, you’re lucky to be in a homeschool-friendly district. I prepared a form letter addressed to superintendents which you can find on the homeschool forms page. Access to the form requires an email address but if you already subscribed, it will let you get the form. You can send the letter now or when you turn in the evaluator’s certification at the end of the school year.
“Trust” between superintendents and homeschoolers should no longer be a concern of yours. Superintendents don’t review any materials, they must accept an evaluator’s certification. Also there’s no legal basis to reject, approve or disapprove of a home education program. The list of objectives (which will still be required along with an affidavit at the beginning of the year) can’t be rejected.
If, after you file your evaluator’s certification and letter (if you decide to include that-you have no obligation to inform the school of the law) you get a request for a portfolio or some element of it previously required, you can simply inform the school that the new law eliminates that obligation and by filing the evaluator letter, you have complied with the law. If you aren’t comfortable with that, you can suggest that they confirm the information with Suzanne Tallman of the PDE. She can be reached at 717-214-8212.
Although I encourage every homeschooling parent in PA to read the new law a couple of times through, I wouldn’t suggest giving the school district a copy. If they persist in their request, they aren’t likely to read it. You can read the latest printer version of the bill here: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/billinfo/billinfo.cfm?syear=2013&sind=0&body=H&type=B&bn=1013. Be sure to read “How to Read a Bill” by clicking the icon at the bottom of the webpage above.
Finally, as a courtesy to homeschool parents in your former school district, I would notify any of the parents you know about the new law. Refer them to the resources on this site to help get them up to speed. I, personally, would send a copy of the letter I prepared to your former superintendent and any school personnel who you found particularly harassing. Thanks for your question.
Do you know when the PDE will post of form for a parent issued diploma that is signed by the evaluator on its website? My daughter is having difficulties with her diploma status. She is a freshman at Santa Monica College in California. Her school district is only willing to state that she participated in a home education program through 12th grade and will not include any language about graduating.
Tamara,
I don’t know when the PDE will post that form. My reading of the Bill did not indicate a deadline and Suzanne Tallman has not replied to my email with the same question. That being said, I’m not sure it will help you. The law recognizing parent/evaluator issued diplomas does not apply retroactively (at least with respect to access to state aid and grants and admission to PA state universities and colleges). I’m curious about why you’re having a problem with her diploma status since she’s already enrolled. If the college is requiring one, your district’s statement along with evidence of the basic graduation requirements in PA and a transcript showing that she met them should satisfy the college. I’m sorry, though, I don’t have personal experience graduating homeschooled high schoolers and college admissions.
How will this new law affect testing requirements? Do we still submit the scores, or do they stay in the portfolio to only be reviewed by the evaluator? Is there still a necessity for testing?
Hi Sarah,
Testing is still required in grades 3, 5 and 8. Include the results in your portfolio for the evaluator to review (or just verify that testing was completed). You will not submit scores to the school district. Only the evaluator’s certification that “an appropriate education is occurring.” There is still a legal requirement for administering one of the approved tests listed on the PDE website. That goes for the other portfolio materials. You still should maintain a log and collect samples of the child’s work. I can direct you to articles on my site about the portfolio but realize that I still have to go through most of the material on the site and edit to account for the new law.
I am an evaluator based on “other qualifications” mentioned in the original law. (Those other qualifications in my case include a B.A. and 22 years of homeschooling our own children.) I am interested in finding out how the new changes will affect evaluators. the new text (“The diploma shall be signed by the student’s twelfth grade evaluator in confirmation of the student’s suitability for graduation”) causes me to believe that I now have an additional responsibility. Prior to this, I understood my duty to be only to “verify whether or not an appropriate education” was occurring. By definition, I functioned under the belief that the student’s program consisted of “instruction in the required subjects for the time required” in Act 169 “and in which the student demonstrated sustained progress in the overall program” for that year only.
Will I be required to prove to anyone in the future why I determined that a student was “suitable for graduation”?
I appreciate any thoughts or advice you have for me.
Darlene,
Assuming you have been approved by whichever school district to conduct secondary evaluations, the diploma approval requires that you verify that the basic graduation requirements have been met. These are clearly listed and I wrote about them here.
Suzanne Tallman, from the PDE has also been fielding questions from concerned evaluators about this issue. If you plan to sign off for a diploma (and I see no reason why you shouldn’t if you’re approved by a certain district for secondary evaluations), you would need to verify that the basic graduation requirements have been met. You should follow the same methods of interviewing and reviewing samples as you normally do. Which, if you read this site, trusts the parents and doesn’t require more than the law requires. I hope this helps.
The new law doesn’t change how you should conduct your evaluations for students who aren’t seeking a diploma. Review the log, samples and test scores (if required) then certify that “an appropriate education is occurring” for the parent to file with the superintendent if you agree.
I hope this helps.
I have always been fanatical about school attendance. My son is in seventh grade, his IQ score tested at 134. He hates school and has truancy issues since second grade. He lives with his mother, I live the street behind so I am very active in his life. I have just come to believe that the school has failed him. This no child left behind policy is cheating others from the educational needs that challenge and inspire our youth. Standardized testing to make a school district look good is a way to control the educational system. Bottem line I cannot afford private school and tutoring. So now I am considering home schooling or cyber school. I don’t want to see my son left behind. At the age twelve he has written a couple apps, designed a website for my construction co. At school he has to wait for others to figure out how to open a simple program out of a list in windows. Any advise wisdom and direction to help me with understanding the pro’s and con’s to allow my son to shine brightly as the star he is. Thank you
Hi James. You are expressing a pretty common frustration. I would highly recommend traditional homeschooling and self-directed learning for your son (since he seems to be doing that already) however, since you’re not the custodial parent, you couldn’t be the “supervisor” of the home education program. His mother would have to agree to be the supervisor even if you would be sharing responsibility for covering the subjects or you would be making sure your son was getting what’s required by law. So, if she doesn’t agree, the debate ends there.
That said, there are tons of resources that you can read to encourage your son to take control of his own learning even while he suffers through the public system. He could and should demand more challenging classes (even if he has to take classes with older kids), he could do as much exploring and project-based learning outside of school and learn about programs (after school and summer) in the community.
This should give you a good start. If your son’s mother is agreeable, I would recommend my ebook (available on Amazon for Kindle and as a pdf through the website) to get you through the legal basics. Otherwise, I would click on the button in the right hand sidebar on the homepage that will lead you to a page with some of my favorite homeschool resources with a brief explanation.
This should give you a great start. Good Luck.
Is documentation of required medical exams/ immunizations submitted to the evaluator for verification or should it be provided to the school district?
Evidence of health services is submitted with the affidavit. That can take many forms if you don’t maintain an exemption. Some only provide a list of immunizations received. Some send a brief letter signed by a physician/dentist stating that the required health services were obtained and a record thereof is on file. I wouldn’t provide full medical records or a full summary of a well-check.
question. I heard that the parents of home schooled kids will be visited monthly, Is this true and can you provide the place stating this ty
Untrue. Sorry I cannot provide the place stating this because it isn’t stated anywhere.
Someone might be referring to SB32 (a proposed amendment to the public school code) which would require the school district to notify the county when a child is enrolled in a home education program or cyber school IF a person in the home has been reported to child protective services within the past 18 months. If I recall correctly, the bill was a knee-jerk reaction to a HORRIFIC story out of Ohio where a boy died after suffering years of abuse and neglect and his parents or guardians claimed they homeschooled him. Clearly, they weren’t homeschooling him but abusing him. Also, child protective services had received numerous reports about that boy by neighbors, former teachers and possibly even family members. Clearly, it didn’t help a child who actually WAS being abused. This bill has not gotten out of committee.
Are private schools offering a distance learning program that are accredited from outside of Pennsylvania qualified to be the evaluator of their enrolled students?
Mitch,
No, an evaluator must have a PA certification plus 2 years of “grading” experience in certain subjects for the level(elementary or secondary) that they want to evaluate. “Grading” is defined in the statute.
I’m a PA certified, non-employed teacher. I have 8 years teaching experience. Do I still need an outside evaluator?
Hi Andrea, the answer is…it depends. As a PA certified teacher you may file under the private tutor option by filing a copy of your teaching certificate and criminal history clearances (at the moment, 3 are required in PA). If you proceed that way, you are not required to submit an affidavit and accompanying paperwork. Also no testing in grades 3, 5 and 8 and no evaluation.
If you proceed under the 24 P.S. §1327.1 “Home Education Program”, you will have to find another qualified evaluator. Parents are not permitted to evaluate their own children.
I am the parent of an 11th grader in Pennsylvania and I am trying to find out how I would go about finding a certified evaluator should I decide to home school my son later this year or in his senior year?
Hi Betsy,
I might be able to refer you to a qualified evaluator in your area for a face-to-face interview and portfolio review. Otherwise, I’m certain I can refer you to a few qualified evaluators for the secondary level (grades 7-12) who would be willing to conduct a distance evaluation (either via video conferencing or by telephone). If you decide to homeschool him this year, the evaluator could conduct a partial year evaluation.
Hi,
I have been home schooling for about 20 years now. I am originally from N.Y. and I had no support there. I just recently moved to P.A. I currently have 4 children that attend public school and three that do virtual school. I am glad to be in a state that supports homeschooling and also has the options of cyber or virtual school. I am considering to home school my children again, because of the flexibility that it offers. My questions are 1. How do I go about finding an evaluator ? 2. How often does the child get evaluated? 3. Where does the child get evaluated? 4. How do I get started? 5. What do you suggest to a parent that has multiple children?
Welcome to PA. Finding an evaluator can be challenging, especially if you live in a remote area. If you live near Pittsburgh, I notify my email list about a group who conducts free evaluations in the spring. Otherwise, I can refer you to a friend who conducts distance evaluations. I also know of a few people in different areas around the state. 2. An evaluation is required once per year. 3. Where the evaluation takes place is decided between you and the evaluator. Sometimes you go to the evaluator’s home or a public place. The evaluator might agree to come to your home since you have so many children. Be prepared to pay for the evaluator’s time, though many offer family discounts. 4. To find out how to get started, you can click around this site or read my book….a link is on the sidebar. 5. This is a general question but many people homeschool multiple children successfully. You can list all of your children on one affidavit.
I am going to withdraw my child from public school this week. It is mid-year and he is in kindergarten. I understand that even though he is 6 he is still considered of compulsory age since we had enrolled him in public school. He is currently going to school in another school district. I am confused on whether I need to file an affidavit with the school district we will be living in once I withdraw him from school. Or do I wait for the next school year? I think I have been reading the laws and blogs so much that I am starting to confuse myself.
Is the move simultaneous with the withdrawal? (within 3 days) If so, you would file an affidavit with the new school district. Legally, you’re right that your child became subject to compulsory attendance laws by attending K. There are a few scenarios where you might get away with NOT filing and you would probably be fine since you are moving out of the district, but if you’ll lose sleep about it, go ahead and file with the new district. If you aren’t moving for a few weeks or months, you would file with the current district and then request a notice of transfer from the current district. Since your child is so young, though, you can explain all that hassle ahead of time and discuss withdrawing based on a “withdraw and wait” principle (based on readiness), and absolving both sides of the hassle of paperwork. If your current district agrees to that, I wouldn’t even file in the new district until your child reaches his 8th birthday. Clear as mud? Hope this helps.
Do I need an evaluator for 1st and 2nd grade?
Thanks,
Michelle
Hi Michelle, Most 1st and 2nd graders haven’t reached compulsory attendance age yet and are not subject to the filing requirements to commence a home education program. If they (it sounds like you are asking about 2 children) attended a public school prior to your decision to homeschool and you filed an affidavit and accompanying paperwork then you are required to obtain an evaluation. Make sense?
My daughters are enrolled in A Beka Academy, which is an accredited program. The school district that we recently relocated to has requested both a portfolio and year-end evaluation to be submitted by June 9th. We probably won’t be finished with our school year until after that date.
Based on this law, it appears that I am not required to submit a portfolio to the school. My question is this: Do I need to have a year-end evaluation in addition to the report cards that A Beka will be issuing for my girls? I thought accredited meant that I didn’t need to keep the records.
Thanks!
Hi Jessica,
1. You are correct, the new law eliminated the requirement to submit to portfolios to school districts.
2. A private, online accredited curriculum/course provider is one way to satisfy the subject requirements but it does not relieve you of the requirement to obtain an evaluation. Certainly, you can show your evaluator your children’s grades and samples of their work so that he/she may “certify that an appropriate education has occurred.”
3. The evaluator’s certification must be submitted to the school district no later than June 30. The school’s date (June 9) is likely based on its own district calendar but the PA homeschool law governs when the evaluator’s certification is due. You are not subject to the school calendar.
I hope that answers all of your questions. Just another example of ill-informed school administrators. But to be clear, you still have to file the required paperwork by the dates specified in the homeschool law. Honestly, “accredited” doesn’t really have any legal significance under the PA homeschool law, that is more a selling point to attract families. Accredited by whom?
We are new to Pa, from Michigan where we can home school with no state or school interference. I thought we would try cyber school for the remainder of this year, but this has been just as stressful as sending our son to brick and mortar schools. The program being used is K12. We have had so many issues with the website, the computer from the school, and the program in general. I want to home school again with as little interference from the school system as possible, but I don’t even know where to begin. I would love to find a support group in our area (Mechanicsburg/Harrisburg), so Ii could get tips or guidance from some seasoned home school parents in the area. I know I have to submit an affidavit to our local district, and that’s even been a challenge in this ridiculous state (we live in Shiremanstown, in Lower Allen Township, but were told by the closing officers and on our tax papers we were in West Shore SD, but we receive mail from Mechanicsburg SD, also city tax paper states we are in Mechanicsburg SD.) The cyber school we are currently in submitted the paper to West Shore SD,but now I’m finding we aren’t even in that school district. This is the most confusing, messed up state. I am so appalled at the amount of school taxes we pay, and they can’t seem to get into this current decade on the way of doing things. I am at the end of my wits dealing with this state and school system. Aside from moving to somewhere else, I need some direction on how to handle the nonsense they call public school system or go back to strictly home schooling, but for that I need some support on how to handle working with the state of PA. Any suggestions?
Stacey, All your correspondence will be with the local SD once you figure out which one. Once you file the affidavit and proposed list of objectives, you shouldn’t have any interaction with the SD until you submit a certification from a qualified evaluator that “an appropriate education has occurred”. Articles on the website, my ebook or the video tutorial course should give you good guidance on how to comply with the PA homeschool laws, how to respond when the SD asks for things that aren’t required (unfortunately common) and exactly what you need to do. You can find links to the ebook and the video tutorial on the home page.