On
The task force was comprised of:
Joe Adams - Christian Home Educators of Kentucky
Cheri Fouts - Kentucky Home Education Association
Louie Hammons - Director of Pupil Personnel (Garrard County)
Sherwood Kirk - Director of Pupil Personnel (Ohio County)
David Lanier - Kentucky Home Education Association
Marilann Melton - Director of Pupil Personnel (Warren
County)
Roger VonStrophe - Director of Pupil Personnel
(Newport)
Don Woolett - Christian Home Educators of Kentucky
David Thurmond, Director of the Division of Planning, who is the nonpublic
school liaison for the Kentucky Department of Education, served as a consultant
to the task force.
The task force met on a monthly basis for the next three months. This
document is a product of their efforts.
On
The members of this task force are as follows:
Joe Adams - Christian Home Educators of Kentucky
Cindy Green - Kentucky Home Education Association
Louie Hammons - Director of Pupil Personnel (Garrard County)
Mike Hughes - Kentucky Home Education Association
Mary Anna Rogers - Kentucky Home Education Association
Haskell Sheeks - President, Directors of Pupil
Personnel Association
And Director of Pupil Personnel (Ballard County)
Roger VonStrophe - Director of Pupil Personnel
(Newport)
Robert Simpson, who serves as the liaison
between the Kentucky Department of Education and non-public schools.
In the case of homes schooling, the parent is required to notify the local
superintendent of schools by letter that the child is being home schooled. The
letter must include the names, ages, and place of residence of each pupil in
attendance at the school. The parent must notify the local superintendent of
schools within the first two weeks of each school year of their intent to home
school their child(ren
The following are the minimal requirements for the operation of a home
school in
1.Education is a fundamental right. Rose V. Council
for Better Education, Inc.
2.The private, home, and parochial schools shall
teach those subjects that will educate children to be intelligent citizens.
State law requires that instruction be offered in English and in the branches
of study that are taught in the public schools. This is interpreted to include
at least reading, writing, spelling, grammar, history, mathematics and civics.
KRS 158.080, and
3.Private, home and parochial schools shall provide
instruction for a term at least as long as the term in effect for the public
school in the district where the child resides. (KRS 158.080) The minimum
school term is defined in KRS 158.070 which states: The minimum school term
shall be 185 days, including no less than the equivalent of 175 six (6) hour
instructional days. This would be 1050 instructional hours.
4.The private and parochial schools shall record
and maintain scholarship reports of each student's progress at the same
interval as in the local public school, grading all subjects taught. (KRS
159.040)
5.
6.KRS 158.040 requires that all private schools be
open to inspection by directors of pupil personnel or officials of the
Department of Education.
The director of pupil personnel has the responsibility to enforce the
compulsory attendance and census laws in the attendance district he/she serves.
When a question arises as to whether a child is actually being schooled at
home it is within the authority of the director of pupil personnel to ask for
evidence that a bonafide school exists. Evidence that
a school actually exists might include:
1.Whether the parent/guardian has notified the
local board of education by letter of intent to teach the child(ren) at home giving the names, ages, and address of each
child.
2.Whether instruction is taking place over a term
at least as long as the term in effect for the public school in the district
where the child resides. (175 instructional days times 6 hours = 1050
instructional hours per school year)
3.Whether instruction covers at least reading,
writing, spelling, grammar, history, mathematics, and civics.
4.Whether the teacher records and maintains
scholarship reports of each student's progress at the same interval as in the
local public school, grading all subjects taught.
5.Whether an accurate record of pupil attendance is
being kept.
When there is reason for concern the director of pupil personnel should
notify the private school of the parent's need to provide this information. If
the records are incomplete, the director of pupil personnel has the option of
making a visit to inspect the private school to determine whether instruction
is taking place. In the case of a home school, if the parents refuse access to
the home, the director of pupil personnel may arrange a meeting at the school
district office or at a neutral site. Following assessment, if the director of
pupil personnel concludes that minimum standards of instruction are not being
met, he/she may take action under KRS 159.
KRS 159.130 defines the powers and duties of directors of pupil personnel:
The director of pupil personnel and his assistants shall be vested with the
power of peace officers, provided however they shall not have the authority to
serve warrants. They may investigate in their district any case of
nonattendance at school of any child of compulsory school age or suspected of
being of that age. They may under the direction of the superintendent of
schools and the Kentucky Board of Education, institute proceedings against any
person violating the laws of compulsory attendance and employment of children.
This commentary will refer to the paragraph numbers of the list of Home
School Requirements (HSR), page 3. It is suggested that you refer to it
periodically while reading the commentary.
HSR notes that the six items listed are the minimal requirements for the
lawful operation of a home school in
1.
a) Current
Any child who is five (5) years of age, or who may become five (5) years of
age by October 1st, may enter a primary school program. If you elect to suspend
formal schooling with your child until the age of six, he or she will be a year
behind his or her peers in terms of the conventional grading system. This is
not a problem necessarily, simply something which you should consider while
making your decision. If you wish to avoid this issue, then begin your child in
the primary school program when he or she is five years old.
b)
c) When you write your local school board, you should state that your
children will be attending a particular school, giving the name and address of
the school. You must also include the name, age and home address of each child
in your school. You need not include anything else in the letter whatsoever.
We do not recommend that you include test scores, letters of
recommendations, or any other material since it implies that you are requesting
permission from the school board to teach your children at home. You are not
requesting permission, simply informing them of the situation.
d) The letter to the school board should be sent within ten days of the
beginning of school and will need to be sent each year you home school. We
agree that it is wise for you to keep a copy of the letter and any other
correspondence affecting your children or the operation of your home school.
e) As a result of religious or philosophical convictions, some parents elect
not to notify the local school district of their home schooling activities. It
is not our purpose to comment one way or the other on these convictions;
however, it is important to note that there are civil penalties which could
include monetary fines and incarceration for persons convicted of
non-compliance with compulsory education laws; anyone who elects to disregard
the reporting requirements should be aware of the risks involved.
2.
3. This section of the HSR is relatively self-explanatory.
4. HSR requires that private schools, including home schools, keep
scholarship records of the students in that school. Furthermore, it requires
that the scholarship reports be summarized or tabulated at the same interval as
the grading period of the local public school district, normally every nine
weeks. This particular provision of the law has caused a great deal of
confusion among both public school officials and home school parents in the
past. A few points of clarification:
a) This provision does not require that the home school
parents submit these reports to their local school district, state department
of education, or anyone else. It simply requires that they maintain the records
in some sort of ongoing fashion.
b) HSR makes no statement concerning the form which these scholarship
reports must take. The form may be a traditional report card, a portfolio of
exemplary work, a narrative assessment or any one of many other forms of
assessment. The point seems to be that there needs to be some reasonable record
of academic accomplishment maintained by the parents in the home school.
c) We would recommend that whatever your preferred form of student
assessment, the records be kept in a formal, organized manner for two reasons:
first, this will be your child's permanent record of educational
accomplishment. It is only right that the records be in a form that is concise
and useful. Second, in the event your records should evercome
under scrutiny by someone else, the quality of your school will be judged to
some degree by the quality of your records. While it may be the case that
records kept on the back of envelopes, calendar pages, or paper plates do meet
the letter of the law, such a casual approach to record keeping would raise
doubts in the minds of skeptics.
5. Keep an attendance book. It can be a book you obtain from writing the
state, a grade book you purchase at a local office supply store, a computer
log, or any other reasonable method for maintaining attendance. Be sure that
you can account for at least the minimum required hours (1,050 hours) per year
in your records.
Many families combine the requirements of this provision and provision #4
above in one grade book which keeps both attendance and scholarship records.
6. HSR #6 is one of the most controversial portions of the home school law
in
It is our understanding that "home inspections" by school
personnel will stop at the threshold unless consent is given by the homeowner.
In the absence of imminent threat (the house is on fire, for instance) entry
into a private home can only occur with the presentation of a lawfully executed
warrant. All homeschoolers should be aware of this
fact.
On the other hand, if genuine concerns exist in the mind of school personnel
as to the legitimacy of a particular home school, it may be in that family's
interest to meet with the school official, preferably at a neutral site, in
order to address any questions.
In conclusion, we recommend consideration of the following:
a) In the event you are informed of an impending visit, talk
with the official and try to agree upon a suitable time and place outside your
home to review your records.
b) In the event a home visit is unannounced or in cases where prior mutually
agreeable arrangements cannot be made, we recommend that you seriously consider
the ramifications of allowing government officials to enter your home without
warrant. It is certainly your prerogative to invite anyone to see your home
school: friends, family or local school officials. It is another thing for you
to accede to their demand to review your material in your home.
c) Furthermore, we suggest that you conduct your home school in such an
exemplary manner that no one in your community will be concerned about the
quality of the job you are doing.
Considerations prior to embarking on a home school journey
In order to have the very best possible experience as a home schooling
parent, we suggest that you take into consideration the following practical
issues; responsible home education can be a daunting task and should not be
entered into without due consideration. Although it affords ample opportunity
for educational excellence and flexibility, it requires a high degree of
commitment and energy to be successful. Listed below are some factors that should
be thoroughly considered prior to embarking on a home school journey.
Home schooling is very time-consuming. To do an adequate job the home school
parent(s) must devote considerable time and energy to class preparation,
instructional time, grading papers, etc. Many families have had to change their
lifestyle significantly -- switching from a two-income to a one-income family,
for instance -- in order to accommodate the demands of home schooling. It is a
decision that should not be made on impulse or without sufficient forethought.
Home schooling requires initiative. While excellent material is available to
assist the home schooling parent, putting it together in a manageable form for
a given family requires a great deal of work and creativity. Since each family
is different it is clear that the final form home education takes will vary
from family to family. To be a good home schooler
requires a certain independent spirit, willingness to try new things and a
reasonable level of self-confidence.
Home schools are not accredited by the State. Unless a home schooling family
functions as a satellite classroom for an accredited school, the diploma
awarded by a home school may not be recognized by other schools or agencies.
Some home schooled children take the General Equivalency Diploma (GED) exam for
the purpose of obtaining a standard credential. Other college-bound home school
graduates take the SAT or ACT tests and usually have little problem with
college admission.
For more information regarding home schooling in your area, contact Kentucky
Home Education Association at
In the interest of the education of all children in the
Commonwealth of Kentucky, and based upon the laws as they relate to compulsory
attendance of school age children and their right to an education, whether in a
public or private/home school, the following best practice approach is
suggested as a way both public and private/home school personnel may approach
the question of insuring that all children are enrolled in a bonafide school.
A. Parents/Guardians of school age children, by law, must
notify the public school district of the enrollment of their child(ren) in a private or parochial school within the first two
weeks of each public school year. Home school representatives of Christian Home
Educators of Kentucky and the Kentucky Home Education Association and the
officers of the Kentucky Directors of Pupil Personnel Association agree that in
the absence of any mitigating factors the school(s) which have properly
notified public school districts should be presumed to be in compliance with
the law and operating a bonafide school; thus,
necessitating no further investigation.
B. It is the responsibility of the local director of pupil personnel or
his/her designee to investigate any evidence which would suggest that a child(ren) is not enrolled in a bonafide school. The investigation is for the sole purpose
of determining that a bonafide school does exist and
in no way is intended to investigate and approve the education provided by the
school. Any investigation could include, but is not limited to, phone calls,
home visits (the privacy of the home must be recognized and no visit inside the
home may be conducted without the consent of an adult resident or a duly issued
warrant), review of academic and attendance documents, etc.
C. Circumstances/evidence which would cause a public school district to have
concern about whether or not a bonafide school did
exist, thus causing an investigation to occur, would include, but is not
limited to:
1. Notification, after the public school year has begun and
at any time other than a semester break, by parent/guardian of intent to withdraw
their child(ren)from the public school for the
purpose of home schooling; (This would not apply to students moving in from
out-of-district.)
2. Notification by the parent/guardian of intent to home school their child(ren) when disciplinary action (i.e. truancy, expulsion,
notification relative to driver's license, etc.) was being contemplated or had
begun;
3. Request from an agency or individual to determine if the child(ren) are in school. Requests
from an agency concerned with child welfare (i.e. juvenile court, Department of
Social Service, etc.) should be investigated as a matter of course. Requests
made by a private citizen should proceed only as it relates to probable cause
and/or legal requirements;
4. Notification (as required by law) by the parent/guardian of their intent
to home school their child(ren) was not received by
the public school district within two weeks of the start of the public school
year;
5. Evidence of a compelling nature which would suggest the inability of the
parent or proposed teacher to operate/maintain a bonafide
school.
Should there be any disagreement on the part of the directors of pupil
personnel and parents/guardians, it is anticipated that common sense rules will
be used to ascertain the information requested by either party. Everyone should
have a clear understanding of what are the rights and obligations of the
directors of pupil personnel and parents/guardians to insure that all school
age children are enrolled in a bonafide school.
The following lists are just a few of the many resources available to home schoolers. The task force is not recommending any
particular resource be used by home schoolers. This
list is being made available to show some of the possibilities.
ABeka Book Publications,
1-(877)-ABEKA BOOKS,
"http://www.abeka.com"
¯
Bob Jones University Press,
1-(800)-845-5731,
"http://www.bjup.com" ¯
Alpha Omega Publications,
1-(800)-622-3070
1-(800)-925-7777
WARNING - these curriculum
generally run one year ahead of public school curriculum in skill areas like
reading, English and math. Do yourself a favor and consider this before
ordering.
Builder Books,
1-(800)-260-5461,
"http://www.bbhomeschoolcatalog.com"
¯
Elijah Company, 1053 Eldridge
1-(888)-2ELIJAH,
"http://www.elijahco.com"
¯
1-(615) 860-3000
God's World Books,
1-(800)-951-BOOK
(Also publishes a Christian "Weekly Reader"),
"http://www.gwbc.com" ¯
Greenleaf Press, 3761 Hwy 109,
1-(800)-311-1508,
"http://www.greenleafpress.com"
¯
Holt Associates (unschoolers),
1-(888)-925-9298,
"http://www.holtgws.com"
¯
Lifetime Books and Gifts, 3900 Chalet Suzanne Dr., Lake
Wales, FL 33853-7763,
1-(800)-377-0390,
"http://www.lifetimeonline.com"
¯
Rainbow Resource, Route 1,
1-(888)-841-3456,
"http://www.rainbowresource.com"
¯
Shekinah Curriculum
Cellar,
1-(903)-643-2760,
"http://www.shekinahcc.com"
¯
Timberdoodle,
1-(360)-426-0672,
"http://www.timberdoodle.com"
¯
K-12 Abeka Correspondence
School,
1(800)-874-3592 (Also offers video courses),
"http://www.abeka.org"
¯
9-12
1-(800)-228-5600
9-12 Bob Jones University Press, Greenville, SC 29614-0062,
1-(800)-845-5731
(Correspondence School, Satelite & Video
Courses),
"http://www.bjup.com"
¯
K-8 Calvert School, Dept. 2NET 105 Tuscany Rd., Baltimore,
MD 21210-3098,
1-(888)-487-4652,
"http://www.calvertschool.org"
¯
K-12
1-(800)-348-0899,
"http://www.homeschools.org"
¯
K-12 Covenant Home Curriculum, N63 W23421 Main St., Sussex,
WI 53089,
1(800) 578-2421,
"http://www.covenanthome.com"
¯
K-12 Moore Foundation,
1-(800)-891-5255,
"http://www.moorefoundation.com"
¯
K-12 Seton Home Study School (Catholic), 1350 Progress Dr.,
Front Royal, VA 22630,
1-(540)-636-9990,
"http://www.setonhome.org"
¯
K-12 Summit Christian Academy, 2100 N. Hwy 360 Ste 503,
Grand Paririe, TX 75050,
1-(800)-362-9180,
"http://www.scahomeschool.com"
¯
9-12 University of Kentucky, Independent Study Program High
School Correspondence, Frazee Hall, Room 1, Lexington, KY 40506-0031,
1-(800)-432-0963,
"http://www.w.uky.edu/UExt/independent_study/ISPHS.html" ¯
Home Schooling Today, PO Box 1608, Ft. Collins, CO
80522-1608,
1-(954)-962-1930,
"http://www.homeschooltoday.com"
¯
Practical Home Schooling,
1-(800)-346-6322,
"http://www.home-school.com"
¯
The Teaching Home,
"http://www.teachinghome.com"
¯
CHEK - Christian Home Educators of Kentucky, 691 Howardstown Rd., Hodgenville, KY 42748,
1-(270)-358-9270,
"http://www.chek.org"
¯
KHEA - Kentucky Home Education Association,
1-(859)-737-3338,
"http://www.KHEA.8k.com"
¯
Armstrong, Thomas. In Their Own Way.
Explains learning styles. Chapters on attitude, imagination,attention, self-esteem
and more.
Beechick, Ruth. You Can Teach Your Child
Successfully.
Colfax, David and Micki. Home-Schooling for Excellence.
Exciting account of the family that sent three home-schooled
sons to Harvard.
Dobson, James. Parenting Isn't For Cowards.
Encouragement for parents to know and appreciate their
child's Individual personality and temperament.
Duffy, Cathy.
Great resource for helping you choose a curriculum.
Dunn, Kenneth and Rita. Teaching: Students Through Their Individual Learning Styles.
Explores the idea of learning styles through Environmental
preferences and multi sensory approaches.
Elkind, David. The Hurried
Child.
Elkind, David. Miseducation:
Preschoolers at Risk.
Discusses the real difference between the mind of a preschool
child and that of a school-age child. Warns us of the
risks of early miseducation.
Farris, Michael P. Homeschooling:
Father.
An ideal book for Homeschooling
fathers.
Gaither, Gloria and Shirley Dobson. Let's Make
a Memory.
Great ideas for building family traditions and togetherness.
Harris, Greg. The
Holt, John. Teach Your Own.
Holt confronts the common objections to homes schooling and discusses ways we
can allow children to learn outside of schools.
Jeske, Patrick J. Bring Out the Best in Your
Child.
Covers methods of motivation and topics such as instilling
self- confidence, controlling laziness and dealing with stubbornness.
Klicka, Christopher. The Right Choice: The
Incredible Failure of Public Education and the Rising Hope of Home Schooling.
This book will mentally and emotionally prepare parents to meet opposition from
school officials, government agencies or uninformed outsiders.
Lopez, Diane. Teaching Children.
A guide to what children need to know at each level through 6th grade.
McCullough, Bonnie. 401 Ways to Get Your Kids to Work
at Home.
McEwan, Elaine. How To
Raise Reader.
Tips on helping your child read well with age-graded recommendations of best
children's books.
MacCauley, Susan Schaeffer. For
the Children's Sake.
Moore, Dr. Raymond and Dorothy. School Can
Wait.
Documentation from many fields upholding the premise of the
title. Ideal book for the teacher or professional.
Moore, Dr. Raymond and Dorothy. Home
Grown Kids.
Guidelines for emotional and intellectual development from
0-9 years old.
Moore, Dr. Raymond and Dorothy. Home-Style
Teaching.
Insights on how to become a great teacher/mom.
Pride, Mary. The Big Book of Home Learning.
Another great book to help you choose a curriculum, reviews a wide variety of
publishers and their products.
Shackelford, Luanna and Susan
White. A Survivor's Guide to Homeschooling.
Written with wisdom, candor and humor, the authors share situations, solutions,
successes and yes, even the failures home teacher's
face.
Tobias, Cynthia. The Way They Learn.
Explains how to discover and teach to your child's strengths.
Trelease, Jim. The
Read-Aloud Handbook.
Answers the question how and why to read aloud to your child.
Includes an extensive list of the best books.
Wilson,
Commentaries on hundreds of quality books in over two dozen subject areas.
1. Loss of driver's license by student for dropping out of school or
for academic deficiency
Any applicant for a permit who is under the age of eighteen (18) who has not
graduated from high school shall provide proof issue by his school within the
preceding sixty (60) days that the applicant is currently enrolled or has been
enrolled in the prior semester of school and is not or has not been found
academically deficient. If a student is being schooled at home, a statement
from his parent or guardian that he is being schooled at home and is not
academically deficient shall be provided.
A student shall be deemed to have dropped out of school when he has nine (9)
or more unexcused absences in the preceding semester. Any absences due to
suspension shall be unexcused absences. A student shall be deemed to be
academically deficient when he has not received passing grades in a least four
(4) courses, or the equivalent of four (4) courses, in the preceding semester.
2. Recognition of home school credits
KRS 158.140 mandates the assignment of a pupil in the class or grade to
which the pupil is best suited. This regulation prescribes procedures for
recognition of credits or graduation from a public secondary school upon
transfer from a nonaccredited secondary school and
from a public secondary school upon transfer from a nonaccredited
secondary school and for the awarding of credit upon transfer to a public
secondary school without a proper transcript being reasonably available.
Section 1. For the purpose of this regulation, a
"nonaccredited secondary school: is a school
enrolling students for secondary school instruction when that school is not
recognized by (1) of the fifty (50) state departments of education or one (1)
of the seven (7) independent regional accrediting associations. A "nonaccredited secondary school" in
Pass an examination of similar nature and content to the examination used
for other students receiving credits for a particular course within the school
district and graded an a comparable basis;
Or
Successful performance of the student in a higher level
course when the courses are sequential in nature such as English, Mathematics,
History and Science. Successful performance shall consist of achieving
at least a C grade in the course by the 12th week of school.
The courses successfully completed by examination or performance shall be
counted toward minimum high school graduation requirements in the local school
district.
Section 3. A student desiring recognition of
previous credits toward graduation upon entering public school secondary school
without a properly certified transcript and for whom a properly certified
transcript cannot reasonably be obtained, shall be placed and awarded credit as
outlined in Section 2 of this statute.
3. Home school participation in public school activities
Home school participation in public school activities is governed by local
board policy. At the present time there is no prohibition against a home school
student taking classes at the local public school. Local situations vary.
Contact your local school for details.
Current regulations prohibit home school children from participating on
athletic or academic teams sponsored by public schools.