6290: Homeschooling

District Policy 6290                     

HOMESCHOOLING

1.0       Enrollment in Homeschooling.

1.1       Parents or legal guardians seeking to establish a homeschooling program for their student(s) need to complete a Notification of Intent to Homeschool Form at least 14 days prior to the intended start date of the homeschooling program.  The Notification of Intent is attached as Exhibit A.

1.2       The student’s eligibility for homeschooling must be reviewed and approved by District administration prior to the student being permitted to withdraw from school for the purpose of homeschooling.

1.3       A new Notification of Intent to Homeschool form should be submitted annually at least 14 days prior to the first day of school for continued enrollment in a homeschooling program.  District records of homeschoolers may be destroyed after one year if annual written notification is not received notifying of intent to continue homeschooling.

2.0       Eligibility for Homeschooling.

2.1       Homeschool students must be engaged in schooling a minimum of four hours of instructional contact per day, 172 days per school year.

2.2       Students with a history of habitual truancy within the last six (6) months of school enrollment may be required to submit specific curriculum materials in addition to the Notification of Intent to Homeschool form when requesting to withdraw to homeschool.

3.0       Curriculum and Assessment.

3.1       The District does not provide instructional materials or textbooks for use in homeschool programs.

3.2       Parents or legal guardians of homeschool students must arrange for evaluation of the student by a nationally standardized achievement test or by a qualified person as described in state law when the child is in grades 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11.  Assessment results for the appointed grade levels should be submitted to the Superintendent or designee prior to the student promoting to the next grade each fall.

4.0       Special Education Services.

4.1       The District is not responsible to provide special education services to students who withdraw from school to homeschooling, nor is a change of placement staffing required for such cases.

4.2       Consistent with its obligation to locate, identify and evaluate students who may have a disability and be eligible for special education services, parents of homeschool students may request a special education assessment for the purpose of determination of disability and eligibility for special education or the District may seek parent permission to evaluate.

5.0       Placement and Credits of Students Enrolling (Part or Full Time) from a Homeschool Program.

5.1       Elementary and Middle School Students.

5.1.1       Elementary and middle school students enrolling from homeschooling are eligible to enroll at their neighborhood school as determined by address.

5.1.2       Students are typically placed at the grade level of their same age peers unless academic or assessment records indicate otherwise.  The determination of appropriate grade placement and course schedules is made by the principal of the school.

5.1.3       Grade placement and course schedules may be adjusted within the first year of enrollment from homeschooling as academic proficiency is determined by the school.

5.2       High School Students.

5.2.1       High school students seeking enrollment in a District high school from homeschooling are eligible to enroll at their neighborhood school as determined by address at the next available grading period break (quarter or semester) deemed appropriate by the principal.

5.2.2       Full credit and grades will be awarded for credits earned in any District school and/or from any Colorado school district, charter school or online school that is accredited by the Colorado Department of Education.

5.2.3       Grades from schools which are not accredited by the Colorado Department of Education will be recorded as either pass or fail on the transcript.

5.2.4       Transcripts may reflect a specific course or may reflect the subject area of the coursework completed through homeschooling.

5.2.5       For the purpose of assisting in the evaluation of the validity of homeschooling credits students may be asked to complete a credit application form including appropriate documentation for each credit requested.

5.3       In all cases principals reserve the right to require additional documentation to verify proficiency prior to credit being awarded on a transcript.  Appeals of homeschool credit decisions shall be reviewed and acted upon by the building principal.  The final level of appeal shall be to the appropriate Executive Director of Schools.

5.4       When a parent seeks to reenroll a student with a history of receiving special education services back into the District, available current and former special education records will be reviewed to determine whether the student remains eligible to receive special education services or whether new eligibility assessments must be conducted.

6.0       Graduation.

6.1       To be eligible to receive a District diploma students enrolling from homeschool must attend a minimum of four (4) quarters during the senior year and must earn five (5) credits during the senior year at the high school issuing the diploma.

7.0       Participation in Athletics and/or Extracurricular Activities.

7.1       Students participating in a homeschool program and who have submitted the notice described in Section 1.0 to the District may participate in extracurricular and interscholastic activities in the District as provided below:

7.1.1       The activity must not be offered in the student's homeschool program.

7.1.2       If the student resides within the District, the student shall participate in the activity at the student's neighborhood school as determined by address unless such school does not offer the activity; in such case, the student shall participate in the District school closest to the student's residence that offers the activity.

7.1.3       If the student resides outside the District, the student shall participate in the activity at the District school closest to the student's residence unless the school does not offer the activity or the District Athletic Director determines that the program or activity at such school is at capacity.  In such case, the student shall be assigned to the District school, not at capacity, which is nearest to the student's residence and which offers the activity.

7.1.4       The student must meet and maintain eligibility requirements in accordance with applicable law, District policies, and requirements of the Colorado High School Activities Association.

8.0       Requests for admission of homeschool students into a District charter school should be submitted directly to the charter school in which the student is seeking admission.  Such requests will be considered according to the charter school’s existing admission procedures.

LEGAL REFERENCE:
CRS 22-7-409(1.3)(b)
CRS 33-7-409(III)(1.3)(b)
CRS 22-32-116.5(5.5)
CRS 22-33-104.5
CCR 301.8 (4.01)

CROSS REFERENCE:
Policy 5020
Policy 6250
Policy 6291

Adams 12 Five Star Schools
Most Recent Adoption: November 12, 2020