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Tips
for Writing Your Education Plan
Compulsory
Attendance Statute
In Massachusetts, there is no statute specifically
governing homeschooling. Rather, the Massachusetts Supreme Court
upheld the compulsory attendance statute which states that "Every
child between the minimum and maximum ages established for school
attendance by the board of education, … shall, subject to
section fifteen, attend a public day school in said town, or some
other day school approved by the school committee,… but such
attendance shall not be required of a child… who is being
otherwise instructed in a manner approved in advance by the superintendent
or the school committee." (Mass General Laws, Chapter 76,
section 1)
Minimum
and Maximum Ages for School Attendance
The minimum age established for compulsory school
attendance is six, maximum age is 16. From 603 CMR 8.00: Kindergartens:
Minimum School Age Section 8.02: Mandatory Minimum Age for School
Attendance: Each child must attend school beginning in September
of the calendar year in which he or she attains the age of six.
Prior
approval of homeschooling plans-overview
The Charles court decided that while
parents "possess a basic right in directing the education
of their children, such a right is not absolute but must be reconciled
with the substantial State interest in the education of its citizenry…
Thus, the school committee may enforce, through the approval process
under G.L. c. 76, Sec. 1, certain reasonable educational requirements
similar to those required for public and private schools."
(Charles at 336) (Top
of page)
Guidelines
for Approval of Home Education Plans in Massachusetts from Care
and Protection of Charles et al. (1987) and Michael Brunelle
& others vs. Lynn Public Schools (1998)
The Charles
court recognized that certain factors may be considered by the
superintendent or school committee in determining whether or not
to approve a home school proposal:
1. the
proposed curriculum, the length of the homeschool year and the
number of hours of instruction in each of the proposed subjects
2. the competency of the parents to teach the children
3. access to the textbooks, workbooks, and other instructional
aids to be used by the children and to the lesson plans and teaching
manuals to be used by the parents
4. a form of assessment of the children to ensure educational
progress and the attainment of minimum standards (Top
of page)
Practical
Application of Charles and Brunelle Guidelines
Before
submitting anything to your school district, it is a good idea
to talk to local homeschoolers. You can probably find someone
by contacting a support group
near you. Or call your AHEM regional
contact to find out details about the practice in your town.
While Charles does not specify that a homeschooling plan
needs to be submitted annually, most towns expect annual plans.
(Top of page)
Guideline
1: School
officials may consider the subjects the child will study, the
length of the homeschool year, and the hours of instruction in
each subject. While school officials may consider hours of
instruction in each subject, they may not dictate the manner in
which the subjects will be taught. (Charles at 339)
In
practice:
Subjects the child will study:
G.L. c. 69, section 1D lists as core subjects mathematics, science
and technology, history and social science, English, foreign languages
and the arts. Subjects from Chapter 71 Sections 1 and 3 include
orthography, reading, writing, the English language and grammar,
geography, arithmetic, drawing, music, the history and constitution
of the United States, the duties of citizenship, health education,
physical education and good behavior.
To comply
with this guideline parents can list subjects they plan to cover.
A simple list of subjects should suffice, since the school is
not allowed to dictate the manner in which you teach.
You
may want to use key phrases or paragraphs that help to convey
the flexible nature of homeschooling:
- "Topics
may include, but shall not be limited to, the following:"
- "[Child's
name] will use a developmentally-appropriate, integrated curriculum.
We will plan [his/her] learning together, based on [his/her]
interests, so while it is impossible to state in advance which
specific topical areas we will cover, we expect to cover the
following subjects:"
- "We
practice learner-directed education; [child's name]'s course
of study is based upon his/her interests. His/her range of interests
is quite broad and his/her learning will be accomplished in
that context. [child's name]'s education is holistic as well--learning
occurs in the context of and as part of normal life experiences.
His "school year" extends 365 days a year.
- The
appended curriculum is a statement of things [child's name]
has learned and, based on that, of things s/he will continue
learning during the year. Topics often mesh and activities and
discussions reflect a wider picture than can be expressed in
a list of isolated subjects."
- Needless
to say, if you are following a boxed or self-made curriculum,
you can simply outline what you plan to cover for the year,
while still allowing for some degree of flexibility in your
plan. If you do not want to write an outline, a photocopy of
the table of contents from the curriculum should suffice.
Length
of the homeschool year: While Charles states "…G.L.
c. 71, Secs. 1 and 4 and 603 Code Mass.Regs. Sec. 27.01 (1980),
require cities and towns to operate the public schools for a minimum
of 180 days" it does not go so far as to state that the length
of a homeschool's year must be the same as a public school year.
However, the path of least resistance in assuring that your plan
will equal "in thoroughness and efficiency" the schools
in the same town is to assert that your homeschool year will "meet
or exceed 180 days." Many homeschool families choose to write
that their "homeschool year extends 365 days a year, easily
exceeding the minimum 180 days of a public school." In any
case, note the length of your homeschool year, somewhere between
180 days and 365 days a year.
Hours
of instruction in each subject:
Parents may calculate hours of instruction based on the manner
in which they homeschool, which does not have to replicate the
public school's offering, only equal it in "thoroughness
and efficiency." Keep in mind that the definition of "instruction"
is loose and includes such activities as independent study, field
trips, technology-assisted learning, and presentations by persons
other than teachers. Additionally, following a schedule is not
an important consideration in a home school where "...the
perception and use of time... are different." (Brunelle
at 518)
- Some
parents write that they "will meet or exceed the 900 (elementary)
or 990 (secondary) minimum hours of instruction."
- If
school officials insist on more detail than this, submit an
estimate of hours per subject per year, prefaced by a statement
such as "Because of the flexible nature of homeschooling,
the following is necessarily an estimate of hours of instruction
spent per subject" or "Due to the integrated nature
of our curriculum, the following is a good faith estimate of
number of hours of instruction per subject." Or come up
with your own caveat. If you are interested in knowing how the
public schools allocate their time, schools have curriculum
guides that define how much time will be spent on each subject
per week. These guides should be made available to you upon
request.
- Schools
are not authorized to go so far as to ask for an hourly or daily
schedule.
- If
the school official is insisting on an hourly daily or weekly
schedule, accompany the above with this quote from Brunelle:
"While following a schedule may be an important consideration
in a public school where preexisting schedules need to be maintained
and coordinated, the perception and use of time in a home school
are different. The plaintiffs can observe and accommodate variations
(from child to child, subject to subject, day to day) in the
learning process and teach through a process that paces each
student." (Top of page)
Guideline
2: School officials may ask for information regarding "academic
credentials or qualifications of the parent or parents who will
be instructing the children." (Charles) "…[C]ertification
would not appropriately be required for parents under a home school
proposal… Nor must the parents have college or advanced academic
degrees." (Charles at 339) "General Laws c. 71,
Sec. 1, provides that teachers shall be 'of competent ability
and good morals.'" (Charles at 339)
In
practice:
To comply with this parents can include one of the following in
their education plan:
- "I
am of competent ability and good morals."
- Summarize
your educational credentials.
Schools
are not authorized to ask for the qualifications of "everyone"
who will be teaching your child. (Top of page)
Guideline
3: School officials may consider teaching materials, but "only
to determine subject and grade level… school officials may
not... use this access to dictate the manner in which the subjects
will be taught." (Charles at 339) The Brunelle
court pointed out that "…some of the most effective
curricular materials…may not be tangible. For example, travel,
community service, visits to educationally enriching facilities
and places, and meeting with various resource people, can provide
important learning experiences apart from the four corners of
a text or workbook." (Brunelle at 518)
In
practice:
To comply with this guideline:
- You
can write, "We will be using a variety of materials and
resources, a list of which will be made available to the school
department upon request."
- or
list books and other resources that they will have available
to them. (See example list below.) If you are using a set curriculum,
then you can list the books and resources you will be following
from that.
- If
your school insists on more detail, photocopying the table of
contents of a couple of key books will probably suffice.
- If
after trying one or more of the above suggestions, you find
yourself in the very unusual situation of having a school official
who insists on actually seeing the books and materials, you
could try quoting Brunelle at 518 (above), point out
that your plan includes making great use of such intangible
resources, and that the internet and the public library are
accessible to anyone, where a sampling of the tangibles you
have available to you can be found.
It
is all a question of how to define "access" in this
context; remember that approval can only be conditioned on
requirements that are "essential to the State interest
in ensuring that 'all the children shall be educated.'"
(Charles at 337) Since the majority of schools feel
that a list of resources meets their need for access to teaching
materials, and some are happy with less than that, it would
be difficult to argue that physical access is "essential."
Possible
resources
encyclopedias
dictionaries
atlases
reference books and materials (such as textbooks, field guides,
timelines,
globe maps, etc.)
newspapers
magazines (including, but not limited to…)
library loan books, tapes, magazines, etc.
educational games
educational computer software and on-line services
calculating and measuring tools and utensils
arts & crafts supplies
writing supplies
musical instruments
audio-visual equipment and materials
religious materials
science lab equipment
sports equipment
gardening tools
carpentry tools
home maintenance equipment
community resources (such as museums, stage performances, sports
programs,
private lessons, volunteer opportunities) (Top
of page)
Guideline
4: School officials and parents should agree on a method of evaluation
that may include one of the following approaches: standardized
testing, periodic progress report, or dated work samples. Other
methods of assessment, if mutually agreed upon by parents and
school officials, are also allowed. Home visits may not be required
as a condition of approval. See Brunelle.
Choose
the one form of assessment that best fits your style of homeschooling,
either testing, progress report or dated work samples. Adding
a line such as, "An annual progress report/dated work sample/standardized
test results (parents pick one) will be submitted upon request"
is a good idea if you aren't sure whether or not they'll ask for
anything; if they don't ask, you don't need to submit anything.
If you know your town consistently requires people to report,
then it's somewhat pointless to stipulate "upon request"
since you know they'll ask and it just creates more work for them
to have to.
Some
families use different methods of assessment for different children.
(Top of page)
General
considerations
We recommend conducting as much communication with
school officials as possible in writing.
Once
you have submitted a plan including information outlined by the
guidelines in the Charles decision, you have fulfilled your responsibility
to homeschool. Either hand deliver your plan to the school and
ask for a receipt, or mail it certified mail, return receipt requested.
It is not unheard of for schools to lose your paperwork, so it's
good to have a copy of what you have submitted, and proof that
you have submitted it.
Depending
on what town you live in, you may or may not hear anything from
your school once you've submitted your plan. If it is important
to you to receive written documentation of the approval of your
plan, include a sentence such as, "We would appreciate a
letter of approval from you" in your letter. Such proof of
homeschooling can be used to receive discounts at various stores
and museums.
From
Charles at 338: "If the home school proposal is rejected,
the superintendent or the school committee must detail the reasons
for the decision. The parents must then be given an opportunity
to revise their proposal to remedy its inadequacies. However,
if the parents commence the education of their children at home
in the face of the school committee's refusal to approve the parents'
home school proposal, the burden of proof under G.L. c. 119 or
G.L. c. 76, Sec. 2, shifts to the school committee to show that
the instruction outlined in the home school proposal fails to
equal 'in thoroughness and efficiency, and in the progress made
therein, that in the public schools in the same town....' G.L.
c. 76, Sec. 1."
In other words, if the school sees a problem with your plan, they
must give you the opportunity to remedy it. If, having submitted
a plan, you begin homeschooling without approval, the school assumes
the burden to show that your plan does not equal "in thoroughness
and efficiency, and in the progress made therein, that in the
public schools in the same town...." In Charles, the
court recommended for "the parties… to proceed expeditiously
in a serious effort to resolve the matter by agreement."
In
the unlikely event that the school wants to take you to court,
the huge expenditures for them to do so coupled with the fact
that they would bear the burden of proof to show your plan is
not adequate would most probably be a detriment, especially given
the likelihood that a judge would recommend an expeditious resolution
to remedy the situation.
If
you have questions about any of the above, please do not hesitate
to contact us here at AHEM. See County
Contacts page.
For
inspiration on dealing with school officials who may be asking
for more than Charles allows, see Homeschoolers
Stand Their Ground and Handling
It Ourselves.
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Sample
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Methods
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