What Does Your Approval Letter Look Like?

Here are some examples of actual letters received by homeschoolers from their school district after submitting an education plan:

• This letter will confirm that you will home school your children for the Fall 2018 school year according to MGL c. 76, Sec. 1. Thank you for providing me with the appropriate information. Best wishes to you and your family.
• Thank you for submitting your homeschooling plan for the upcoming year, which has been successfully processed. Best wishes for another successful year of homeschooling!
• We are granting you preliminary approval pending reviews of progress.

While many school districts supply homeschoolers with written letters of approval or acknowledgement, not all do so. One mom was told by her superintendent that although they knew homeschooling was legal, they just couldn’t bear to affix their signature to a letter saying they approve of the practice, so they never issued any letters at all. Said homeschooler homeschooled her children with no problem whatsoever for 15 years.

Guess what? Charles never mentions approval letters, only the approval process. In fact, there is no requirement for schools to put anything in writing at all, which is why for the most part, no news is good news in Massachusetts.

Tips and options about how to handle the fact that receiving official notification of approval is not guaranteed:

• Mail your education plan Return Receipt Requested or hand deliver it and ask for a signed receipt. Either option provides verification that your materials were received, fulfilling your responsibility unless you hear from the school that they desire more information or a revision.
• If you don’t receive an acknowledgement letter, and you feel concerned about the lack of response from the school, check with other homeschoolers in your town. You may find out that it’s routine for your district not to provide a letter. If a letter is important to you or necessary, you can request one.
• You don’t necessarily need a letter to take advantage of educator discounts available to homeschoolers. Many museums and stores allow homeschoolers to self-certify or use an AHEM membership card.
• If you did receive a letter and have questions about it, AHEM's contacts are available.

One last thought: Let’s start calling them acknowledgement letters, which better reflects homeschooling practice in Massachusetts.