Hi, Efiquestion.
I'm not sure what information you have so far, so if the information
here is redundant or if you need more detail, please feel free to
clarify and I'll get you what I can.
Right up front, too, if you don't have this information already, there
is a district coordinator for home schoolers in each school district
in Florida. These are listed on the following page:
http://www.firn.edu/doe/choice/distcontacts.htm
The coordinator for Palm Beach is:
"Ms. Beth Gillespie
Home Education Coordinator
3310 Forest Hill Blvd., C-225
West Palm Beach, FL 33406-5813
561-434-8052
SC: 262-8052
561-434-8073 [FAX]"
Ms. Gillespie should be able to answer any specific questions you
might have as to your curriculum and district homeschool requirements,
and she should be available to provide you with guidance throughout
the process.
If your son is a senior right now, I'm assuming he's over 16, and as
such, is not actually required to be in school at this time.
From the Florida Department of Education website here:
http://www.myfloridaeducation.com/faq/attendance.htm
"How is compulsory school attendance defined?
Florida Law (Section 232.01, Florida Statutes) states that all
children who are either six years of age, who will be six years old by
February 1 of any school year, or who are older than six years of age
but who have not attained the age of 16 years, must attend school
regularly during the entire school term. A student between 16 and 18
years of age is not subject to compulsory attendance if the student
completes a formal declaration of intent to terminate school
enrollment with the school district. The declaration must acknowledge
that leaving school will likely reduce the student's earning potential
and must be signed by the student and the parent. The school district
must notify the child's parent or legal guardian that a declaration of
intent to leave school has been filed."
So, your son is not required to be in school at all at this point.
However, it appears that you must file this notice of intent at any
rate, as required for homeschooling programs. This means that he may
be listed as truant, but this shouldn't cause any real long-term
problems for either of you as long as you file this notice of intent
ASAP.
This should be fairly simple, and the procedure is among those covered
by the Florida Parent-Educators Association (FPEA) Guide to
Homeschooling in Florida, available online here:
http://www.notry.com/hschool/fla/hsguidem.htm
I don't know if this is one of the websites you got from the school
board, but this site does seem to provide a wealth of information,
although some of it could probably be fleshed out a little better for
your specific situation.
http://www.notry.com/hschool/fla/hsguide3.htm
On this page, they outline your six primary responsibilities when
starting a homeschool program.
The steps listed here are as follows:
"I. Send a notice of intent to your school district superintendent.
II. Maintain a portfolio of records.
III. Make your portfolio available for inspection by the
superintendent upon a 15-day written notice.
IV. Submit an annual evaluation for each child to the school district
superintendent.
V. Preserve your child's portfolio for two years.
VI. Submit a letter of termination upon completion of your home
education program or if you move from the county. "
There is also an another page outlining these requirements here:
http://southcountyhomeschoolers.org/SCHS/How%20to%20Homeschool.htm#_Your_Requirements
I'll go through each of these requirements, and try to provide a
little more detail on what exactly you need to do to comply with these
responsibilities.
1. Send a notice of intent
According to the detail page here:
http://www.notry.com/hschool/fla/law-1.htm
you must submit a letter of intent to your district superintendent,
including the following information:
"l. name of each child (6 - 16 years of age)
2. birth date of each child named
3. address
4. a parent's signature "
According to this page:
http://www.palmbeach.k12.fl.us/contacts.asp
Your district superintendent's name and address are:
"Arthur C. Johnson, Ph.D.
Phone: (561) 434-8200
3340 Forest Hill Blvd., C-316
West Palm Beach, Florida 33406-5869"
So, you'll simply need to write him a letter outlining your plan.
I'd suggest something like this:
Dear Dr. Johnson,
This letter serves as my notice of intent to homeschool my son, [name,
age], of [address] from this date forward.
Sincerely,
[your signature, name, address, and any other contact information]
To send this and ensure that it's received, you'll want to mail this
return receipt requested. So, once you've written your letter, make a
copy for yourself and bring it in an addressed envelope to your local
post office, but don't attach any stamps yet. Just ask the clerk to
have it mailed "return receipt requested" to Dr. Johnson at the
address above. This will probably cost a couple dollars. They'll
attach the necessary postage and provide you with a receipt showing
the date you mailed it. Once the letter has been delivered, they will
then mail you a copy of the signed receipt, which you can keep for
your records.
This completes the most urgent portion of your question, and your copy
of the letter and the return receipt should be sufficient proof of
your notice.
2. Maintain a portfolio of records.
From this page:
http://www.notry.com/hschool/fla/law-2.htm
your portfolio must consist of the following two things:
"1.) Your documented records: "a log, made contemporaneously with the
instruction, which designates by title the reading materials used"
2.) Your sample materials: "samples of any writings, worksheets,
workbooks, and creative materials used or developed by the student."
The portfolio is to be kept "contemporaneously with the instruction"
which means the documentation should be occurring at the same time as
the instruction. This keeps your documentation and materials in a
chronological order which aids in the evaluation or inspection
process."
Simply, you'll just need to keep records of the reading and study
materials you use in homeschooling your son, as well as the work he's
done; and keep this log current.
3. Make your portfolio available for inspection by the superintendent
upon a 15-day written notice.
This step should be very simple, as long as you're complying with step
2. That is, as long as you have current records of your home schooling
program, they'll be available for inspection.
4. Submit an annual evaluation for each child to the school district
superintendent.
This page describes in detail what you need to include on your
evaluation:
http://www.notry.com/hschool/fla/law-4.htm
This page provides detailed information on your five evaluation
options. They are listed on the page as follows:
"YOUR FIVE OPTIONS FOR EVALUATION
The Home Education Act provides five evaluation options:
I A "personal evaluation" by a certified teacher of your choice.
II A nationally-normed student achievement test that is used in your
district and is administered by a certified teacher of your choice.
(Tests such as, SAT, Iowa Test, CAT, MAT, CTBS)
III A state student assessment test.
IV A psychological evaluation.
V Any other method that is mutually agreed upon by the parent and the
superintendent. "
Options I and III require a Florida certified teacher not related to
the student to provide the assessments.
There's a list of qualified evaluators in your area on this page:
http://southcountyhomeschoolers.org/SCHS/How%20to%20Homeschool.htm#_Resources
Scroll down to the "Evaluators" heading to see them. If you choose
this route, in fact, you may want to get in touch with someone sooner
rather than later, in order to establish just what the evaluator can
provide, and what you need to do in turn.
Option III is only available through the public school system, and as
such, is not really an option. I'm not entirely sure why it's even
listed, to be honest.
Option IV requires a Florida certified psychologist to evaluate the
student.
Option V is an open option. If you feel that you have a valid reason
not to be able to provide any of the above assessments, you can
propose another option to the superintendent (Dr. Johnson, mentioned
above)on an alternative assessment.
5. Preserve your portfolio for two years.
This requirement should be fairly simple, as long as you've maintained
your log/portfolio as required in step 2. Just keep it in a safe
place. It might not be a bad idea to invest in a dedicated filing
cabinet just for your home schooling records, just to be on the safe
side.
6. Submit a letter of termination when your son's education is
completed, or if you move to another county.
Once your son's education is complete, or if you move out of Palm
Beach, you'll need to send a letter simply stating this to Dr.
Johnson. In fact, you could probably just modify the letter text above
as such:
Dear Dr. Johnson,
This letter serves as my notice that my son, [name, age], of [address]
has completed his high school education, and we will be terminating
our home schooling.
Sincerely,
[your signature, name, address, and any other contact information]
I think that should cover the basic homeschooling requirements for
your area.
If you have any other questions, or require more detail on anything
covered here, please feel free to ask for a clarification, and I'll
see what else I can find for you.
Additional resources for homeschooling support, curricula, and
materials are available at the following websites:
Home Learning Center
http://homelearningcenterinc.com/hlc/default.htm
Provides curricula and other materials.
How to Homeschool in Florida
http://southcountyhomeschoolers.org/SCHS/How%20to%20Homeschool.htm
Provides detailed information about homeschooling in your area, and
includes many links to contacts and homeschooling resources.
Good luck, and again, if you need clarification on anything, please
feel free to ask.
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