AOE Homeschool Rules and Requirements During COVID
UPDATE FROM AOE, SEPTEMBER 2020
Please note the following important COVID-19 related updates:
- The Home Study enrollment process is experiencing significant delays (approximately 5-6 week backlog as of 9/11/20) due to substantially increased demand. We will not be able to meet the usual 14-day deadline for responding to your application.
- Please use the Cognito online application system if at all possible. This is the fastest way to send your materials to us. If you submit via this system, you will receive an auto-generated confirmation of receipt of your materials (provided you included an email address). Please check your SPAM folder if you do not receive the receipt.
- If you mail your materials via USPS, consider paying for the additional proof of mailing so that you have some documentation of submission of your materials. Emailed materials will have the Sent email as proof of submission.
- Important: Please notify your school’s principal that you intend to enroll in home study and provide him/her with whatever documentation you have of your enrollment (Cognito receipt, Sent email, USPS proof of mailing). Because of delays in our review process, including in the process of entering new application materials into our database, not all students will appear on the weekly lists of enrolled and pending home study students that we provide to superintendents, and principals and superintendents are responsible for accounting for every student in their district.
- Superintendents and principals have been directed to treat parental documentation of having submitted an enrollment application for their child as equivalent to being in a “pending” status and not to consider such students truant, until the backlog is cleared.
From Stephanie Phillips:
Students are not transferred out until we get the final homeschooling approval documentation. Until the process is finalized students are marked absent. What caught my attention is that if families provide the school with documentation of homeschooling enrollment (#4) then the district should consider this as pending and not mark students truant (#5). The key is getting documentation from families that they have submitted the application to the AOE. Stephanie
WHEN A FAMILY ANNOUNCES THEY WILL MOVE TO HOMESCHOOLING
There can be a long delay, see above.
BSD Procedure:
- Family supplies evidence of having enrolled in homeschooling with the state (Cognito receipt, Sent email, USPS proof of mailing). Evidence is shown to Administrative Assistant at the student's school they are leaving.
- Administrative Info screen in Powerschool is edited to reflect the date parents notified the school of the student moving to homeschooling. Field is called Homeschool Pending (DATE).
- Questions: Fill out transfer request form? Send to Willie?
- Question for the state: what attendance code is used for pending homeschool students who are still enrolled with us?
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We have 3 kinds of home school students:
Homeschool not taking any classes or activities
Homeschool taking classes
Homeschool taking extracurricular activities
Coding home school students who are taking classes or attending extra-curricular activities:
- Create the enrollment record with an entry code of Transfer from Home Study.
- Go
to the Admin Info screen and change the Admin Status to Home School
Taking Classes OR Home School Extra-Curricular Activities. OR Homestudy No Classes Activities.
- If the State has approved the homeschool application, check the Homeschooler Approved box. If the application is in process, check the Homeschooler Pending checkbox.
- Check the appropriate other boxes.
- Enter the part time hours per week.
Please note that the Admission Status is another required field for state reporting.
When a kid exits to home study and will NOT be taking any classes or attending activities.
- Transfer them out with the exit code of Transfer to Home Study.
- Go to Admin Info page and change the Admission Status to Home Study No Classes/Activities.
- Make sure all other boxes are unchecked.
There is a report to see a list of all homeschool students. In SQL
Reports, go to Special Services, Homeschool Students.
Note: Homeschool students who are not taking classes or not attending
extra-curricular activities is not counted as an enrolled student in
our District. Therefore they are not reported.
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