Re: AOL and homeschooled boys
Cheryl Singhal (csinghal@CAPACCESS.ORG)
Tue, 2 Feb 1999 14:26:11 -0500
On Tue, 2 Feb 1999, Gross, David C wrote:
> I did all of these. Our local school board told me about the records
> requirements that the state requirements home schools to keep, which include
> grade assignment. The next time I saw the dad I asked to see the *records*
> (not a letter from the dad), so that "I could get the paperwork in order".
> I was careful to give him a way out ("when you get a chance, ..."). I have
> not received these records, and don't expect to (see below). Our area does
> *not* make grade assignment by testing. Grade assignment by parents is
> somewhat arbitrary here, but is supposed to be based on work which is also
> in the record. I could not find a BSA source defining grade levels or other
> special policies for homeschooled children. That's about all I can offer on
> the home schooling question: don't argue, just ask to see their (whole)
> school record. Hopefully, you won't see "finished 4th grade in 2 weeks".
I checked with Montgomery County Maryland and was told that they monitor
these children with twice-yearly assessments; the monitor (either the
public school the child would have attended, a local private school, or a
correspondence school) must be state-registered and issues a twice-yearly
"Compliance" report which states the grade-level. I was assured that
there IS oversight. ALSO: there is a distinction between home-schooled
(i.e., for medical reasons) and Home Instructed (for non-medical
reasons). The first is part of the school system and the school system
requirements obtain; the second is the taught-at-home child and is
governed by different requirements.
This seems to differ slightly from what David seems to have been told.
So, probably the best bet is for everyone to touch base with their local
school system and find out locally what's what.
Thanks for the feed-back, David!
Cheryl
