To avoid any entanglements with truancy have your paper work in and complete before the first day of school in your community OR if you are leaving the public school during the school year, plan ahead and have the process completed before you withdraw your child. At the very least work this out with your local school. They may agree with your decision to homeschool and choose to work with you even though your child is still enrolled in the public school and your paper work for home study is not yet completed.

This primer is an attempt to make your paper work flow as smoothly as possible. The original intent of the law is clear. You are not asking for permission nor are you seeking approval to homeschool your child. You are notifying the state that your child will be homeschooled using a detailed outline or narrative and providing proof that your child did progress. You have a constitutional right to homeschool.

The home study unit determines if the notice is complete. If found to be incomplete, within 14 business days they send out a letter notifying you what is missing. You have another 14 days to send in the missing information. If the Commissioner has "a significant doubt about whether a home study program can or will provide a minimum course of study for a student the Commissioner may call a hearing. Of those enrollment submitted a hearing was called less than 1% of all enrollments, even fewer are actually held. If a hearing rules against the parent's they can appeal directly to the Vermont Supreme Court if the issue is still unresolved. This is rare but it does happen. The enrollment notice has three basic parts:

Description of Forms

The law does not say you have to use the Department forms but you must supply all of the required information found on these forms. The forms are supposed to make this easier so that nothing is forgotten. This information is not meant to be a discussion of an interpretation of the law but to inform you how the Department of Education has interrupted the law. The forms and contents of them have changed over time. The home study law (166b) says, "The names, addresses, telephone numbers, and signatures of the persons who will provide the instruction." This is why the Department has created three different forms for signatures. Form A, C, and E. This is the current list:

Form A - Basically this is simply directory information such as name, addresses, and phone numbers and parent's signatures.

Form B - This is about a simple screening for handicaps. It is a place for independent professional evidence on whether the child is handicapped. If your child has not been screened in a Vermont public school or previously for a home study program you will need to fill out this form. A doctor can fill out this form. Not only are the results of the screening required but also the method of screening. Remember this is supposed to be a simple screening.

Form C- If your child is taking a course at a public school or a private school, these teachers will be covering a major portion of your child's course of study. The public or private school is responsible for this material and hence the reason for this form and their signature. The subject matter is not being taught by you or self directed by your child.

Form D - This is a release of contact information so that those that obtain this mailing list from the Department can send you information that might be of interest to you as a homeschooler. Currently this mailing does not generate a lot of mail in your box.

Form E - This form is for private tutors and those that teach your children portions of your course of study. If you mention piano lessons in your course of study it is intended that you fill out this form and get a signature from the piano teacher. If you do not wish to do this then do not put piano lessons in your course of study. Your child of course can still take piano lessons but just don't specifically mention it in the course of study. Your course of study should reflect what YOU as the parent are going to be covering with your child.

Detailed Outline or Narrative

The detailed outline or narrative is also called the course of study. Some also refer to is as the curriculum. This is a description of what may be covered the following year. When writing this, do not put down everything that you think you will cover. It should cover the basics but do not give too much detail. Trial and error is the only way to learn how much is not enough. A rule of thumb is to supply about 75% of what you think you may cover.

There are many ways that the detailed outline can be written. Some parents are intentionally vague and plan on getting an incomplete letter. This way they know just how much more they need to give. The law mandates that learning experiences are to be provided for children. These experiences are to be adapted to the child's age and ability Actual learning is not mandated.

The course of study has 6 parts that break down into 8 actual subject headings. They are as follows:

1. Basic communication skills - reading and writing
2. Basic communication skills - use of numbers
3. Citizenship, history and government in Vermont and the United States - field trips are easy enough to do to cover Vermont history.
4. Physical education
5. Comprehensive health which covers tobacco, alcohol, and drugs - the home study statute (166b) does not reference any other statute that talks about comprehensive health
6. English, American and other literature - this is about elements of literature and reading various types of literature
7. Science
8. Fine arts - art, music, drama, dance etc.

Assessment of Progress

The assessment is about the child progressing from year to year. Not all children will be at grade level in all subjects at all times. Some children will be ahead of their grade level. Some children will be ahead in some subjects and behind in others. Still other children will lag behind in all subjects. To repeat, the assessment is about progress - is the child progress at an adequate rate for that child? Grades are not necessary in an assessment. Some parents homeschool and never grade anything. They do correct however and expect for corrections to be made but they do not give a grade. Portfolio samples do not need to have grades on them. The teacher assessment will describe what the teacher sees. Testing of course will have percentile rankings.

The assessment breaks into the same subject headings as the course of study. Each area must be covered by the form of assessment that you choose - portfolio with a parents report - teacher assessment - test with a parents report for areas not tested. A parent's report is simply a description of what was covered. It can be in journal format and does not need to be very long. Once again trial and error will teach you over time just how much is enough.

Additional information you should know:

Some parents operate under the principle that they send small amounts of information but do try to be thorough. If the Department feels it needs more they will send you a letter state such and what exactly they are looking for in further information. This assures that you do not send too much information in. Some parents like to send in lots of information. It gives them a more thorough picture of what their children covered.

The Department does not critique nor give a stamp of approval on how well your child did or how well you did. The law will not allow them to give you a report on the quality of the education provided or to give approval. It is their job to make sure that it is complete. That is all. Again, whether you send in little or much the Department does not comment on how well you did because the law does not allow for them to do that.However, if the Department feels that there is a significant doubt about whether your home study program can or will provide a minimum course of study for a student then and only then can the Department step in to critique the quality of education provided. So it is good if you hear nothing from the Department other than the letter telling you that the paper work was complete.

You can educate your special needs child at home. It is more difficult but possible. Many of the issues with special needs come from having a child who has severe needs or if you are trying to leave the public schools to homeschool your special needs child. Learning disabilities cover the bulk of issues. Your course of study must include information on how you will accommodate the disability. Your assessment will show how progress was made on the course of study.

Hearings are not very common. A hearing can be a scary process to go through. The Department tries to work things out before hand. Some times it takes quite a bit of negotiation to work up an agreement with the Department. Agreements are usually worked out well in advance of a hearing. If you make an agreement with the Department be sure that it is one that you can keep. A hearing must be held within 30 days of calling and must be held in your locality. You may have representation there such as a lawyer. If a hearing is held and you do not like the decision of the hearing officer you may appeal directly to the Vermont Supreme Court.

Guidelines This is the link to the web site for the Home Study Unit at the State of Vermont. At this link you will be able to download the Home Study Guidelines which is produced by the Department. It gives other information that you might find useful.