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Massachusetts
Department of Education Draft Advisory on Home Education
On
June 9, 2003, a representative from Advocates for Home Education
in Massachusetts joined representatives from other homeschooling
organizations to discuss the current DOE Draft Advisory on homeschooling.
The advisory is the document the DOE submits to individuals seeking
information about homeschooling in Massachusetts. Approval and
oversight of home education is a local, rather than state, function
in Massachusetts. Therefore, the Department of Education is not
involved in setting policy, overseeing school district practices,
or otherwise enforcing the Commonwealth's home education law.
The document's intent, according to the DOE, is to provide a neutral
analysis of homeschooling law, and to answer the most commonly
asked questions about homeschooling. Many homeschooling groups,
including AHEM, have taken issue with various sections of the
draft.
One
of the themes homeschooling groups tried to convey to Ms. Keliher
was that of intimidation. We tried to explain that the tone of
the advisory might intimidate superintendents and lead them to
feel an obligation to come down hard on homeschoolers. Passages
from the advisory regarding prior approval were cited. Ms. Keliher
seemed to understand the issues we presented, though she said
that in a public document she did not have leeway to interpret
the law, only convey it. Nevertheless, she acknowledged our concerns
and said she would take them under consideration.
Another
major issue presented at the meeting was special education. Homeschooling
groups have been concerned that the current document advises superintendents
to treat families homeschooling a special education child differently
from other families. The advice is based on special education
laws, and specifically FAPE (Free and Appropriate Public Education).
Homeschooling groups in attendance argued that FAPE should not
apply to homeschooling families, while Ms. Keliher explained that
since FAPE is the standard for special education students in public
school, and the homeschooling plan has to "equal in thoroughness
and efficiency that of the public school...," then homeschooling
plans must address the child's special needs. She also conceded
that she needed to consult special education experts to better
understand the issue, and seemed to agree that this section of
the advisory needed some changes. [See clarification to federal
regulations regarding homeschooling and special needs: http://www.ahem.info/HSandSPED.htm]
Friends of AHEM wishing to receive the full set of minutes for
the meeting let us know and we will provide it. If you would like
a copy of the draft advisory, please contact us at info@AHEM.info
or send a SASE to AHEM, PO Box 1307, Arlington, MA 02474.
The
advisory was scheduled to be revised over the summer, with prospective
finalization and release in fall of 2003. However, as of September
2003 Liz Keliher has informed us that because of the workload
at the DOE she has not put the necessary time into the advisory
to release it this fall. We will keep you informed of its progress.
The
draft circulates even though it is not in final form. You may
find that your local district has incorporated parts of the advisory
into their local policy even though the DOE does not have any
authority to set homeschool policy in Massachusetts.
Click
here to read an analysis of some of
the more problematic parts of the advisory.
September
2004 addendum: Homeschoolers
and Public High School Diplomas
Responses
from Massachusetts homeschoolers to AHEM's questionnaire
noted that schools are saying they cannot issue diplomas to homeschoolers.
This raised the question of whether the DOE's position had changed:
the DOE used to say that issuing a diploma was up to the school
committee's discretion. AHEM asked Liz Keliher, attorney for the
DOE, for clarification and indeed they have revised their position
on the issuance of diplomas to homeschoolers. From Liz Keliher,
DOE attorney:
"You
are correct that homeschoolers may not receive high school diplomas.
We are adding this question and answer to our Homeschooling
Advisory which, as you know, is still not finalized. However,
the question and answer will probably look something like this:
High
School Diplomas. Home schooled students are not entitled
to the award of a high school diploma, even if they have completed
a district-approved home schooling program. The Education Reform
Act of 1993 authorized the Board of Education to establish statewide
public high school graduation standards (called competency standards),
that were implemented with the graduating class of 2003. Satisfaction
of the requirements of the competency determination is now a
condition for high school graduation. The competency determination
requires publicly enrolled students to achieve a passing score
on the 10th grade MCAS in both English Language Arts and Math.
Home-schooled
students are not permitted to participate in the MCAS and, therefore,
cannot fulfill the requirements of the competency determination
or attain a high school diploma. However, districts have the
discretion to determine whether, or the extent to which, a student
who has been home schooled has met the local requirements for
graduation. The school committee may provide a home schooled
student with a letter or certificate which indicates that the
student participated in an approved home schooling program and
describes the content of the program and the results of any
academic tests administered by the school district."
The
GED and Homeschoolers, September 2004: Ruth Derfler, Director
GED & Alternative Adult High School Credentials at the Massachusetts
Department of Education clarified that a homeschooler age 16 or
17 can have the school write a letter stating that he or she is
not enrolled, as he or she is a homeschooler, and that letter
will qualify him or her to take the GED. Ms. Derfler said that
if a superintendent were confused about this policy and didn't
want to honor a homeschooler's request for a letter, they could
call her (781-338-6604) to confirm.
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The
information on this website does not constitute legal advice;
it is provided for informational purposes only.
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