Archives

Wrapping Up the 2022 School Year

Aug12

With the new school year just on the horizon, I wanted to remind you not to forget a couple of things.

  1. Have an assessment completed for each of your students if you are a returning homeschool family. At this point, you will need to have a homeschool assessment since you won’t get the results of a standardized test back in time. Contact me if you are in need of an assessor. I will be expedient in completing your assessment.
  2. Turn your notification paperwork in by the first week that your child’s building begins school. Remember, compulsory age in Ohio is six. You do not need to notify of your intent to homeschool if your child is not six when school begins.

I have included a link to the Ohio Home Education Notification Form in case you need it. FORM

Have a great day! ~Lisa~

Letter of Intent for Homeschooling

Jul20

Screen Shot 2020-07-16 at 5.48.15 AM

Did you receive a letter from your school district stating your student needs to have some type of assessment from this past year? There has been some confusion from some school districts concerning this year’s requirements. If you homeschooled for the 2019-2020 school year and are going to continue to do so for the 2020-2021 school year, you do not need to have your child assessed. Of course, I am happy to do an assessment for you this year if you wish. You can email me at: schoolmarmohio@me.com 

You may include this paragraph from the Christian Home Educators of Ohio’s website with your letter of intent this year if you like.

Sub.H.B. 164, Section 5 was approved by the Ohio Legislature on June 11, 2020 “…that Section 17 of H.B. 197 of the 133rd General Assembly be amended to read as follows:

(L) No school district shall require the parent of any student who was instructed at home in accordance with section 3321.04 of the Revised Code for the 2019-2020 school year to submit to the district superintendent the academic assessment report required under rule 3301-34-04 of the Administrative Code as a condition of the district allowing the student to continue to receive home instruction for the 2020-2021 school year.”

Have a great week! ~Lisa~

When to Notify

Jun3

document-428334__340

This spring the Ohio State Board of Education reviewed the homeschool laws and there has been a revision that affects when you must turn in your notification form. Beginning this fall, your Notification of Intent to homeschool must be turned in “no later than the first week of the start of the public school building in which your child(ren) would attend in the  district of residence or within one week of the date on which the child begins to reside in the district or within one week from the child’s withdraw from a school.” If you would like to read the new revisions in their entirety, go to the CHEO website or CLICK HERE. The revisions are in red print.

Should you be in need or a Written Narrative Assessment/ Portfolio Review please contact me. I would love to help you meet the state requirement to continue to homeschool your child.

Have a great week! ~Lisa~

Writing a Cover Letter for Homeschooling

Aug4

freewriting2

A cover letter is optional for sending your notification letter to the superintendent when you are notifying. However, it is a nice idea and the person who is receiving your papers can see what you have included in your packet of information. Here is a sample of what that might look like.

Homeschool Family

123 Street Name

Anytown, OH 45000

Superintendent Smith

123 Street Name

Anytown, OH 45000

 

Dear Superintendent Smith,

This is to inform you that we will be homeschooling our child___name of student____, for the 20__-20__ school year. Attached are the following documents: the Home Notification Form, a list of the intended textbooks and curricula we are using, and list of the intended topics we will be studying.

Sincerely,

Your Name

No other information is needed to send to the superintendent unless you homeschooled last year. Which in that case, you will need to either send in test results from a nationally standardized test, or have a written portfolio form signed by an Ohio certified teacher (such as myself), or some other option that has already been approved by the superintendent. An example of that would be a certified teacher from a different state.

Have a terrific school year!

~Lisa

Completing the Home Education Notification Form

Jul31

photoIt’s nearly time for school to begin! You may be wondering, “How do I  let the school know I am going to homeschool?”

In order to homeschool here in the great state of Ohio, you must submit the necessary paperwork in order for your child(ren) to be excused from compulsory attendance. The notification form can seem a bit intimidating, but once you have gone through this step-by-step explanation you will realize it wasn’t too difficult after all. Please have the Ohio Home Education NOTIFICATION FORM  in front of you for reference. This is not legal advice- please contact HSLDA or a state/local homeschool organization if you have questions.

A. This is just the introduction- no need to put anything here.

(1) Fill in the upcoming school year- Write the current school year on the blank.

(2) Write your name and address. There is no need for you to fill in your telephone number or email.

(3) If you are not going to be teaching your child the majority of their school work, then you will need to list the person’s name here. For instance, if you work and your mother is going to do the teaching, you would list her name and address. The phone number is not needed.

(4) Full name and birthdate of your student(s) is listed here. Grade level is not necessary.

(5) Put a check mark on the line that shows you will be providing an education in each of these subject areas.

(6) Place a check mark on the line for the outline of intended curriculum. You have the freedom to change your mind once your school begins. The school just wants to see that you have planned what you will be doing. You want to have a list of the concepts/ topics you intend to cover for the year. This is for informational purposes only. Please see an example of what I have submitted in years past that is at the end of the paragraph.  Each person’s list will look different based upon what you have planned. Each year will look different as well. I suggest you have broad categories as this will give you the freedom to choose several types of curriculum should one not work out as you had planned. Here are examples for you to see: Elementary Intended Course of Study  and High School. Intended Couse of Study

(7) Check this line. Be sure to include a list of books, DVD’s and other curriculum that you intend to use for the year.  Titles of library books that I intend to use are listed here because I know that we will be using those for school.  Again, if the curriculum is not working out, you may choose something different during your school year. Here are two examples of what I have sent in previous years. Elementary Intended Curriculum   High School Intended Curriculum . I also have another blog post that gives you more specific details if you need clarification for lines 6 and 7.  outline of topics and curriculum

(8) Check this line with confidence! We all educate our children beyond the 900 hours the state requires. Education is not only limited to sit-down-at-the-table time and bookwork. This includes co-ops, playing outside (physical education), helping watch brothers and sisters (health- family life, safety), going to a library program (language arts, science, social studies, etc.), going grocery shopping (math, health), participating in a local park program (science), symphonies and plays (fine arts),etc. I documented these activities in my lesson plans by writing what we did.

(9) Check this line because you are qualified to educate your child(ren), but read this section to make sure you do meet the qualifications to be able to home educate your child(ren).

(10) Lastly, sign your form that signifies that you have completed it and will abide by the requirements that were stated on the notification form.

Many people include a cover letter stating their intention to homeschool and a list of all the paperwork that is being included. If this is your first year to homeschool you do not need any type of evaluation (portfolio assessment or standardized test). This will be added after your first year is completed.

Below are pictures of a sample notification form for you to view. 

Congratulations! You have completed the form you and are that much closer to officially homeschooling! Be sure to have your notification papers turned into the superintendent’s office by the first week of when your student’s school building commences. Your child will be truant if paperwork is turned in later than that date.

This is not legal advice. I am not a lawyer, nor have I played the part of one. 🙂