Under the Home Instruction Statute, evaluation or testing must be provided for all children who are between the ages of 6 and 18 as of September 30th of the current school year (regardless of grade level).

Children under the age of 6 as of September 30th. For more information, see Kindergarten Options. Children older than 18 as of September 30th. Children 16 years or older as of September 30th who have graduated. For more information, see High School Diploma Options. Children 16 years or older as of September 30th who have passed the GED. For more information, see Homeschoolers and the General Educational Development Exam (GED). Children whose parents are complying with the Compulsory Attendance Code by using the Approved Tutor Provision. Children who are exempt from the Compulsory Attendance Code due to a Religious Exemption.

It depends on your child’s age, not grade. If your child turned 6 years old on or before September 30th of the school year, then yes, you will need to provide evidence of progress for that child. If your child turns 6 after September 30th, then you are not required to submit evidence of progress. For more information, view Kindergarten Options.

The short answer is yes. If your child had transferred to a traditional brick-and-mortar school in the middle of the year, the school would still provide an end-of-year report card. The same goes for homeschooling.

If evidence of adequate progress is not submitted, the home instruction program of the child may be placed on probation for one year. The parents must file with the superintendent proof of their ability to teach their child and a remediation plan for acceptance by the superintendent. If this plan is not accepted or the required evidence of progress is not provided for by August 1 following the probationary year, home instruction for that child may be ended. Unless you submit the results of a nationally normed standardized test (Option (i)), the local superintendent is required to make a determination as to whether the evidence of progress submitted demonstrates adequate growth and progress. Most school divisions are fair and reasonable. Rarely, they are not. If the superintendent determines that adequate evidence of progress has not been provided, the superintendent may (at his or her discretion) place the homeschool on a probationary status. However, if a portfolio is rejected as not showing satisfactory progress, a parent might offer to submit a standardized test as an alternative, or offer to have a credentialed person evaluate the child and his or her work. It is up to the superintendent’s discretion as to whether to agree to an alternative. If probationary status is not acceptable to the parent, or if alternative assessments are not practical or acceptable to the parent or the school division, the parent may appeal a superintendent’s decision. This entails simply notifying the superintendent (within 30 days of his negative decision) that you want to appeal the decision to an independent hearing officer. The superintendent then must make arrangements for the hearing. Independent hearing officers are attorneys and they are selected from a list maintained by the state Supreme Court. You do not need an attorney to make such an appeal.