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Q: Does Maryland law permit a student of mandatory school age to be
home schooled instead of
attending a public or a nonpublic school?
YES. Maryland law, Education
Article, 7-301, Annotated Code of Maryland, Compulsory Attendance,
states that each child who resides in Maryland and is 5 years old or
older (as of September 1 of each school year) and under 16 shall
attend a public school regularly during the entire school year
unless the child is otherwise receiving regular, thorough
instruction during the school year in the studies usually taught in
the public school to children of the same age. Maryland recognizes
nonpublic schools and home instruction as alternatives to public
school enrollment as a means of students to receive regular,
thorough instruction.
Q: Do
Are there regulations that govern home instruction in Maryland?
YES. COMAR 13A.10.01 Home
Instruction, are the regulations that govern home instruction in
Maryland. The purpose of COMAR 13A.10.01 is to establish a procedure
to be used by the superintendent of each local school system to
determine if a child participating in a home instruction program is
receiving
regular, thorough instruction during the school year in the
studies usually taught in the public schools to children of the same
age.
Q: What must a parent do before
beginning home instruction?
At least 15 days before the beginning of
a home instruction program, a parent or guardian who chooses to
teach a child at Home, must sign a written statement on a form
prescribed by the State Department of Education. The parent should
contact the Anne Arundel County Home School Office for a copy of the
‘Notification’ form and COMAR 13A.10.01.
Q: Does the local school system or the Maryland State Department
of Education provide a
curriculum to parents to use for the
purpose of home schooling?
NO. A parent or guardian, who
elects to provide instruction to his/her child(ren), must select the
curriculum to be used. The home instruction regulations do, however,
specify the subjects that must be taught by the parent.
NO, Anne Arundel
County Public Schools does not provide materials for a student
enrolled in a home school program, who is not enrolled in the public
school system. Parents must provide the instructional curriculum and
materials needed to provide instruction in the seven subject areas:
Language Arts (English), Math, Science, Social Studies
(History/Geography), Art, Music, and Physical Education. All
materials needed for a home school program are the responsibility of
the parent, home instructor. You may access the curriculum
information for the Anne Arundel County Public Schools at
www.aacps.org for specific
content covered in the different curriculum areas.
Q. What subject areas of home instruction are mandatory?
English (Language arts), mathematics, science, social studies, art,
music, health, and physical education are the subject areas that
parents or guardians must teach their children who are being
instructed at home.
Q: Must home instruction be supervised in Maryland?
Yes Home instruction must be supervised
in Maryland by one of the following entities: o
-
The local school system through the Home
School Office
-
A church-exempt nonpublic school.
(Nonpublic entity)
-
An education ministry of a bona fide
church organization. (Nonpublic entity)
Q: What must a nonpublic school or
education ministry of a bona fide church organization do
before beginning to supervise home
instruction of Maryland students?
Before beginning to
supervise home instruction, the head of the legal authority of a
nonpublic school or the chief officer of a bona fide church
organization, that elects to supervise home instruction, must
contact MSDE for registration procedures. Registration procedures
include the completion of an official registration form that can be
obtained by calling the Nonpublic School Approval Branch at
(410)767-0407.
Q: Can a tutor or someone
other than a parent or guardian be hired to teach a child who is
home
schooled?
NO. A
home-schooled student may be tutored in a particular subject just as
a student enrolled in a public or nonpublic school may be tutored.
Regardless of whether the student is enrolled in home schooling or
in a public or nonpublic school, tutoring is supplemental to each of
these primary forms of instruction. Tutoring may not be substituted
for the instruction that is provided by the parent to his/her home
schooled student or the instruction provided by public or nonpublic
school to students enrolled.
The
bylaw is clear that Home Schooling is for a “parent or guardian who
chooses to teach a child at home.” The parent or guardian must be the
primary provider of the instruction. Other adults may assist with the
special areas of interest, but may not replace the parent. Otherwise,
teaching by another adult or group of adults constitutes a school, which
must seek approval through the Maryland State Department of Education.
Q: Must a parent/guardian be a certified
teacher?
NO.
COMAR regulations do not require parents to have teacher
certification in order to home school their child
Q: Will the public school provide
curriculum and textbooks materials?
NO. Acquiring
curriculum and texts is the responsibility of the parent, but they
may reference the public school system’s curriculum or the MSDE
Voluntary Curriculum .
Q: Will
high school high school assessments (HSA) taken in Anne Arundel
County Schools in
English 10, Algebra I, Biology, and United
States Government count as course credit if a
student enrolls in an Anne Arundel County
High School?
High School Assessments are the graduation
exit exams required for all students earning a diploma. Students
enrolling from home schooling or a nonpublic nonapproved school do
not earn course credit for passing these exams. To earn credit in
the CORE courses, a student must take and pass the ‘test for credit’
exams offered for each course.
Q: How much
time should be spent on instruction each day?
Generally, a
minimum of five hours of home schooling, Monday through Friday, is
recommended for a period of at least 36 weeks (180 days) of
instruction.
Q:
Can a student who is home schooled participate in other aspects of
the instructional or
extracurricular programs that are offered
by a Maryland public school?
NO.
Students who are home schooled are
not permitted to participate in courses, activities, the
Center for Applied Technology or afterschool programs that are
offered by a Maryland public school other than the optional
standardized testing program.
Q: May a home-schooled student
participate in the standardized testing program that is offered by
the student’s local school system?
Yes.
A child receiving home instruction may participate in the
regularly scheduled standardized testing programs that are
administered in the school where the student would attend.
Requesting standardized testing can be made through the Home
School Office. It is the responsibility of the parent to contact
the assigned school’s testing coordinator to find out the
testing schedule and participation 3 weeks prior to the testing
date. The parent must provide the transportation to and from the
testing location. AACPS offers the following standardized test:
Maryland Student Assessment ((MSA) March for grades: 3 – 8) ;
PSAT (October: for grades 9, 10, & 11); and the High School
Assessment (HSA)(May for Algebra I, US Government;; Biology &
English 10)
Q: What are the procedures for a
home-schooled student to return to a public school?
Parents
should contact the Home School Office for procedures regarding
enrollment in a public school. The Home School Office, in
collaboration with the High School Counselors, will determine
credits to be awarded when transferring to an AACPS high school from
a home school program. This determination is made through an
evaluation of the student’s course documentation and curriculum.
This transfer process may include administration of course
examinations or ‘Tests for Credit’ assessments.
Q: Can a home-schooled student
receive special education services?
Children with
special needs or learning disabilities, who are home schooled, do
not have an individual entitlement to special education services in
the public school system. If a parent believes that a child should
be assessed to determine eligibility for special education services,
the parent should contact the Home School Office to initiate the
assessments. Special Education services are not provided for
students enrolled in a home school program in Maryland.Q: Does the Maryland State
Department of Education provide information on home school support
groups?
NO.
MSDE does not collect information about home school support groups
or cooperatives. However they maintain the names and addresses of
the nonpublic schools and bona fide church organizations that are
registered to supervise home schooling in Maryland.
Q: Will a high school diploma
be used by the local school system or MSDE if I elect to have my
child remain on home schooling through
grade 12?
NO.
Diplomas represent completion of the Maryland (MSDE) graduation
requirements for students who attend public schools in Maryland.
Your child may choose to take the GED Exam (Maryland General
Education Degree). Home School nonpublic supervisory entities may
offer a completion of program certificate, but may not issue a
Maryland diploma upon completion of a home school program .
Q: Will the Home School
Office validate a student MVA Learner’s Permit Application or GED
Application?
YES.
The applications should be sent to the Home School Office for
validation and processing. Please allow at least 3 days to complete
the documentation process. MSDE Approved Supervising Nonpublic
Entities can not validate a student’s application according to the
regulations.
Fact Sheet Regarding Home
Schooling With the
Anne Arundel County Home School Office.
AACPS Option
Questions & Answers
Q: How often do home
school program (portfolio) reviews occur?
Generally, reviews occur two (2) times
per school year, usually once in either October/November or
January/February and once in May/June. A maximum of three (3)
reviews are permitted by the COMAR regulations each academic year.
Parents meet with Home School Office staff for a review of their
home school program at local libraries, the Ft. Meade Center or the
Board of Education in Annapolis. Information on the dates/times is
sent to parents a few weeks prior to the scheduling process
Q: The General Regulations for Home Schooling state
that I must provide regular, thorough
instruction. How can I show this?
The primary
documentation or
evidence of regular, thorough instruction
will be through a review of your child’s own work. Some parents have
found it helpful both for their organization and for the portfolio
review process to keep records such as a planning book or journal of
activities. According to the regulations, the portfolio should
include examples of child’s writing, worksheets, workbooks, creative
materials, tests, etc. Samples should also be dated. The Home School
Office can offer assistance or suggestions of how other parents have
demonstrated their home school programs in the past.
Q: What subjects (courses) are required?
The COMAR
regulations state that instruction should be provided in subjects
usually taught in the public schools to students of the same age’
and should include
English/language arts, math, science, social
studies, art, music, and physical education as well as health.
Anne Arundel County also recommends that documentation include a
schedule; evidence of computer skills and library/media skills.
Q: What happens if my child’s portfolio is found to have
deficiencies in the Home School
program?
A parent is
notified in writing and must provide additional evidence within 30
days that the documentation deficiencies have been corrected. If the
deficiencies are not corrected, the Anne Arundel County Public
School Superintendent will require that the child be withdrawn from
a home schooling program and enrolled promptly in a public or
private school within five days of notice of deficiency.
Maryland State Department of Education
Nonpublic School Approval Branch
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