***Attention all Home School Parents***

As of July 1, 2012, Home school services are coordinated by the Georgia Department of Education.  You must go through the Georgia Department of Education (GADoE) in order to register your child for the current school year and for all other home school requests.  Declarations of Intent and monthly attendance forms should NOT be submitted to Colquitt County School District.

Changes have been made to the homeschooling law in Georgia. There are two major changes that homeschoolers need to be aware of:

• The first is that they will no longer turn in their paperwork to their local school districts. Now they will report directly to the Georgia Department of Education.
• The second major change is that homeschoolers will only be required to turn in attendance forms once a year to the Georgia Department of Education instead of turning in a monthly attendance form to their local school district.

The Georgia Department of Education has instructions and forms on the GADoE website (www.doe.k12.ga.us/curriculum-instruction-and-assessment/pages/home-schools.aspx) by mid-June where students, parents and local homeschool associations can obtain and submit homeschool documents electronically.  A physical mailing address is also available for submitting homeschool documents.

Students, parents and local homeschool associations may choose to submit their new homeschool required documentation electronically via HomeschoolCompliance.com(Mr. Scott Meadows – 706-353-3548). Neither Mr. Meadows nor HomeschoolCompliance.com are associated with the Georgia Department of Education; however, the Georgia Department of Education has entered into an agreement with Mr. Meadows allowing him to accept this documentation in order to better serve those choosing the homeschool option.  Utilizing HomeschoolCompliance.comis not free.   Parents should check HomeschoolCompliance.com for fees.

To request a Certificate of Attendance for a driver's license, learner's permit, work permit, or as needed for other purposes, please contact Patrick Blenke at ablenke@doe.k12.ga.us or Judy Serritella at jserrite@doe.k12.ga.us. Thank you for your patience as we move forward to comply with the new homeschool requirements.

Questions should be directed to the following people at the Georgia Department of Education: Patrick Blenke at (404) 463-1765 or Judy Serritella at (404) 657-9800.

With these changes in mind, the following are the requirements that parents or guardians must follow in order to homeschool in Georgia:

• Parents or guardians of homeschoolers are required to submit a declaration of intent to homeschool within 30 days of establishing such a program and thereafter by September 1 each year. Compulsory attendance is for children between the ages of six and sixteen, but any child under seven who has been enrolled in public school for 20 days or more will need to submit a declaration of intent to homeschool.
• The declaration needs to list the names and ages of the students, the address of the home study program, and a statement of the 12-month period that is to be considered the school year.
• Parents or guardians may teach only their own children, and they must possess at least a high school diploma or GED, but they can employ a tutor who holds a high school diploma or GED.
• The law states, “The home study program shall provide a basic academic educational program which includes, but is not limited to, reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science.”
• The home study program must provide instruction each 12 months equivalent to 180 school days with each day consisting of at least 4.5 hours unless the child is physically unable to comply.
• Attendance records must be kept and submitted annually to the Department of Education.
• The law states, “Students in home study programs shall be subject to an appropriate nationally standardized testing program administered in consultation with a person trained in the administration and interpretation of norm reference tests…” beginning at the end of the third grade and every three years after that. The GADoE recommends that parents use a nationally recognized test. Homeschoolers can find a list of such tests here: http://www.ghea.org/pages/testing/standardizedTests.php. Note that a parent can administer the test after consulting with someone at the test’s publisher, or they could ask a local teacher to administer the test. The results of the tests do not need to be shared with anyone, and parents need only retain them for their own records.
• Finally, the home study program instructor needs to write an annual progress assessment report which will include her assessment of the student’s academic progress in each of the subject areas listed above, and parents need to retain these reports for at least three years.

Hospital/Homebound Program

The Colquitt County School System offers, at no charge to the parents, academic support to eligible students who are confined at home or in a healthcare facility for periods of time that would prevent normal school attendance. To be eligible for this service, the following criteria must be met:

The student is enrolled in a public school prior to the referral for HHB services.

1. The student must be anticipated to be absent from school for a minimum of 10 consecutive school days per year (5 days for high school students on a block schedule) or the student has a chronic health condition causing him or her to be absent for intermittent periods of time anticipated at a minimum of ten school days per year (5 days for high school students on a block schedule). Students with chronic health conditions requiring intermittent HHB services must be anticipated to be absent for at least 3 consecutive days for each occurrence before he or she will be served in the HHB program.

2. The student’s parent must agree to abide by HHB rules and sign a release for medical information relating to the reason for the request for HHB services.

3. The student is under the care of a licensed physician or licensed psychiatrist who is currently treating the student for the necessitating medical condition and who is willing to sign a
referral form with the following information:

• That the student's medical condition is expected to interfere with regular school attendance as described in item 1 above; and
• That the student is able to participate in and benefit from HHB instruction; and
• That the student can receive instruction without endangering the health and safety of the instructor or other students with whom the instructor may come in contact; and
• That describes the disabling condition or diagnosis with any medical implications forinstructional services.

Hospital/Homebound (HHB) services are provided to students according to the provisions of Georgia Department of Education Rule 160-4-2-.31. The Hospital/Homebound student is responsible for completing school assignments in a timely manner as deemed appropriate for his/her condition.

*Services cannot begin until all required paperwork is submitted and approved.

Please see your school counselor for forms.