IHBG – Home Schooling

When a parent or guardian of a student below the age of 16 wants to establish a home-based educational program for his child, the following procedures shall be followed in accordance with law:

1. The parent/guardian must submit on an annual basis written notification of establishment of the home-based program to the District's director of student services 14 days before the program is established.
2. The parent/guardian must certify in writing, on a form provided by the District, the name, age, place of residence and number of hours of attendance of each of his children in the program.
3. The Superintendent shall give the parent 14 days written notice to produce records required by law if he has probable cause to believe the program is not in compliance with the law.
4. The Executive Director of Student Achievement Services shall review the test results of each student in home-based programs when the student is evaluated in the third, fifth, seventh, ninth and 11th grades. The student's academic progress shall be evaluated either by giving a nationally standardized achievement test or by submitting an evaluation of the student conducted by a qualified person as defined in state law. The Executive Director of Student Achievement Services shall be responsible for reviewing the student's evaluation which either shall be submitted to the District or to an independent or parochial school in Colorado. If the test or evaluation results are submitted to an independent or parochial school, the name of the school shall be provided to the District.
5. If the student's composite score on the test is above the 13th percentile, the student shall continue to be eligible for the home-based educational program and exempt from compulsory school attendance laws. If his score is at or below the 13th percentile, his parent/guardian shall be given the opportunity to have him retested using an alternate version of the same test or a different nationally standardized test selected by the parent/guardian from a list supplied by the State Board of Education.

If the composite score on a retest continues to be at or below the 13th percentile, or if the evaluation conducted by a qualified person indicates the student is not making sufficient academic progress, the District shall take steps to require the parent/guardian to enroll the student in a public, independent, or parochial school. Extracurricular and Interscholastic Activities Students participating in home-based educational programs shall have the same rights as District students to participate in District extracurricular and interscholastic activities if they meet the requirements of state law and District policy. Such participation is subject to the same rules of any interscholastic organization or association of which the District is a member. If the student withdraws from the school district more than 15 days after the start of the school year and enters a home-based educational program, the school district shall remain the child's District of residence. If the child was eligible to participate in extracurricular or interscholastic activities when he or she withdrew, the child will remain eligible to participate for the remainder of the academic year. Habitually Truant Students Any student who has been declared habitually truant at any time during the last six months of attending public school before the proposed enrollment in a home-based educational program may not be enrolled unless the parent/guardian first submits a written description of the curricula to be used along with the written notification required in paragraph #1 above. Re-Entering District Schools A student from a home-based program may re-enter the District's schools at any time. The school district shall place the student at the grade level deemed most appropriate by the school district with the consent of the child's parent/guardian. All students from home-based programs must demonstrate proficiency in the District-adopted content standards at their appropriate placement level before being placed in that particular grade. The District may test the student to determine placement. The District shall accept the transcripts from a home-based educational program. In order to determine whether the courses and grades earned are consistent with District requirements and District academic standards, the District shall require submission of the student's work or other proof of academic performance for each course for which credit toward graduation is sought. In addition, the District may administer testing to the student to verify the accuracy of the student's transcripts. The District may reject any transcripts that cannot be verified through such testing.

Cross References:	JGA-R - Assignment of New Students to Classes and Grade Levels
	JHB - Unexcused Absences/Truancy

Legal References:	C.R.S. § 22-7-409(1.2)(d)(I)(C )(III) (repealed)
	C.R.S. § 22-32-116.5(2) (Extracurricular and Interscholastic Activities)
	C.R.S. § 22‑33‑104.5 (Home-Based Education Law)
	C.R.S. § 22-33-104.5(3)(f) (Home-Based Education Law)
	C.R.S. § 22‑33‑107 (Enforcement of Compulsory Attendance Law)

Adoption Date: April 15, 2002 Last Revised: March 11, 2002