TITLE
16
Education
PART
I Administration
CHAPTER
3. STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
[Effective for home study programs enrolling for school year 2006-2007
and each year thereafter.]
§ 166b. Home study program
(a) Enrollment notice. A home study program
shall send a written enrollment notice to the commissioner whenever it intends
to enroll a child. Enrollments at home study programs shall expire on July 1. If
a home study program intends to re-enroll a child for the following school year,
a new notice under this section is required and may be submitted at any time
after March 1. A notice under this subsection shall include the
following:
(1) The name and age, month and year of birth,
of the child.
(2) The names, mailing addresses, town of legal
residence, and telephone numbers of the parents or guardians of the
child.
(3) For each child enrolled during the preceding
year, any assessment of progress required under subsection (d) of this
section.
(4) For each child not previously enrolled in a
Vermont public school or Vermont home study program, independent professional
evidence on whether the child has a disability. A comprehensive evaluation to
establish eligibilities for special education is not required, but may be
ordered by a hearing officer after a hearing under this section.
(5) Subject to the provisions of subsections (k)
and (l) of this section, for each child being enrolled for the current year, a
detailed outline or narrative which describes the content to be provided in each
subject area of the minimum course of study, including any special services or
adaptations to be made to accommodate any disability. Methods and materials to
be used may be included but are not required.
(6) The names, addresses, telephone numbers, and
signatures of the persons who will provide ongoing instruction in the subject
areas specified in subdivisions 906(b)(1), (2), (4), and (5) of this
title.
(7) The signatures of all custodial parents or
guardians who are legally authorized to make educational decisions for the
student.
(b) Notice to home study programs. Within 14
business days of receiving an enrollment notice, the commissioner or designee
shall send the home study program a written acknowledgment of receipt. The
acknowledgment shall include a determination:
(1) either that the enrollment notice is
complete and no further information is needed, or specifically identifying
information required under subsection (a) of this section which is missing. If
information is missing the home study program shall provide the additional
information in writing within 14 days; and
(2) either that the child may be enrolled
immediately or that the child may be enrolled 45 days after the enrollment
notice was received. At any time before the child may be enrolled, the
commissioner may order that a hearing be held. After notice of such a hearing is
received, the child shall not be enrolled until after an order has been issued
by the hearing officer to that effect.
(c) Enrollment reports. Each home study program
shall notify the commissioner within seven days of the day that any student
ceases to be enrolled in the program. Within ten days of receiving any
enrollment report, the commissioner shall notify the appropriate superintendent
of schools.
(d) Progress assessment. Each home study program
shall assess annually the progress of each of its students. Progress shall be
assessed in each area of the minimum course of study, as defined in subsection
(i) of this section, by one or more of the following methods:
(1) A report in a form designated by the
commissioner, by a teacher licensed in Vermont. In determining the form of the
report, the commissioner shall consult with parents who have provided home study
programs for their children. Nothing in this section shall be construed to
require the commissioner to consult with parents on an individual basis
regarding the form of a teacher report.
(2) A report prepared by the parents, the
student's instructor, or a teacher advisory service report from a publisher of a
commercial curriculum together with a portfolio of the student's work that
includes work samples to demonstrate progress in each subject area in the
minimum course of study.
(3) The complete results of a standardized
achievement test approved by the commissioner, administered in a manner approved
by the testing company, and scored in accordance with this subdivision. In
selecting the list of tests to be approved, the commissioner shall:
(A) Consult with parents who have provided home
study programs for their children. Nothing in this section shall be construed to
require the commissioner to consult with parents on an individual basis
regarding the test to be administered as a progress assessment for their own
home study programs.
(B) Select at least four tests to be scored by a
testing company, and at least four tests to be administered and scored by a
teacher licensed in Vermont who is not the parent or legal guardian of the
student.
(e) Hearings before enrollment. If the
commissioner has information that creates a significant doubt about whether a
home study program can or will provide a minimum course of study for a student
who has not yet enrolled, the commissioner may call a hearing. At the hearing
the home study program shall establish that it has complied with this section
and will provide the student with a minimum course of study.
(f) Hearings after enrollment. If the
commissioner has information that reasonably could be expected to justify an
order of termination under this section, he or she may call a hearing. At the
hearing the commissioner shall establish one or more of the
following:
(1) the home study program has substantially
failed to comply with the requirements of this section;
(2) the home study program has substantially
failed to provide a student with the minimum course of study;
(3) the home study program will not provide a
student with the minimum course of study.
(g) Notice and procedure. Notice of any hearing
shall include a brief summary of the material facts and shall be sent to each
parent or guardian and each instructor of the student or students involved known
to the commissioner. The hearing shall occur within 30 days of the day that
notice is given or sent. If a notice concerns a child not yet enrolled in a home
study program, enrollment shall not occur until an order has been issued after
the hearing. The hearing shall be conducted by an impartial hearing officer
appointed by the commissioner from a list approved by the state board. At the
request of the child's parent or guardian, the hearing officer shall conduct the
hearing at a location in the vicinity of the home study program.
(h) Order following hearing. After hearing
evidence, the hearing officer shall enter an order within ten working days. If
the child is not enrolled, the order shall provide that the child be enrolled or
that enrollment be disallowed. If the child is enrolled, the order shall provide
that enrollment be continued or that the enrollment be terminated. An order
shall take effect immediately. Unless the hearing officer provides for a shorter
period, an order disallowing or terminating enrollment shall extend until the
end of the following school year, as defined in this title. If the order is to
disallow or terminate the enrollment, a copy shall be given to the appropriate
superintendent of schools, who shall take appropriate action to ensure that the
child is enrolled in a school as required by this title. Following a hearing,
the commissioner may petition the hearing officer to reopen the case only if
there has been a material change in circumstances.
(i) The minimum course of study required under
this section shall be provided every school year, and the educational content
provided shall be adapted in each area of study r to the age and ability of each
child and adapted to any disability of the child. Nothing in this section
requires that a home study program follow the program or methods used by the
public schools. In this section, "minimum course of study" means:
(1) For a child who is less than 13 years of
age, the subject areas listed in section 906 of this title.
(2) For a child who is 13 years of age or older,
the subject areas listed in subdivisions 906(b)(1), (2), (4), and (5) of this
title, and other subject areas selected by the home study program. However, the
child's progress in the elective areas shall not be subject to the annual
progress assessment.
(j) After the filing of the enrollment notice or
at a hearing, if the home study program is unable to comply with any specific
requirements due to deep religious conviction shared by an organized group, the
commissioner may waive such requirements if he or she determines that the
educational purposes of this section are being or will be substantially
met.
(k) A Vermont home study program which has
successfully completed the last two consecutive school years of home study with
any enrolled child, provided those two years fall within the most recent five
years, shall not thereafter be required to submit an annual detailed outline or
narrative describing the content of the minimum course of study. For the
purposes of this subsection, successful completion of a home study program shall
mean that, in each of the two consecutive years, the program has not been
disallowed by order of a hearing officer, the previously enrolled student made
progress commensurate with age and ability in all subject areas of the minimum
course of study, and the home study program has otherwise complied with the
requirements of this section.
( l ) A home study program which has
successfully completed two consecutive school years of home study as defined in
subsection (k) of this section shall not be exempt from any other requirements
of this section and shall annually submit a description of special services and
adaptations to accommodate any disability of the child, consistent with
subsection (i) of this section. In addition, the program shall submit a detailed
outline or narrative describing the content to be provided in each subject area
of the minimum course of study as part of its enrollment notice for each child
who is 12 years old at the time the enrollment notice is submitted. (Added 1987,
No. 97, § 3, eff. June 23, 1987; amended 1989, No. 44, § 6, eff. June 1, 1990;
No. 118, § 3; 1991, No. 24, § 11; 1995, No. 100 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 2005, No. 107
(Adj. Sess.), § 1.
