March 25, 2020
The recent health crisis has caused schools to close. In an effort to be pro-active, the PA legislature has passed legislation that already has or will soon be signed by Governor Wolfe. This legislation impacts families educating their children at home under section 1327.1 of the PA Public School Code (homeschooling!) in the following ways:
- Days and hours (180 – 900/990) have been waived.
- Evaluations have been waived.
- Required standardized testing for 3rd, 5th, and 8th graders has been waived.
What does that mean in practical terms?
- For most homeschooling families, the waiving of this requirement is somewhat meaningless. It is business as usual. However, because of this provision, logging days is not necessary UNLESS you are preparing a high school student for graduation. This will be addressed in more detail below.
- Evaluations need not be procured nor submitted to the school district. This will primarily affect those with students in 6th grade and below. Students in 7th and 8th grades will still need to procure an evaluation at some point to demonstrate that any subjects studied towards graduation requirements have actually been met. Students in 9th through 12th grades will need evaluations to document credits earned. THESE EVALUATIONS MAY BE OBTAINED AT ANY TIME – ELECTRONICALLY DURING THE CRISIS OR FACE TO FACE LATER ON.
- There is no need to test your third, fifth, or eighth grade student now or in the future FOR THE 2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR ONLY. You may choose to administer a test but you are not required to do so nor to submit test results to anyone, school district administrator or evaluator.
What about portfolios?
For students in grades K-6, there is no need to “complete” a portfolio although you may do so if you so desire. For many students, completing the portfolio is a fun and much anticipated end of school year activity so go for it! However, there is no need to do so in a formal sense.
For students in 7th – 12th grades, a portfolio is still essential. It will be used to demonstrate to the evalulator what subjects have been completed (7th and 8th grades) and what credits have been earned (9th through 12th grades).
What about graduation?
Stay on schedule. Continue your home education program and documentation. If you and your evaluator are comfortable doing a distance evaluation, that course may be pursued. If you and/or your evaluator prefer a face to face evaluation, wait until the pandemic has subsided and then schedule it.
Speaking only for MDHSA’s Diploma Program and Parent Issued Diploma programs, there is no reason why the final paperwork cannot be completed later in the calendar year. However, PLEASE NOTE! The requirements for graduation have NOT changed NOR have these requirements been waived! MDHSA requires four evaluations in order to award a diploma.