Read the Law:
The Pennsylvania Homeschooling Law
SESSION OF 1988 Act 1988-169 1321
No. 1988-169
AN ACT
SB 154
Amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L. 30, no. 14) "an act
relating to the public school system, including certain provisions
applicable as well to private and parochial schools: amending,
revising, consolidating and changing the laws relating thereto,"
further providing for home education and tutorial programs and for
the sale of unused and unnecessary lands and building.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby
enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 707(8) of the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30,
No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, amended July 31,
1968 (P.L. 796, No. 242), is amended to read:
Section 707. Sale of Unused and Unnecessary Lands and Buildings. -
The board of school directors of any district is hereby vested with
the necessary power and authority to sell unused and unnecessary
lands and buildings, by any of the following methods and subject to
the following provisions:
***
(8) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this section, any
school district of the second, third or fourth class, upon approval
of two-thirds (2/3) of the members of the board of school directors
of such district, may convey any unused and unnecessary lands and
buildings of the district to the city, borough, town or township,
the boundaries of which are coterminous with or within those of the
district or a volunteer fire company, volunteer ambulance service or
volunteer rescue squad located within the district, without
consideration, or for such consideration and on such terms of
exchange or otherwise as may be agreed upon, without first complying
with the requirements of the foregoing provisions of this section.
All such conveyances to a city, borough, town or township shall
contain a clause whereby the lands and buildings will revert to the
school district if they are no longer being used for municipal or
authority purposes[.], with the following exception. If the lands
and buildings acquired from a former school district are conveyed to
a city, borough, town or township, the boundaries of which are
coterminous with or within those of the former school district, the
conveyance need not contain a reverter clause. However, all
conveyances to a volunteer fire company, volunteer ambulance service
or volunteer rescue squad shall contain a clause whereby the lands
and buildings will revert to the school district if they are no
longer being used for fire, ambulance or rescue services.
***
Section 2. Section 1327(a) of the act, amended December 15, 1986
(P.L.1602, No. 178), is amended and the section is amended by adding
a subsection to read:
Section 1327. Compulsory School Attendance. -(a) Except as
hereinafter provided, every child of compulsory school age having a
legal residence in this Commonwealth, as provided in this article,
and every migratory child of compulsory school age, is required to
attend a day school in which the subjects and activities prescribed
by the standards of the State Board of Education are taught in the
English language. In lieu of such school attendance, any child
fifteen years of age with the approval of the district
superintendent and the approval of the Secretary of Education, and
any child sixteen years of age with the approval of the district
superintendent of schools, may enroll as a day student in a private
trade school or in a private business school licensed by the
Department of education, or in a trade or business school, or
department operated by a local school district or districts. Such
modified program offered in a public school must meet the standards
prescribed by the State Board of Education or the State Board for
Vocational Education. Except as hereinafter provided, every parent,
guardian, or other person having control or charge of any child or
children of compulsory school age is required to send such child or
children to a day school in which the subjects and activities
prescribed by the standards of the State Board of Education are
taught in the English language. Such parent, guardian, or other
person having control or charge of any child or children, fifteen or
sixteen years of age, in accordance with the provisions of this act,
may send such child or children to a private trade school or private
business school licensed by the Department of Education, or to a
trade or business school, or department operated by a local school
district or districts. Such modified program offered in a public
school must meet the standards prescribed by the State Board of
Education or the State Board for Vocational Education. Such child or
children shall attend such school continuously through the entire
term, during which the public schools in their respective districts
shall be in session, or in cases of children of migrant laborers
during the time the schools are in session in the districts in which
such children are temporarily domiciled. The financial
responsibility for the education of such children of migrant
laborers shall remain with the school district in which such
children of migrant laborers are temporarily domiciled; except in
the case of special schools or classes conducted by a intermediate
unit and approved by the Department of Education or conducted by the
Department of Education. The certificate of any principal or teacher
of a private school, or of any institution for the education of
children, in which the subjects and activities prescribed by the
standards of the State Board of Education are taught in the English
language, setting forth that the work of said school is in
compliance with the provisions of this act, shall be sufficient and
satisfactory evidence thereof. Regular daily instruction in the
English language, for the time herein required, by a properly
qualified private tutor, shall be considered as complying with the
provisions of this section[, if such instruction is satisfactory to
the proper district superintendent of schools]. For the purposes of
this section, "properly qualified private tutor" shall mean a person
who is certified by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to teach in the
public schools of Pennsylvania: who is teaching one or more children
who are members of a single family; who provides the majority of the
instruction to such child or children; and who is receiving a fee or
other consideration for such instructional services. No person who
would be disqualified from school employment by the provisions of
subsection (e) of section 111 may be a private tutor, as provided
for in this section. The private tutor must file a copy of his
Pennsylvania certification and the required criminal history record
with the student's district of residence superintendent.
***
(d) Instruction to children of compulsory school age provided in a
home education program, as provided for in section 1327.1 of this
act, shall be considered as complying with the provisions of this
section, except that any student who has been identified pursuant to
the provisions of the Education of the Handicapped Act (Public Law
91-239, U.S.C. { 1401 et seq.) as needing special education
services, excluding those students identified as gifted and /or
talented, shall be in compliance with the requirements of compulsory
attendance by participation in a home education program, as defined
in section 1327.1, when the program addresses the specific needs of
the exceptional student and is approved by a teacher with a valid
certificate from the Commonwealth to teach special education or a
licensed clinical or certified school psychologist, and written
notification of such approval is submitted with the notarized
affidavit required under section 1327.1(b). The supervisor of a home
education program may request that the school district or
intermediate unit of residence provide services that address the
specific needs of the exceptional student in the home education
program. When the provision of services is agreed to by both the
supervisor and the school district or intermediate unit, all
services shall be provided in the public schools or in a private
school licensed to provide such programs and services.
Section 3. The act is amended by adding a section to read:
Section 1327.1. Home Education Program.-(a) The following words and
phrases when used in this section shall have the meanings given to
them in this subsection:
"Appropriate education" shall mean a program consisting of
instruction in the required subjects for the time required in this
act and in which the student demonstrates sustained progress in the
overall program.
"Hearing examiner" shall not be an officer, employe [sic] or agent
of the Department of education or of the school district or
intermediate unit of residence of the child in the home education
program.
"Home education program" shall mean a program conducted, in
compliance with this section, by the parent or guardian or such
person having legal custody of the child or children.
"Supervisor" shall mean the parent or guardian or such person having
legal custody of the child or children who shall be responsible for
the provision of instruction, provided that such person has a high
school diploma or its equivalent.
(b) The requirements contained in sections 1511 and 1511.1, except
as provided for in this section, and section 1605 shall not apply to
home education programs. A home education program shall not be
considered a non-public school under the provisions of this act.
(1) A notarized affidavit of the parent or guardian or other person
having legal custody of the child or children, filed prior to the
commencement of the home education program and annually thereafter
on August 1 with the superintendent of the school district of
residence and which sets forth: the name of the supervisor of the
home education program who shall be responsible for the provision of
instruction; the name and age of each child who shall participate in
the home education program; the address and telephone number of the
home education program site; that such subjects as required by law
are offered in the English language, including an outline of
proposed education objectives by subject area; evidence that the
child has been immunized in accordance with the provisions of
section 1303(a) and has received the health and medical services
required for students of the child's age or grade level in Article
XIV; and that the home education program shall comply with the
provisions of this section and that the notarized affidavit shall be
satisfactory evidence thereof. The required outline of proposed
education objectives shall not be utilized by the superintendent in
determining if the home education program is out of compliance with
this section and section 1327. The affidavit shall contain a
certification to be signed by the supervisor that the supervisor,
all adults living in the home and persons having legal custody of a
child or children in a home education program have not been
convicted of the criminal offenses enumerated in subsection (e) of
section 111 within five years immediately preceding the date of the
affidavit.
(2) In the event the home education program site is relocating to
another school district with in this Commonwealth during the course
of the public school term or prior to the opening of the public
school term in the fall, the supervisor of the home education
program must apply, by registered mail, thirty (30) days prior to
the relocation, to the superintendent of the district in which he or
she currently resides, requesting a letter of transfer for the home
education program to the district to which the home education
program is relocating. The current superintendent of residence must
issue the letter of transfer thirty (30) days after receipt of the
registered mail request of the home education program supervisor.
(i) If the home education program is not in compliance with the
provision of this section, the superintendent of the current
district of residence must inform the home education supervisor and
the superintendent of the district to which the home education
program is relocating the status of the home education program and
the reasons for the denial of the letter of transfer.
(ii) If the home education program is in hearing procedures, as
contained in this section, the superintendent of the current
district of residence must inform the home education supervisor, the
assigned hearing examiner and the superintendent of the district to
which the home education program is relocating the status of the
home education program and the reason for the denial of the letter
of transfer.
(3) The letter of transfer, required by clause (2), must be filed by
the supervisor of the home education program with the superintendent
of the new district of residence. In the case of pending
proceedings, the new district of residence superintendent shall
continue the home education program until the appeal process is
finalized.
(c) A child who is enrolled in a home education program and whose
education is therefore under the direct supervision of his parent,
guardian or other person having legal custody shall be deemed to
have met the requirements of section 1327 if that home education
program provides a minimum of one hundred eighty (180) days of
instruction or nine hundred (900) hours of instruction per year at
the elementary level, or nine hundred ninety (990) hours per year at
the secondary level:
(1) At the elementary school level, the following courses shall be
taught: English, to include spelling, reading and writing;
arithmetic; science; geography; history of the United States and
Pennsylvania; civics; safety education, including regular and
continuous instruction in the dangers and prevention of fires;
health and physiology; physical education; music; and art.
(2) At the secondary school level, the following courses shall be
taught: English, to include language, literature, speech and
composition: science; geography; social studies, to include civics,
world history, history of the United States and Pennsylvania;
mathematics, to include general mathematics, algebra and geometry;
art; music; physical education; health; and safety education,
including regular and continuous instruction in the dangers and
prevention of fires. Such courses of study may include, at the
discretion of the supervisor of the home education program,
economics; biology; chemistry; foreign languages; trigonometry; or
other age-appropriate courses as contained in Chapter 5 (Curriculum
Requirements) of the State Board of Education.
(d) The following minimum courses in grade nine through twelve are
established as a requirement for graduation in a home education
program:
(1) Four years of English.
(2) Three years of mathematics.
(3) Three years of science.
(4) Three years of social studies.
(5) Two years of arts and humanities.
(e) In order to demonstrate that appropriate education is occurring,
the supervisor of the home education program shall provide and
maintain on file the following documentation for each student
enrolled in the home education program:
(l) A portfolio of records and materials. The portfolio shall
consist of a log, made contemporaneously with the instruction, which
designates by title the reading materials used, samples of any
writings, worksheets, workbooks or creative materials used or
developed by the student and in grades three, five and eight results
of nationally normed standardized achievement tests in
reading/language arts and mathematics or the results of Statewide
tests administered in these grade levels. The department shall
establish a list, with a minimum of five test, of nationally normed
standardized tests from which the supervisor of the home education
program shall select a test to be administered if the supervisor
does not choose the Statewide tests, At the discretion of the
Supervisor, the portfolio may include the results of nationally
normed standardized achievement tests for other subject areas or
grade levels. The supervisor shall ensure that the nationally normed
standardized tests or the Statewide tests shall not be administered
by the child's parent or guardian.
(i) A teacher or administrator who evaluates a portfolio at the
elementary level (grades kindergarten through six) shall have at
least two years of experience in grading any of the following
subjects: English, to include spelling, reading and writing;
arithmetic; science; geography; history of the United States and
Pennsylvania; and civics.
(ii) A teacher or administrator who evaluates a portfolio at the
secondary level (grades seven through twelve) shall have at least
two years of experience in grading any of the following subjects:
English, to include language, literature, speech, reading and
composition; science, to include biology, chemistry and physics;
geography; social studies, to include economics, civics, world
history, history of the United States and Pennsylvania; foreign
language; and mathematics, to include general mathematics, algebra,
trigonometry, calculus and geometry.
(iii) As used in this clause, the term "grading" shall mean
evaluation of classwork, homework, quizzes, classwork-based tests
and prepared tests related to classwork subject matter.
(2) An annual written evaluation of the student's educational
progress as determined by a licensed clinical or school psychologist
or a teacher certified by the Commonwealth or by a nonpublic school
teacher or administrator. Any such nonpublic teacher or
administrator shall have at least two years of teaching experience
in a Pennsylvania public or nonpublic school within the last ten
years. Such nonpublic teacher or administrator shall have the
required experience at the elementary level to evaluate elementary
students or at the secondary level to evaluate secondary students.
The certified teacher shall have experience at the elementary level
to evaluate elementary students or at the secondary level to
evaluate secondary students. The evaluation shall also be based on
an interview of the child and a review of the portfolio required in
clause (1) and shall certify whether or not an appropriate education
is occurring. At the request of the supervisor, persons with other
qualifications may conduct the evaluation with the prior consent of
the district of residence superintendent. In no event shall the
evaluator be the supervisor or their spouse.
(f) The school district of residence shall, at the request of the
supervisor, lend to the home education program copies of the school
district's planned courses, textbooks and other curriculum materials
appropriate to the student's age and grade level.
(g) When documentation is required by this section to be submitted
to the district of residence superintendent or the hearing examiner,
the superintendent or the hearing examiner shall return, upon
completion of his review, all such documentation to the supervisor
of the home education program, The superintendent or hearing
examiner may photocopy all or portions of the documentation for his
files.
(h) Such documentation required by subsection (e)(1) and (2) shall
be provided to the public school district of residence
superintendent at the conclusion of each public school year. In
addition, if the superintendent has a reasonable belief that, at any
time during the school year, appropriate education may not be
occurring in the home education program, he may, by certified mail,
return receipt requested, require documentation pertaining to the
portfolio of records and materials required by subsection (e)(1) to
be submitted to the district within fifteen (15) days: and
documentation pertain ing to subsection (e)(2) to be submitted to
the district within thirty (30) days. If the tests as required in
subsection (e)(1) have not been administered at the time of the
receipt of the certified letter by the supervisor, the supervisor
shall submit the other required documentation and shall submit the
test results with the documentation at the conclusion of the school
year.
(i) If the superintendent of the public school district determines,
based on the documentation provided, at the end of or during the
school year, that appropriate education is not taking place for the
child in the home education program, the superintendent shall send a
letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the
supervisor of the home education program stating that in his opinion
appropriate education is not taking place for the child in the home
education program and shall return all documentation, specifying
what aspect or aspects of the documentation are inadequate.
(j) Upon receipt of the certified letter required by subsection (i),
the supervisor of the home education program shall have twenty (20)
days to submit additional documentation demonstrating that
appropriate education is taking place for the child in the home
education program. If documentation is not submitted within that
time, the home education program for the child shall be out of
compliance with the requirements of this section and section 1327,
and the student shall be promptly enrolled in the public school
district of residence or a nonpublic school or a licensed private
academic school.
(k) If the superintendent determines that the additional
documentation submitted still does not demonstrate that appropriate
education is taking place in the home education program, he shall so
notify the supervisor of the home education program by certified
mail, return receipt requested, and the board of school directors
shall provide for a proper hearing by a duly qualified and impartial
hearing examiner within thirty (30) days. The examiner shall render
a decision within fifteen (15) days of the hearing except that he
may require the establishment of a remedial education plan mutually
agreed to by the superintendent and supervisor of the home education
program which shall continue the home education program. The
decision of the examiner may be appealed by either the supervisor of
the home education program or the superintendent to the Secretary of
Education or Commonwealth Court.
(l) If the hearing examiner finds that the documentation does not
indicate that appropriate education is taking place in the home
education program, the home education program for the child shall be
out of compliance with the requirements of this section and section
1327, and the student shall be promptly enrolled in the public
school district of residence or a nonpublic school or a licensed
private academic school.
(m) At such time as the child's home education program has been
determined to be out of compliance with the provision of this
section and section 1327, the supervisor or spouse of the supervisor
of the home education program shall not be eligible to supervise a
home education program for that child, as provided for in subsection
(b)(1) of this section, for the period of twelve (12) months form
the date of such determination.
Section 4. A supervisor conducting a home education program for
the 1988-1989 school year that has been considered acceptable by the
district superintendent for meeting the requirements of compulsory
attendance shall not be affected by the provisions of this
amendatory act until the conclusion of the 1988-1989 school year.
Section 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
APPROVED--- The 21st day of December, A.D.1988
ROBERT P. CASEY
Appendix D-1
Outline of the PA Home School Law
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