Attached are the 2010-2011 Notice of Intent to Home School and Waiver forms to be used by parents/legal guardians in declaring the intent to provide home schooling for a child. Also, attached are copies of a Fact Sheet on Home Schooling in Arkansas, Home School Law, and Rules Governing Home Schools. These documents may be copied and distributed as needed. Home school information and the attached forms are also available on the following web page:
http://arkansased.org/about/schools/home.html
Districts
Districts should enter the following information in the designated areas on the Notice of Intent to Home School form before copying and disseminating to home school parents/legal guardians: District LEA, superintendent’s name, school district, and county. All information on the form should be completed, and no incomplete forms should be submitted to the Home School Office. Please remember forms should be submitted to this office on a weekly basis.
Parents
Home school families should file one Notice of Intent and Waiver form per family. Also, parent/legal guardian must file a complete, legible Notice of Intent to Home School and Waiver form with the superintendent’s office of the school district in which the family resides. These forms must be filed on a yearly basis.
Arkansas Department of Education Home School Office
The school district must submit the Original Notice of Intent to Home School and Waiver forms to the Home School Office at the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE). It is imperative that the forms are submitted on a weekly basis to the ADE, due to the administering of home school testing. Please continue to submit the forms throughout the year on a weekly basis to:
Arkansas Department of Education
Home School Office
Four Capitol Mall – Room 105-C
Little Rock, AR 72201
School districts should keep a copy of each Notice of Intent to Home School and Waiver forms on file.
Please notify the Home School Office by letter, at the address provided above, or e-mail to Lisa.Crook@arkansas.gov if a home school student returns to public school. The student will be coded as “withdrawn” from home school and not counted on the annual home school statistical report.
Home School Testing
Home school students are required to test at the same grade levels (3 through 9) as public school students. The tentative dates for testing home school students will be in April 2011. Parents/legal guardians registered for the current school year will receive written confirmation of the test dates, times, and test site for testing. Home school testing information is available at:
http://www.arhomeschooltesting.org
Parents/Legal Guardians Must Complete The Following Information On The Notice Of Intent To Home School Form:
* The name, date of birth, and grade level of each child and the name of the public, private, home school or parochial school last attended, if any, for each student
* The location of the home school (parent/legal guardian’s address/mailing address)
* A brief description of the basic core curriculum to be used and the subjects to be taught
* Schedule of instruction to be followed (hours per day; days per week; number of weeks)
* The education qualifications of the parent/legal guardian
* Parent/legal guardian must sign and date the Notice of Intent to Home School form
* Parent/legal guardian must complete and sign the Waiver form
Home school parent/legal guardian’s that file after the school year has started may not backdate the Notice of Intent to Home School form.
In the past, school districts have accepted incomplete home school forms from parents/legal guardians. Required information is frequently missing regarding curriculum and class schedule. School districts have an obligation to ensure that the required information is included on the forms. Incomplete forms submitted by parents/legal guardians do not meet the requirements of state law; districts shall not accept incomplete forms.