State law questions

[kmaitoza]

How does it work if I begin to homeschool my child with this program and later down the road want to put him back into public school? Does the public school system accept this curriculum? If I were to homeschool from 4th-6th grades, would he still be able to enter 7th grade in a public school.

[katshu2]

Hi and welcome! That's tough to answer honestly. I know of many homeschooling families that use T4L, but I can't say whether they have placed their children back in school. Considering that the MA homeschool laws state that the school board has to approve a home education plan, and people in MA are using T4L...one should be able to assume it's been approved before, lol. It's tricky...I don't think they program that's used for homeschooling matters as much as placement tests in regards to placing your child back in school.

I know that wasn't much help, but I simply don't have experience with the public school placement. Hopefully some of our other members can chime in and help you!

[Unregistered]

Hi and welcome! That's tough to answer honestly. I know of many homeschooling families that use T4L, but I can't say whether they have placed their children back in school. Considering that the MA homeschool laws state that the school board has to approve a home education plan, and people in MA are using T4L...one should be able to assume it's been approved before, lol. It's tricky...I don't think they program that's used for homeschooling matters as much as placement tests in regards to placing your child back in school.

I know that wasn't much help, but I simply don't have experience with the public school placement. Hopefully some of our other members can chime in and help you!

I thought there was a court ruling that said homeschool students were not required to take MCAS tests. Which, is the assessment test for Massachusetts. There was also a similar Supreme Court ruling that declared approval to homeschool was not required either. That their simply must be proof that the child is learning and at no specified time frame was to be set.

Homeschoolers do not receive a DIPLOMA so why take the MCAS!!

[katshu2]

I thought there was a court ruling that said homeschool students were not required to take MCAS tests. Which, is the assessment test for Massachusetts. There was also a similar Supreme Court ruling that declared approval to homeschool was not required either. That their simply must be proof that the child is learning and at no specified time frame was to be set.

Homeschoolers do not receive a DIPLOMA so why take the MCAS!!

Those are excellent points. As I can only relay the laws that I find, I would suggest making sure to contact the school board...just to be sure if any of the laws have in fact changed.

[nancys5437]

I have homeschooled my 3 for many years and did put them into public school for a short time after the first 2 years. The local system looked at their date of birth and then tested them accordingly. From those results they determine where they would best fit.

The curriculum you chose to use or not use prior has no bearing. You could actually have done no structured curriculum and they might test at grade level so that is where they would go (I know unschooled children that tested above grade or on grade level). On the other hand you may have a disabled child who you worked diligently with every day for long hours with a top rated curriculum like Time4Learning, but cognitively the student couldn't absorb the information at grade level. They might still be put in the age appropriate grade, but into appropriate classes designed for them. At the high school level some public schools may not credit homeschool classes toward graduation credit requirements, but that is up to each district individually. So keep good records for 9th grade up in case your child enters public school and wants to graduate from there.

[katshu2]

I have homeschooled my 3 for many years and did put them into public school for a short time after the first 2 years. The local system looked at their date of birth and then tested them accordingly. From those results they determine where they would best fit.

The curriculum you chose to use or not use prior has no bearing. You could actually have done no structured curriculum and they might test at grade level so that is where they would go (I know unschooled children that tested above grade or on grade level). On the other hand you may have a disabled child who you worked diligently with every day for long hours with a top rated curriculum like Time4Learning, but cognitively the student couldn't absorb the information at grade level. They might still be put in the age appropriate grade, but into appropriate classes designed for them. At the high school level some public schools may not credit homeschool classes toward graduation credit requirements, but that is up to each district individually. So keep good records for 9th grade up in case your child enters public school and wants to graduate from there.

This is excellent! Thanks so much for sharing!