West Virginia Education Code For Homeschooling
This is not intended to be legal advice and is distributed
for information purposes only. Check for updates online at the
state legislation site
or at your public library.
This law reflects the changes made in Senate Bill 189. Changes
are in aqua.
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Compulsory attendance - Between 6 and
16 years of age prior to September 1.
Parent Qualifications - None
Note: I received news on April 8,
2003 that the parental education requirement has been permanently
eliminated via SB 206. This has been confirmed by an WVHEA representative.
Testing
- In West Virginia you can test or submit a portfolio
or negotiate with your county superintendent to use some
other type of academic assessment. Official
interpretation of assessment laws.
Record Keeping
- Submit an outline of a plan of instruction.
Assistance
- Superintendent must supply materials if requested. Student
may attend school classes part-time.
Senate Bill No. 206
(Senators Caldwell and Rowe, original sponsors )
[Passed March 8, 2003; in effect ninety days from passage.]
____________
AN ACT to amend and reenact sections one and eleven, article
eight, chapter eighteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact
section eight, article five, chapter eighteen-a of said code,
all relating to compulsory school attendance; technical amendments;
home school exemption; amending requirements to qualify for home
school exemption; amending assessment requirements of home school
exemption; eliminating exemption relating to residence more than
two miles from school or school bus route; driver's license privilege;
conditions for obtaining license; denial and revocation; limitation
on reinstatement; and authorizing aides to supervise students
who are undergoing in-school suspension.
ß18-8-1.
Commencement and termination of compulsory school attendance;
exemptions.
(a) Compulsory school attendance shall begin with the school
year in which the sixth birthday is reached prior to the first
day of September or upon enrolling in a publicly supported kindergarten
program and continue to the sixteenth birthday. Exemption from
the foregoing requirements of compulsory public school attendance
shall be made on behalf of any child for the causes or conditions
set forth in this section. Each cause or condition set forth
in this section shall be subject to confirmation by the
attendance authority of the county.
(b) A child shall be exempt from the compulsory school attendance
requirement set forth in subsection (a) of this section if the
requirements of this subsection, relating to instruction in a
private, parochial or other approved school, are met. The instruction
shall be in a school approved by the county board and for a time
equal to the instructional term set forth in section forty-five,
article five of this chapter. In all private, parochial or other
schools approved pursuant to this subsection it shall be the
duty of the principal or other person in control, upon the request
of the county superintendent, to furnish to the county board
such information and records as may be required with respect
to attendance, instruction and progress of pupils enrolled between
the entrance age and sixteen years.
(c) A child shall be exempt from the compulsory school attendance
requirement set forth in subsection (a) of this section if the
requirements of either subdivision (1) of this subsection or
the requirements of subdivision (2) of this subsection, both
relating to home instruction, are met.
(1) The instruction shall be in the home of the child or children
or at some other place approved by the county board and for a
time equal to the instructional term set forth in section forty-five,
article five of this chapter. If the request for home instruction
is denied by the county board, good and reasonable justification
for the denial shall be furnished in writing to the applicant
by the county board. The instruction shall be conducted by a
person or persons who, in the judgment of the county superintendent
and county board, are qualified to give instruction in subjects
required to be taught in public elementary schools in the state.
The person or persons providing the instruction, upon request
of the county superintendent, shall furnish to the county
board information and records as may be required, from time to
time, with respect to attendance, instruction and progress of
pupils enrolled between the entrance age and sixteen years receiving
the instruction. The state board shall develop guidelines for
the home schooling of special education students including alternative
assessment measures to assure that satisfactory academic progress
is achieved.
(2) The child meets the requirements set forth in this subdivision:
Provided, That the county superintendent may seek from
the circuit court of the county an order denying home instruction
of the child. The order may be granted upon a showing of clear
and convincing evidence that the child will suffer neglect in
the child's education or that there are other compelling reasons
to deny home instruction.
(A) Annually, the person or persons providing home instruction
present to the county superintendent or county board a notice
of intent to provide home instruction and the name, address,
age and grade level of any child of compulsory school age to
be instructed: Provided, That if a child is enrolled in
a public school, notice of intent to provide home instruction
shall be given at least two weeks prior to withdrawing such child
from public school;
(C) The person or persons providing home instruction outline
a plan of instruction for the ensuing school year; and
(D) On or before the thirtieth day of June of each year the
person or persons providing home instruction shall obtain an
academic assessment of the child for the previous school year
and submit the results to the county superintendent. When the
academic assessment takes place outside of a public school, the
parent or legal guardian shall pay the cost. The requirement
of an academic assessment shall be satisfied in one of the following
ways:
(i) The child receiving home instruction takes a nationally
normed standardized achievement test to be administered under
standardized conditions as set forth by the published instructions
of the selected test in the subjects of reading, language, mathematics,
science and social studies: Provided, That in no event
may the child's parent or legal guardian administer the test.
The publication date of the chosen test shall not be more than
ten years from the date of the administration of the test. The
child shall be considered to have made acceptable progress when
the mean of the child's test results in the required subject
areas for any single year meets or exceeds the fiftieth percentile
or, if below the fiftieth percentile, shows improvement from
the previous year's results;
(ii) The child participates in the testing program currently
in use in the state's public schools. The test shall be administered
to the child at a public school in the county of residence. Determination
of acceptable progress will be based on current guidelines of
the state testing program;
(iii) The county superintendent is provided with a written
narrative indicating that a portfolio of samples of the child's
work has been reviewed and that the child's academic progress
for the year is in accordance with the child's abilities. If
the narrative indicates that the child's academic progress for
the year is in accordance with the child's abilities, the child
shall be considered to have made acceptable progress. This narrative
shall be prepared by a certified teacher whose certification
number shall be provided. The narrative shall include a statement
about the child's progress in the areas of reading, language,
mathematics, science and social studies and shall note any areas
which, in the professional opinion of the reviewer, show need
for improvement or remediation; or
(iv) The child completes an alternative academic assessment
of proficiency that is mutually agreed upon by the parent or
legal guardian and the county superintendent. Criteria for acceptable
progress shall be mutually agreed upon by the same parties; and
(E) When the annual assessment fails to show acceptable progress
as defined under the appropriate assessment option set forth
in paragraph (D) of this subdivision, the person or persons providing
home instruction shall initiate a remedial program to foster
acceptable progress and the county board shall notify the parents
or legal guardian of the child, in writing, of the services available
to assist in the assessment of the child's eligibility for special
education services: Provided, That the identification
of a disability shall not preclude the continuation of home schooling.
In the event that the child does not achieve acceptable progress
as defined under the appropriate assessment option set forth
in paragraph (D) of this subdivision for a second consecutive
year, the person or persons providing instruction shall submit
to the county superintendent additional evidence that appropriate
instruction is being provided.
(3) This subdivision applies to both home instruction exemptions
set forth in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection. The
county superintendent or a designee shall offer such assistance,
including textbooks, other teaching materials and available resources,
as may assist the person or persons providing home instruction
subject to their availability. Any child receiving home instruction
may upon approval of the county board exercise the option to
attend any class offered by the county board as the person or
persons providing home instruction may consider appropriate subject
to normal registration and attendance requirements.
(d) A child shall be exempt from the compulsory school attendance
requirement set forth in subsection (a) of this section if the
requirements of this subsection, relating to physical or mental
incapacity, are met. Physical or mental incapacity consists of
incapacity for school attendance and the performance of school
work. In all cases of prolonged absence from school due to incapacity
of the child to attend, the written statement of a licensed physician
or authorized school nurse shall be required under the provisions
of this article: Provided, That in all cases, incapacity
shall be narrowly defined and in no case shall the provisions
of this article allow for the exclusion of the mentally, physically,
emotionally or behaviorally handicapped child otherwise entitled
to a free appropriate education.
(e) A child shall be exempt from the compulsory school attendance
requirement set forth in subsection (a) of this section if conditions
rendering school attendance impossible or hazardous to the life,
health or safety of the child exist.
(f) A child shall be exempt from the compulsory school attendance
requirement set forth in subsection (a) of this section upon
regular graduation from a standard senior high school.
(g) A child shall be exempt from the compulsory school attendance
requirement set forth in subsection (a) of this section if the
child is granted a work permit pursuant to this subsection. The
county superintendent may, after due investigation, grant work
permits to youths under sixteen years of age, subject to state
and federal labor laws and regulations: Provided, That
a work permit may not be granted on behalf of any youth who has
not completed the eighth grade of school.
(h) A child shall be exempt from the compulsory school attendance
requirement set forth in subsection (a) of this section if a
serious illness or death in the immediate family of the pupil
has occurred. It is expected that the county attendance director
will ascertain the facts in all cases of such absences about
which information is inadequate and report the facts to the county
superintendent.
(i) A child shall be exempt from the compulsory school attendance
requirement set forth in subsection (a) of this section if the
requirements of this subsection, relating to destitution in the
home, are met. Exemption based on a condition of extreme destitution
in the home may be granted only upon the written recommendation
of the county attendance director to the county superintendent
following careful investigation of the case. A copy of the report
confirming the condition and school exemption shall be placed
with the county director of public assistance. This enactment
contemplates every reasonable effort that may properly be taken
on the part of both school and public assistance authorities
for the relief of home conditions officially recognized as being
so destitute as to deprive children of the privilege of school
attendance. Exemption for this cause shall not be allowed when
the destitution is relieved through public or private means.
(j) A child shall be exempt from the compulsory school attendance
requirement set forth in subsection (a) of this section if the
requirements of this subsection, relating to church ordinances
and observances of regular church ordinances, are met. The county
board may approve exemption for religious instruction upon written
request of the person having legal or actual charge of a child
or children: Provided, That the exemption shall be subject
to the rules prescribed by the county superintendent and approved
by the county board.
(k) A child shall be exempt from the compulsory school attendance
requirement set forth in subsection (a) of this section if the
requirements of this subsection, relating to alternative private,
parochial, church or religious school instruction, are met. Exemption
shall be made for any child attending any private school, parochial
school, church school, school operated by a religious order or
other nonpublic school which elects to comply with the provisions
of article twenty-eight of this chapter.
(l) The completion of the eighth grade shall not exempt any
child under sixteen years of age from the compulsory attendance
provision of this article.
Driver's
License for Homeschoolers
Of interest to high school aged homeschoolers:
§18-8-11.
School attendance as condition of licensing for privilege of
operation of motor vehicle.
(a) In accordance with the provisions of sections three and five,
article two, chapter seventeen-b of this code, the division of
motor vehicles shall deny a license or instruction permit for
the operation of a motor vehicle to any person under the age
of eighteen who does not at the time of application present a
diploma or other certificate of graduation issued to the person
from a secondary high school of this state or any other state
or documentation that the person:
(1) Is enrolled and making satisfactory progress in a course
leading to a general educational development certificate (GED)
from a state-approved institution or organization or has obtained
the certificate;
(2) is enrolled in a secondary school of this state or any
other state;
(3) is excused from the requirement due to circumstances beyond
his or her control; or
(4) is enrolled in an institution of higher education as a
full-time student in this state or any other state.
(b) The attendance director or chief administrator shall provide
documentation of enrollment status on a form approved by the
department of education to any student at least fifteen but less
than eighteen years of age upon request who is properly enrolled
in a school under the jurisdiction of the official for presentation
to the division of motor vehicles on application for or reinstatement
of an instruction permit or license to operate a motor vehicle.
Whenever a student at least fifteen but less than eighteen years
of age withdraws from school, except as provided in subsection
(d) of this section, the attendance director or chief administrator
shall notify the division of motor vehicles of the withdrawal
not later than five days from the withdrawal date. Within five
days of receipt of the notice, the division of motor vehicles
shall send notice to the licensee that the license will be suspended
under the provisions of section three, article two, chapter seventeen-b
of this code on the thirtieth day following the date the notice
was sent unless documentation of compliance with the provisions
of this section is received by the division of motor vehicles
before that time. If suspended, the division may not reinstate
a license before the end of the semester following that in which
the withdrawal occurred.
(c) For the purposes of this section:
(1) Withdrawal is defined as more than ten consecutive or
fifteen total days unexcused absences during a school year;
(2) Suspension or expulsion from school or imprisonment in
a jail or a West Virginia correctional facility is not a circumstance
beyond the control of the person.
(d) Whenever the withdrawal from school of the student, or
the student's failure to enroll in a course leading to or to
obtain a GED or high school diploma, is beyond the control of
the student, or is for the purpose of transfer to another school
as confirmed in writing by the student's parent or guardian,
no notice shall be sent to the division of motor vehicles to
suspend the student's motor vehicle operator's license and if
the student is applying for a license, the attendance director
or chief administrator shall provide the student with documentation
to present to the division of motor vehicles to excuse the student
from the provisions of this section. The school district superintendent
(or the appropriate school official of any private secondary
school) with the assistance of the county attendance director
and any other staff or school personnel shall be the sole judge
of whether withdrawal is due to circumstances beyond the control
of the person.
Compulsory
School Attendance Law
Not intended as legal advice. Laws for your information only.
Provided by CHEWV.
West Virginia
Homeschool Law: An Explanation
Effective June 2003. From WVHEA.
Return to West Virginia
homeschooling information.
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