I gleaned a lot of information from four main sources: Cityschooling, a blog by a New York City home schooling mom who's been at it for many years; The Journey Mom, the website of another seasoned home schooling mom; the Home School Legal Defense Association; and the New York State Dept. of Education home education regulations, found online.
Many other internet resources assisted my research, too, but those are the main treasure troves of information that I found most beneficial.
Since this blog is about my family's home schooling journey, I thought I would include samples of the documents New York State requires home schoolers submit, beginning with the Letter of Intent to Home School (LOI).
In New York State, home schooling parents must notify the school, in writing, of their intent to home school their children no later than July 1st of each year. Yes, it must be done each year. But, don't worry. It's super simple. Below is the letter I submit to our Superintendent:
John and Jane Doe
123 Linwood Ave.
123 Linwood Ave.
Schoolville, NY 12345
Within 10 days of receiving your LOI, your school district must send you a copy of the State home instruction regulations and a form on which to submit your Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP), which sounds scary, but if you know the regulations and do your homework, it can be simple. I'll talk more about the IHIP in a separate post.
June 25, 2012
Maxine Delevan, Superintendent
Schoolville Central School
12 West Main St.
Schoolville, NY 12345
Dear Ms. Delevan,
We are sending this letter of intent to home school as required in Section 100.10 of the Regulations of the New York State Commissioner of Education.
We intend to home school our son, Jonnie A. Doe, who will be entering grade 5, for the 2012-2013 school year.
Sincerely,
Jane Doe
So there you have it. The LOI. Easy peasy.
If you have any questions about this, please feel free to leave them in the comments.
Coming up... Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP): New York State
What if you decide to preschool halfway through a school year? Can you?
ReplyDeleteSarah, here is what the NYS regulations state: "Parents who determine to commence home instruction after the start of the school year, or who establish residence in the school district after the start of the school year, shall provide written notice of their intention to educate their child at home within 14 days following the commencement of home instruction within the school district." So, you can begin homeschooling at any time, but you have to submit your Letter of Intent within 14 days. I would suggest you submit it the very day you remove your child from public school, so as to avoid any difficulties. Also, my apologies for such a late response. My "reply" button has been missing in action for quite some time, and I just today figured out how to get it back.
DeleteDo I need to send something in to the actual school? Saying that I am taking him out. Or just the letter of intent, to the school board?
DeleteRachel, you'll need to send your Letter of Intent directly to your school's Superintendent, not to the school board.
DeleteUgh..auto correct...I meant "home school" not preschool. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI have a daughter in first grade, and I've already decided to home school her for second grade. Though at this time she only has two months left of school I feel as though it might be best to do it sooner as it seems she is not being taught all that she needs to know and hasn't been. Considering it's so late in the school year (I was told I can pull her out at any time as long as I provide the LOI) would it be possible to teach her what she needs to know in time. Also whether the IHIP may be different as it would be really only for one quarter Im sure.
ReplyDeleteJessica, is it possible to teach her what she needs to know in 2 months? I suppose that depends on what you believe she needs to know. The thing is, you don't need to stick to the 2 months. The beauty of home schooling is in its flexibility. You can school during the summer. And, if you feel she's still not "caught up", just catch up next school year. You'll be surprised how much you can get done in a much shorter period of time than what occurs in public schools.
DeleteAs far as the letter of intent is concerned, it doesn't matter if it's typewritten or handwritten, however, typewritten just feels more official.
Also, my apologies for such a late response. My "reply" button has been missing in action for quite some time, and I just today figured out how to get it back.
Also I was wondering if it matters if the letter of intent is printed on the computer or handwritten? Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHow do I write the letter of intent if I plan to start school for my kids on Nov. 15, three months after school has started?
ReplyDeleteDear anonymous reader: your letter of intent will be the same no matter what time of the year you are beginning your home schooling adventure. Perhaps include a sentence indicating the date on which you will be removing your kids, though. Good luck!
DeleteSchool is starting tomorrow and we've decided through much prayer that our second grader should be homeschooled this year. I am trying to find our superintendents email to send him the LOI that way but I'm not getting anywhere and nobody at the school is answering phone calls, i thought perhaps the teachers would be in today.. getting nervous!
ReplyDeleteIf you're unable to find the email, you should probably snail mail your LOI right away. Send it certified mail with signature required.
DeleteNice blog about the construction plan and the points which are described are also interesting to read.school classes
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link, Audrey. I haven't come across that before, but I'll be taking a look at it. Have a great Thanksgiving!
DeleteAre IHIP's due by July 1st as well?
ReplyDeleteNo. Your IHIP is due within 4 weeks of receiving notification from your school that they received your LOI, or by August 15th, whichever is later.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you do if you never get a response and IHIP form after submitting LOOK? It's been 10 business days and I have yet to receive anything after my hand delivered LOI
ReplyDeletePersonally, I would just go ahead and submit my IHIP regardless. My rule of thumb (not legal advice, but just my take on it) is that no response is the same as approval. And since you don't have to use their forms, you can create your own and then submit it. Not much they can do, since they have technically broken the law by not responding within the required number of days.
DeleteSince Kindergarten is not mandatory in New York State, is a LOI required for a child entering Kindergarten?
ReplyDeleteAn LOI is only required if you child will be turning 6 on or before December 1st. Otherwise, you can wait until the following school year to report.
DeleteExcellent! Thank you so much!
DeleteWow, great post.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteWhat if your school doesn’t get back to you in ten days? It’s been 20 and I’m still waiting. I’m sure they will, but I’ve heard of some districts *NEVER* responding and I’m curious about what the legal ramifications might be. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteIt's probably wise to send it again, making sure to send it with a signature required. However, I've personally adopted the policy that if they don't respond, I take it as acceptance and approval. My district never responds to my choices for end of year assessments, so I always just take it as a yes and go ahead with my plans. As far as legal ramifications, keeping in mind that I am not a lawyer and this is not official legal advice, I would think the school would be the one to get "in trouble", so to speak, since they are the ones who neglected their duties according to what the regulations require.
DeleteOK. Thanks. We’ve homeschooled 4 years already, and I always have some proof that I did my part. I realize you’re not a lawyer. I’m just curious about other people’s experiences. I don’t think they’ve ever responded to my LOI in time, but I guess there’s nothing for me to do but wait. I know people in that other district that never responds have given up on sending anything at all.
DeleteThanks Marisa for this post. I again visited your post to know more information. You discuss about Letter of Intent to home school. You can visit this page to know about Letter of Intent Writing service.
ReplyDeleteHi Marisa... We just decided to homeschool this year and I just submitted my letter of intent to our superintendent. My 5th grader had attended a parochial school up until this year and we have decided not to have him return this year as we are in the process of moving out of state. We did not want to pay/ have him return to school for a couple of weeks, only to start a new school in another state. Your information on the letter of intent was very helpful--- thank you! However, I have a question on IEP services. Our 5th grader receives speech in a group setting for 20 minutes/ week. I know that by law, the school district has to honor this; but do you know if I can opt out of it? Who would I discuss this further with? Thanks! Amy
ReplyDeleteHello! I'm glad you found the LOI info helpful. I'm actually not familiar with IEPs, but from what I've heard from other homeschoolers over the years who have had one, yes, you can opt out. It would make it more difficult to get an IEP in the future if you wanted to.
Deletenice post. Anchorage homeschool- FOCUS Home school provides an elementary and secondary instructional model to students in Alaska, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Fort Wainwright, JBER, Wasilla, Palmer
ReplyDeleteThanks?
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