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teachingmyown
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| Posted: May 11 2007 at 10:34am | IP Logged
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Since we are looking at a possible move to PA, I figure I had better get acquainted with the homeschooling laws up there. I have heard they are pretty tough, especially since I am in VA where it is SO easy.
Can some of you in PA share what the law is and how you comply? Is it possible to be a relaxed homeschooler/unschooler there?
Thanks!
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In Christ,
Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
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stefoodie
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| Posted: May 11 2007 at 11:04am | IP Logged
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It all depends which district you end up in, Molly. Some are stricter/more demanding than others. The district I was in (Abington Heights) -- was one of the worst IMHO. We've been in Ohio a year and a half now and they're still hounding me about sending them proof that we are enrolled here or are legally homeschooling. The law clearly states that we are only required to have formal transfer papers if we're moving within the Commonwealth of PA.
When we lived there I did my best to be a "relaxed homeschooler" by submitting only the minimum portfolio (my evaluater was Margot BTW and she's awesome -- you can find her here as margothelene if I'm not mistaken) -- about 10 pages of the kids' work. I think the district did not like me because I refused their "offer" to interview me prior to giving us approval to homeschool (the law does not require it, but I got at least a couple of phone calls and letters asking me to come in).
I don't blame people for going underground in PA. The amt of paperwork they asked from me, even asking that we fill out specific forms not required by law, was really annoying, and could get stressful if you allow it to get to you.
BUT, YMMV. Momtomany, margothelene and bethmama are still there, and they're okay with the district AFAIK. They'll probably chime in here....
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stef
mom to five
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teachingmyown
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| Posted: May 11 2007 at 12:10pm | IP Logged
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We would be around State College.
So do you have a choice between submitting a curriculum or a portfolio? Or do they always want to see work? We have religious exemption down here, so I have never submitted anything. I would most likely have a child in public high school, so I don't know if it would be possible to go underground. 
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In Christ,
Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
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lilac hill
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| Posted: May 11 2007 at 12:33pm | IP Logged
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We have a friendly school district.
I provide them with a minimun of a portfolio. My evaluator sees most of our work and I give the school district an atendence log, a booklist and 2 examples of work for each area required by state law. With the evaluator's letter stating that appropriate eduacation has occurred, I have never had any problem.
With a new assistant superintendent,I was told that he wanted to meet with the homeschoolers. I mentioned that that was not part of the law, as I understood it. Never heard another thing about it.
To start you need to provide and affidavit. I use Pauline's homeschooing pages for my forms (do not have the exact link but an internet search brings it up)
I use one of Pauline's objectives pages as well. My objective page is just a page, very basic and a bit vague to account for the rabbit trails we take.
We are about 1 1/2 hours from State College. It is a very pretty area.
Good luck
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Viv
Wife to Rick (7/83), Mom to dd#1(6/87), dd#2(1/90), and dd#3(6/94) in central PA.
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momtomany
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| Posted: May 12 2007 at 3:29pm | IP Logged
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So far I've been pretty lucky with Abington Heights. Every now and then I do get something stupid from them like a form that requires me to tell them the date of my high school graduation. I just ignore them. If it's not required by PA State law, they're not getting it.
For the past couple of years I've just gotten big velcro closure envelopes for each one of the kids. In it goes my Seton class plan book. I don't follow the Seton curriculum, though I use a few of their books, but I always buy the blue class books from them. In the front there is a place to check off attendance, then I list all the books we are using. For each week, there are two pages with blocks. I fill in the subjects and what we did. On the side column I write anything extra, trip to the library, art projects, gym activities, etc. In the last few pages of each book, I list books my kids have read, and then there is a page for field trips. I staple any tickets, photos, etc from the trips there.
I also enclose samples of work from each subject, photos of art and science projects, the evaluator's letter and standardized test results if anyone is in 3rd,5th or 8th grade. So far they haven't bothered me too much, though I am always a little nervous about my special needs child.
The one thing about Abington Heights is that every few years they have major teacher strikes. Bad for the public school students, but it does take the focus off the homeschoolers.
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Mary Ann in PA
wife to MIchael, mom to Elizabeth, Becca, Tim, Peter, Andrew, Sarah, Matthew, John, Leah and Joseph
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Angie Mc
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| Posted: May 14 2007 at 10:55am | IP Logged
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Molly, you will want to do your best to contact a real, live, homeschooler or two in any district you are considering. One of the problems in PA is that there are 52 school districts and they all interpret the state law differently. What is on paper may look nothing like the reality of implementation in a particular school district. Be forwarned...not only does PA have one of the most overly-burdensome laws to comply with, many districts expect/want overcompliance, and many homeschoolers are willing to overcomply...ugh.
PHEA has excellent information. They can also be contacted for networking purposes.
On a lighter note...When I refused to meet with the super of the SD because it was not required by law, I was told that I was only the second person to ever refuse. Well, I wanted to meet with the other person ASAP! The other person was....drumroll please...stef! We did eventually meet, she told me about CCM, and the rest is history  .
PA has some of the most awesome, generous, savvy, etc. homeschoolers in the country! That is the best news of all. They make it all doable through community and support.
Keep us posted, please!
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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shartlesville
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I lived in Fleetwood (Oley Valley District) and I sort of let them know I knew what I was doing and I was in charge,  .
I sent in my own typed affidavit, listing only the info required by the law, along with my request for specific books and supplies (we didn't use many of them but I wanted to see what they were using). I also sent in my "objectives" page which was copied from a website with grade level information; it was very generic. We don't do immunizations so I sent in a letter stating that we have a "religious, moral, or ethical objection" and included a note that their medical records were on file at the doctor's office. (Yes they ask for them but NO I was not giving them to them!) I hand carried everything in and required the secretary to sign a receipt for the paperwork.
In the portfolios I included the letter from the evaluator, one or two pages from each subject, a list of science topics covered, a list of field trips, and a few photos of the field trips or other activities we participated in. I made a page with 180 checkboxes for attendance and checked them off by hand. I included a "partial" booklist for each child and it stated so at the top. I hand carried them to the superintendant and made sure they understood that NO ONE other than the superintendant was permitted by law to see them. 
Ok, so I was probably a little more aggressive than I needed to be but I wanted them to know I was not going to roll over and do whatever they wanted. 
They never bothered me about homeschooling. However, I allowed Elizabeth to attend 9th grade for a short time and it was a disaster.
Among many other things, she was home sick for two days (with a doctor's note) and her friend told a teacher that she had said her dad was going to "kill her" for misbehaving (which in our house means being grounded or having priviledges taken away.). The teacher heard the word "kill" and called CPS. Luckily we had HSLDA membership at the time (highly recommended if you live in NY or PA) and they told us what to do and what to say. It was eventually dropped but still it was a massive inconvenience.
Definitely try to contact homeschoolers in the district you are considering. It might be worth it to live a little farther from work to be in a friendlier district. Good luck with your decision.
To be honest I really thought PA would be a great place to homeschool because of the history. After all it is the birthplace of freedom. But PA is one of the most restrictive states in the country and I don't just mean with homeschooling. I will never move back. If you put a child in public school you will get an idea of what I am talking about. They want a complete history including a history of YOUR pregnancy with the child you are enrolling! They are just plain NOSEY, IMNSHO!
Blessings,
Krisann
PS: Isn't Michele Q in PA?
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Krisann
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margot helene
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| Posted: May 14 2007 at 4:27pm | IP Logged
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shartlesville wrote:
I sort of let them know I knew what I was doing and I was in charge, .
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I think that this is your best defense in PA! Please do check out the PHEA site that Angie referenced. The more you know about the law, the less intrusive they will be. Our district has done a few wacky things, (there are about 7 of us from our parish who homeschool in this district), but I tell the families to be polite but say no.
You have to do both: affadavit with your curriculum outline and objectives before the school year starts AND a portfolio with an evaluator's letter at the end. If you do move here, please contact one of us and we can find you friendly evaluators in your area.
Miss you one-time Pennsylvaners (new word ) Stef and Angie!!!!
Margot
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shartlesville
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| Posted: May 14 2007 at 4:45pm | IP Logged
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I am so glad this topic came up! For the first time in 14 years of homeschooling, I missed the notification deadline!
I was supposed to send a notice by April 1st and I totally missed it. I filed online today so we will see what happens.
The worst thing will be they tell me we have to put them in PS, which I will do for 1 day and then unenroll them to homeschool again. Oops!
Blessings,
Krisann
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Krisann
DH Cris;
DC John, Elizabeth, Lilyann ^i^, Emily, Kate, Julia, Sam, & Jack;
DGC Kira, Auston, Travis, & Sarah.
My Blog: Isla del Esperanza
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Topic: PA homeschooling laws
