“Exactly what classes can homeschool students take outside the home and still meet the North Carolina legal definition of homeschool student?” This is a question that has been frequently asked for many years of NCHE board members and staff, North Carolina Department of Non-Public Education (DNPE) personnel and homeschool leaders. The North Carolina statute says, “‘Home school’ means a nonpublic school in which one or more children of not more than two families or households receive academic instruction from parents or legal guardians, or a member of either household.” Getting a consistent answer to this question can be frustrating because there are several opinions on how the law is to be interpreted.
Since 1988, DNPE has taken the position that all core subjects (which they define as language arts, math, science and social studies) should be taught by the parents, guardians or members of the household with a high school diploma. They say that homeschool students can go outside the home for instruction in non-core subjects such as visual and performance arts, computer courses and foreign languages. It is only in recent years that they have allowed that homeschoolers can participate in co-ops and employ tutors and still meet the requirements of the law.
Several years ago, before DNPE changed their opinion about co-ops and tutors, we asked a homeschool friendly state senator to get an off-the-record opinion from the state attorney general regarding classes outside the home, co-ops, tutors and concurrent classes at community colleges. We asked for an off-the-record opinion because we didn’t know what position the attorney general would take, and an on-the-record opinion carries the weight of law. The opinion rendered was that all classes, core and non-core, should be taught by the parents, guardian or member of the household. They allowed for concurrent enrollment in community colleges because that statute was passed after the homeschool law.
NCHE has consulted with several lawyers and legislators, and we think that homeschoolers have more flexibility when it comes to the instruction of their children. We have always believed that students can participate in a weekly one day co-op where their parent/teacher contributes in the instruction or take part in a science or writing class with other students and still be in compliance with the law.
There are three ways of getting more clarification about co-ops and outside classes for homeschool students: 1) test the law in a court case, 2) get an on-the-record attorney general’s opinion and 3) request that clarifying language be added to our current law. I don’t know of any homeschool family who is willing sue the state and go to court; and an attorney general’s opinion may severely limit a homeschool parent’s flexibility; so the best solution, in this case, is to change the law.
However, NCHE has not sought to change the wording to our law because we have been concerned that homeschool opponents would take the opportunity to add more regulations for homeschoolers. (We have dealt with several attempts to add more regulations to the homeschool laws over the years.) Another reason is that even though there is a lot of angst over these interpretations of the law, homeschoolers have been pretty much free to homeschool as they see fit. Many of us have taken advantage of outside classes by being quiet about them when communicating with DNPE and have not experienced any negative ramifications.
The results of the November elections have opened up an opportunity to revisit the law. We now have a house of representatives, a senate and a governor who seem to be homeschool friendly. We are now evaluating our chances of getting clarifying language added to our homeschool law while avoiding more regulation. If we deem that it will be possible to get our law amended without endangering our freedom, we will proceed with plans to accomplish that. One part of the process will be giving you instructions on what to discuss with your legislators on NCHE Capitol Fest day in Raleigh on March 12. Start now to plan your trip to Raleigh!
Nurture GREENHOUSE
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January 9, 2013 at 10:14 am
Hi,
I am new at homeschooling and I have a senior who had some medical issues and we pulled him out of school to finish at home and online. He is doing great and has been accepted to University of Alabama. Now I cannot find anyone that can help me with what I need to do with respect to a transcript and I know he needs some standardized testing. He is also taking an AP course and I cannot find any info on where he can take the exam. Can you point me in the right direction? Thanks so much!
January 10, 2013 at 3:48 pm
Dear Wendy,
I am a little confused as to how he was accepted to UA without a transcript? In any case, you can find many good examples online. Here are a couple:
http://www.homeschool-curriculum-savings.com/homeschool-transcript-template.html
http://donnayoung.org/forms/planners/hs-transcript.htm
Is the school asking for testing? Although homeschoolers are supposed to test once a year, at this point it is not that necessary unless you need it for another reason like college entrance.
As for the AP test, you will need to call around to schools in your area to find one that is giving the test you need and is willing to provide a spot. If you just pulled him, the school he was attending should be able to help since they would have already planned a spot for him.
January 10, 2013 at 7:02 pm
You can contact the College Board to get information about schools in your area that are giving AP tests (though probably not the availability of particular tests. Schools may charge you an additional proctoring fee if you are getting a test none of their own students were taking.
January 10, 2013 at 11:58 pm
The other replies to your questions are good.
Here is contact information for AP Services.
AP Services
P.O. Box 6671
Princeton, NJ 08541-6671
Phone: (609) 771-7300 or (888) 225-5427 (toll-free in the U.S. and Canada)
Email: apexams@info.collegeboard.org
Also, NC Division of Non-Public Education accepts the ACT college admissions test as an achievement test.
January 11, 2013 at 7:46 pm
http://www.thehomescholar.com/
I have been told is the best website.
January 10, 2013 at 3:31 pm
What “clarifying language” is NCHE wanting to see added to the law?
How will you ascertain whether those you represent are in agreement?
January 10, 2013 at 11:35 pm
The current definition of homeschool in the law is:
(a) “Home school” means a nonpublic school in which one or more children of not more than two families or households receive academic instruction from parents or legal guardians, or a member of either household.
One reason I wrote the article is to get input from readers about how they would change the law’s definition of “home school” that will allow parents more flexibility in getting the best education for their children.
The legislative committee is already looking at some ideas, and we will evaluate any ideas our readers submit. Once the ideas have been narrowed down to one or two possibilities, they will be presented to our board of directors for their approval. NCHE has twenty voting board members from all regions of the state, and a supermajority is required to approve any action. Because of these reasons, we do a pretty good job of representing the majority of NC homeschoolers.
If the board approves a wording change to the legal definition of homeschooling we will find a sponsor in the legislature to introduce a bill with our desired change.
January 11, 2013 at 12:27 am
Thank you Spencer for your response. The process you present does not sound like homeschoolers of the state will be informed about the proposed change prior to the Board voting to move forward on it. Since the Board members are *representing* us, we should have opportunity to hear what the legislative committee suggests prior to the Board’s vote. Doing so would provide us opportunity to give our input to our Board representative before the vote.
January 12, 2013 at 2:17 pm
Sandra,
You have raised a good point about getting input from homeschoolers across the state. I am taking your suggestion and Carrie’s, and we trying to plan meetings in various locations in the state.
With two exceptions, NCHE wrote the law we currently enjoy, and got it passed in 1988. My wife, Debbie, and I were very involved with this struggle. The exceptions, added by senators, were annual testing and the requirement that the teacher must have a high school diploma. In 1989, when DNPE decided that homeschoolers who sent their children to a class at a private school or participated in a co-op or engaged a tutor were not complying with the law, we realized that the law needed to be tweaked. However, we also realized that conditions in Raleigh were not right for getting the changes we wanted to be added to the law without the risk of having more regulations added by those legislators who were hostile to homeschooling. For the past twenty-four years we have been telling out legislators, “thank you for our homeschool law, please don’t change it.”
I have been in Raleigh this week with Mari Fitz-Wynn, the NCHE lobbyist, and we have distributed homeschool information packets to our representatives and senators. I had the opportunity to meet with several homeschool friendly legislators. They all agree that this is the best opportunity we have had in twenty-five years to get this law modified the way we want. The leaders in the house and the senate are homeschool friendly and now we have a governor who has indicated he is homeschool friendly. Our friends also told us that we need to have a bill introduced early in the session to have the best chance of getting it passed. If the NCHE board approves it, our goal is to get a bill introduced by the first week in February.
Please call or email me if you would like to share your thoughts. I’m available to call until about 11:30 at night.
F. Spencer Mason
home (704) 541-5145
cell (704) 661-6299
LegislativeVP@NCHE.com
January 11, 2013 at 9:14 am
Spencer,
Thanks for sharing this upcoming change in strategy with NCHE members. I agree with Sandra that it would be wise to actively solicit input from homeschooling families. What plans does NCHE have to reach out? I would like to suggest that all the regional directors schedule public meetings, to be announced to all support groups listed with NCHE.
While NHCHE is the largest state-wide association, it does not necessarily reflect the interests of all of NC’s homeschooling families (e.g., those who do not feel comfortable within a Baptist/evangelical framework). That is one of many reasons why I believe that all networked homeschoolers should be able to participate in these forums, not just those of us who read The Greenhouse Report.
Finally, are you planning to coordinate your efforts with any of the other state-wide homeschool organizations? This issue affects all of NC’s homeschooling families, and any proposed changes ought to reflect the needs and concerns of everyone.
Thanks again for the opportunity to share my initial thoughts on this important topic.
January 13, 2013 at 10:20 pm
Carrie,
Thank you for your suggestions about reaching out to homeschoolers across the state. I am working on plans to set up meetings in different locations in the state. I will make an effort to contact other state homeschool groups to see if we can work together on this project.
Please call or email if you would like to discuss our plans.
F. Spencer Mason
Home (704) 541-5145
Mobile (704) 661-6299
Email LegislativeVP@NCHE.com
January 31, 2013 at 3:03 pm
Please be cautious. Once you open up changes to a law, ANY of the NC legislature members can propose changes, that includes legislature members opposed to homeschooling or those wanting to restrict it. I think this is a pandora’s box. Please leave well enough alone. NC is a very simple state to homeschool in, if by opening this up negative changes are made, NCHE is going to lose a lot of support. I am sorry you did not like the election results, I didn’t either, but God was not suprised at that. There is still a way provided for his children to do the work He has laid out for them. Be very cautious about opening this up.
February 1, 2013 at 9:51 am
Amy,
Thanks for reading GREENHOUSE, and engaging NCHE in discussion.
Let me assure you that NCHE is being cautious. Let me direct your attention to the NCHE homepage where you will find a statement NCHE released regarding the steps we are taking. We are talking to many people across the state, including those who serve in our legislative bodies. It is our duty to be aware of our situation and explore the possibilities. From what we know about the current General Assembly, this is the best opportunity we have had since our original law was passed to get a change without unwanted additions. What we don’t know for sure is if it is good enough. That is why we are talking to many people. Only if the Board is convinced in our assessment of success with minimal risk to the freedoms we currently enjoy would we proceed with actually submitting a bill.
As to the election results, I am unsure how you received the impression that NCHE is not happy with the results. I think we are in agreement regarding God’s lack of surprise; my own belief is that God is sovereign and that the results are exactly as he intended. Regardless of whether one holds this view or not, NCHE’s impression is that a significant number of our elected leaders are friendly to homeschooling, and for that we are glad. It creates a possibility that has not been present for some time, the possibility to clarify some language in the law which has long troubled many homeschoolers in the state. When the language of the law was fashioned so many years ago, homeschooling was a very particular kind of practice; there were aspects of it that were not completely imagined. As the practice emerged, NCHE leadership quickly recognized that homeschooling takes different forms for different families. Many parents partner with extended family members and even neighbors. We see this is good. We wish the law to reflect the diversity of homeschooling practices. I believe that by doing so, by making explicit what is good, by having it declared lawful, we bless our neighbors. Proverbs 11:10 says “When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices.” I understand this to mean that there are real benefits to society from the public acknowledgement of good deeds. The care parents are taking to see to the education of their children is good. The networks that could be developed to do so are good. Let us practice what is good lawfully. NCHE leadership has long studied NCs legislative body and their attitudes toward homeschooling, waiting and praying for an appropriate time to actively engage. As I said, we think this time is the best we have ever had in over 20 years. We still don’t know if it good enough. We are cautiously exploring.
I speak for the entire Board when I say we would appreciate your prayers and support as NCHE seeks to serve all North Carolinians who are for homeschooling.
Kevin McClain
Education VP
EducationVP@nche.com
January 11, 2013 at 9:04 pm
Is the concern that a homeschooler will be legally challenged and the law will be defined narrowly in a court, setting a legal precedent?
I worry that further definition will be stifling, just as the current ambiguity is relatively liberating if you look at the law itself (rather than the DNPE’s interpretation of it).
January 13, 2013 at 10:26 pm
Laura,
I don’t think there is much danger of a legal challenge. It has been twenty-four years since our homeschool statutes were passed, and there have been no court challenges. However, during that time, many homeschoolers feel that they have had to choose between following the law or doing what is best for their children. I have talked with many homeschoolers who would like to do both. Also, many homeschoolers have expressed frustration and confusion in by the many different interpretations of the law.
When NCHE wrote the current definition of “home school” in the law, we did not fully understand the ramifications of that definition. We have waited patiently for twenty-four years to fix the ambiguity in the law and make it clear that homeschoolers can have the flexibility to enroll their children in a class outside of their home or participate in a co-op. We believe this legislative session is the best opportunity to tweak the law to make it better without having unwanted regulation added.
January 12, 2013 at 6:14 pm
Dear Spencer & Debbie:
Thank you for writing the article and keeping us informed of proposed changes to the homeschool law. I think it is remarkable that not only have you served through the difficult years of homeschooling your own children, but are still trying to improve the conditions for future generations, ex. great grandchildren
Since I have attended NCHE conferences for approx. 12 years and heard you and your wife speak on many ocassions, I feel confident that you and the board’s experiences are varied and more than adequate to make decisions for the best interests of homeschool families in North Carolina.
Thank you so much for the years of service you have given to the homeschool community!!
January 14, 2013 at 6:48 pm
I’m sure you’re already aware, but just in case you’re not, our new NC Lt. Governor, Dan Forest, and his wife, Alice, homeschool their four children, with one now in college at UNC. You may want to speak with him about the matter as well.
January 14, 2013 at 7:24 pm
Yes, we are aware that Lt. Governor Dan Forest and his wife are homeschoolers. We intend on contacting all our homeschool friends in state government about this possible change to our law.