Q: My child’s evaluation is due next February since we started homeschooling this past February, but I received a letter from our school district telling me to get the evaluation done or enroll him in school. Do I have to turn in an evaluation now? ---- A: Some Florida school districts will try to get every homeschooler to send in paperwork for their evaluation by the end of the public school’s school year (to make record keeping easier for them). They’ll automatically send letters to everyone on their homeschool list who hasn’t sent in an evaluation yet--without checking to see when their evaluations are actually due. So you have a couple of choices: (1) Send the school district a reply stating that you began homeschooling in February and know that your child’s evaluation is due by February of next year and you’ll turn it in before then Or (2) Send in an evaluation months in advance. Personally, I’d recommend choice (1). Send the reply in writing--by mail, fax, or email. Keep it polite to avoid making an enemy. Keep a copy for your records. If you decide to send in the evaluation so many months early, then you are setting a precedent that you will do anything they ask even when it isn’t required. That sort of precedent can cause trouble down the line. Besides, a lot of school district personnel simply don’t know homeschooling law and make the mistake of figuring they can make up any requirements they want. This isn’t true. By state law, they can *ask* for things above and beyond state law, but they can’t *require* them. Sometimes they have to find this out before they go too far. Note: Most school district personnel will back down as soon as they are shown a copy of state law (or given a link to it online).
Posted on: Sun, 23 Jun 2013 03:32:20 +0000