Yes! It is legal to educate your children at home in New York State, as well as in the other 49 states. You should obtain an up-to-date copy of the NYS regulations concerning homeschooling from your local school district. However, as of the date of our meeting (January 1997) here is the general procedure:

1. Every year you must notify your local Superintendent in writing of your decision to educate your children at home. This notification should include the names, ages, and grades of your school-age children. (In New York State, mandatory school age attendance is 6yr. - 16 yr. inclusive.) Your superintendent must receive your notification by July 1st. It you decide mid-year to bring your children home for schooling, or it you move into a new school district after the school year has begun, you must notify your superintendent within 14 days following the commencement of home instruction.

2. Within 10 days of their receipt of your notification, the school district will send you Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP) forms to be filled out for each child. You will fill out one form for each subject per child. For each subject you will describe what you will be teaching and list the materials you will use.

You have a few options here. If you are using actual text books, your IHIP could be as simple as submitting a photocopy of the table of contents along with the name, publisher and copyright date of each one. There are many library materials which offer suggestions. Other homeschoolers and even your school district will help you if you ask.

You must return the completed IHIP forms by August 15th or 30 days from having received them, whichever is later.

3. Within 10 days of receiving your completed IHIP's, the school district will notify you whether or not your plan of instruction complies with state requirements.

My own experience with this has varied. The first few years the school district offered suggestions to improve my IHIP's. I always respectfully declined their suggestions and they always notified me that my original IHIP's did in fact comply with state regulations. Last year they notified me in January and this year I still haven't heard from them.

4. If the school district does find a deficiency you have 15 days to respond.

5. You must submit 4 quarterly reports each year for each child. Your school district will supply you with forms but some people use their own format. Each quarterly report should include the number of hours of instruction during the quarter; a description of the material covered in each subject; a grade or written narrative of the child's progress; and a written explanation if less than 80% of the material for that quarter has been completed.

6. Sometime in March, the school district will ask you to let them know what your choice of annul assessment is for each child. (See the following section for options.)

7. You should send in the annual assessment results along with your final quarterly report.

Finally, it is recommended that you keep a copy of correspondence with your school district and that you send all correspondence return receipt requested, in the event there is some discrepancy.

In September of our first year of homeschooling, the school district notified us that they had never received our completed IHIP forms. We had mailed them return receipt requested and we had the receipt with the signature of one of their mail room employees. The school district was very nice. It was a good thing we had our own copy of the completed IHIP's, or else we would have had to do all that work a second time.

1. If you are using a homeschool provider such as Seton, they will provide you with an annual standardized test to administer. They will grade the tests and provide you with results to submit to your school district.

2. You may choose to have your child tested in your local public school with whatever testing materials the district is using.

3. You may select any of the six standardized tests used across the country for your child's annual assessment. These can be ordered through your district or a homeschooling testing service. Your child may be tested at a public school, private school, or in your home but you must pay for the test yourself, and if necessary an administrator. (You may test through Seton even it you are not enrolled with them.)

4. You may also choose an alternative method of evaluation. In grades 1-3, you may choose to submit a written narrative which attests to the adequate academic progress of the child. State regulations require that this written narrative be prepared by a.) a NYS certified teacher, b.) a home instruction peer group review panel, or c.) other person who has interviewed the child and reviewed a portfolio of his work. In grades 4 - 8 you may choose the written narrative also, but only every other year. In alternate years, you must use some form of standardized testing.