Growing interest in home school, private education options
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According to research by Dr. Brian Ray and the National Home Education Research Institute, there were about 3.1 million homeschool students in 2021-2022 in grades K-12 in the United States. This is up from 2.5 million in spring 2019. The homeschool population had been growing at an estimated 2% to 8% per annum over the past several years, but it grew drastically from 2019-2020 to 2020-2021.
Iowa families have many educational choices for their children outside of the traditional public school system, however the decision to educate privately or at home is a complex process.
Home schooling or private education offers parents a variety of options, including three main avenues according to the Iowa Department of Education. All three options satisfy compulsory attendance and truancy laws.
However, the Education Savings Account available as part of the Student First Act does not apply to home school students or those attending non-accredited private schools.
Competent Private Instruction
The first option provides Competent Private Instruction (CPI) for students by someone with a current Iowa teaching license appropriate for the student’s grade level and the content area(s) being taught. This may include:
Enrollment in the resident district’s home school assistance program (HSAP) if it is offered;
A licensed teacher can be privately retained and paid at the family’s expense;
An appropriately licensed parent, guardian/custodian can also provide instruction.
While the State of Iowa does not have a mandated curriculum for CPI students, instruction in required content areas must be provided. The type of curriculum and instructional materials that will be used is up to the parents/guardian/custodian.
Home School
Alternatively, option two allows a parent, guardian/custodian to provide instruction or supervise instruction, without a current Iowa teaching license.
Students must make adequate progress and be evaluated annually with results reported to their home district by August 1 of the year of instruction.
The district or AEA is required to provide access to one courtesy standardized assessment at no cost without requiring dual enrollment.
Dual Enrollment
Parents may also choose to dual enroll their child(ren) in their resident school district for academics, special education, and/or extracurricular activities when opting to home school or select CPI.
This means students attend school for select subjects, athletic activities or band/music.
Diagonal Community Schools
Diagonal schools do not currently operate a Home School Assistance Program (HSAP) as they have not had any parents notify them about the intention to home school their child(ren). According to District Superintendent Larry McNutt, Diagonal does not have any students homeschooling that he is aware of.
Roughly 6% of school-age children are educated at home according to research by Dr. Brian Ray and the National Home Education Research Institute.
Mount Ayr HSAP
The Mount Ayr Home School Assistance Program (HSAP) currently serves 10 home school families in the Mount Ayr area. The main goal is to support parents as teachers, and a variety of enrichment activities, classes and field trips for students are also planned.
As Mount Ayr continues to grow the program, the curriculum library of resources for families to check out and use will increase. If a curriculum that is needed is not already on hand, they work with families during the initial educational planning meeting to acquire resources as needed.
Curriculum is aligned with Iowa Core Standards for math, language arts, science, and social studies. Curriculum for other subjects such as CTE, technology, art, music, band and PE is also provided.
As resources have grown digitally, the Mount Ayr HSAP also works with families to provide online learning opportunities and tools. Digital options are explored with families along with traditional options to provide the best resources for your home school learning environment. As a 1-1 school, Mount Ayr Community School District will provide a device for online learning.
A HSAP staff member makes frequent contacts throughout the school year. Tara Wurster is the present coordinator, and makes 4 contacts per semester; 2 in person and 2 via phone at a minimum. Wurster helps support the parents as a teacher, provides assistance as needed, and support with state testing.
Families also have an opportunity to ‘Dual Enroll’ in courses at Mount Ayr Schools and access to driver’s education.
Independent Private Instruction
The third option allows students to have Independent Private Instruction (IPI) through a non-accredited “school” that enrolls no more than four unrelated students, and provides instruction in mathematics, reading and language arts, science, and social studies, without charging tuition, fees, or other payment for instruction.
Providing private or religious-based instruction is the primary purpose of the IPI, and families who choose this educational model must still meet the requirements of the compulsory attendance law (Iowa Code § 299.1).
A report identifying the primary instructor, location, name of the authority responsible for the IPI, and names of the students enrolled must be provided upon written request from the superintendent of the school district or the Iowa Department of Education, An IPI is not a nonpublic school, and does not provide CPI as defined in Iowa Code and the rules in Iowa Administrative Code.
The IPI model is exempt from all state statutes and administrative rules applicable to a school, a school board, or a school district, except as otherwise provided in Iowa Code. A public school district cannot provide an IPI student with public school services, or HSAP.
Notification to school district
Parents are advised to notify the resident public school district in writing when opting out of public school enrollment.
When choosing CPI or home school, parents are required to file Form A with their district by September 1 of the year of enrollment, or within 14 days of beginning CPI. This step satisfies notifying the school district.
If families choose an alternative home school option, a brief written notice should including the name of the child, a statement that you are not enrolling in public school or plan to begin private instruction, and the parent/guardian name, contact information, and signature will suffice.
