H. B. 2749
(By Delegate Staggers)
[Introduced February 23, 2009; referred to the
Committee on Education then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact §18-8-1 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to compulsory school attendance and
home schooling; permitting home school children to participate
in athletic and other extracurricular activities of secondary
schools under certain circumstances; and denying home school
and requiring attendance in a public school when certain
standards are not met.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §18-8-1 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 8. COMPULSORY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE.
§18-8-1. Commencement and termination of compulsory school
attendance; exemptions.
(a) Compulsory school attendance shall begin with the school
year in which the sixth birthday is reached prior to September 1 or upon enrolling in a publicly supported kindergarten program and
continue to the sixteenth birthday. Exemption from the foregoing
requirements of compulsory public school attendance shall be made
on behalf of any child for the causes or conditions set forth in
this section. Each cause or condition set forth in this section
shall be subject to confirmation by the attendance authority of the
county.
(b) A child shall be exempt from the compulsory school
attendance requirement set forth in subsection (a) of this section
if the requirements of this subsection, relating to instruction in
a private, parochial or other approved school, are met. The
instruction shall be in a school approved by the county board and
for a time equal to the instructional term set forth in section
forty-five, article five of this chapter. In all private,
parochial or other schools approved pursuant to this subsection it
shall be the duty of the principal or other person in control, upon
the request of the county superintendent, to furnish to the county
board such information and records as may be required with respect
to attendance, instruction and progress of pupils enrolled between
the entrance age and sixteen years.
(c) A child shall be exempt from the compulsory school
attendance requirement set forth in subsection (a) of this section
if the requirements of either subdivision (1) of this subsection or
subdivision (2) of this subsection, both relating to home instruction, are met.
(1) The instruction shall be in the home of the child or
children or at some other place approved by the county board and
for a time equal to the instructional term set forth in section
forty-five, article five of this chapter. If the request for home
instruction is denied by the county board, good and reasonable
justification for the denial shall be furnished in writing to the
applicant by the county board. The instruction shall be conducted
by a person or persons who, in the judgment of the county
superintendent and county board, are qualified to give instruction
in subjects required to be taught in public elementary schools in
the state. The person or persons providing the instruction, upon
request of the county superintendent, shall furnish to the county
board information and records as may be required, from time to
time, with respect to attendance, instruction and progress of
pupils enrolled between the entrance age and sixteen years
receiving the instruction. The state board shall develop
guidelines for the home schooling of special education students
including alternative assessment measures to assure that
satisfactory academic progress is achieved.
(2) The child meets the requirements set forth in this
subdivision:
Provided, That the county superintendent may seek
from the circuit court of the county an order denying home
instruction of the child. The order may be granted upon a showing of clear and convincing evidence that the child will suffer neglect
in the child's education or that there are other compelling reasons
to deny home instruction.
(A) Annually, the person or persons providing home instruction
shall present to the county superintendent or county board a notice
of intent to provide home instruction and the name, address, age
and grade level of any child of compulsory school age to be
instructed:
Provided, That if a child is enrolled in a public
school, notice of intent to provide home instruction shall be given
at least two weeks prior to withdrawing such child from public
school;
(B) The person or persons providing home instruction shall
submit satisfactory evidence of a high school diploma or
equivalent;
(C) The person or persons providing home instruction shall
outline a plan of instruction for the ensuing school year; and
(D) On or before June 30 of each year the person or persons
providing home instruction shall obtain an academic assessment of
the child for the previous school year and submit the results to
the county superintendent. When the academic assessment takes
place outside of a public school, the parent or legal guardian
shall pay the cost. The requirement of an academic assessment
shall be satisfied in one of the following ways:
(I) The child receiving home instruction takes a nationally normed standardized achievement test to be administered under
standardized conditions as set forth by the published instructions
of the selected test in the subjects of reading, language,
mathematics, science and social studies:
Provided, That in no
event may the child's parent or legal guardian administer the test.
The publication date of the chosen test shall not be more than ten
years from the date of the administration of the test. The child
shall be considered to have made acceptable progress when the mean
of the child's test results in the required subject areas for any
single year meets or exceeds the fiftieth percentile or, if below
the fiftieth percentile, shows improvement from the previous year's
results.
A child whose test results indicate a result that either
meets or exceeds the state guidelines for the selected test
subjects of reading, language, mathematics, science and social
studies shall be allowed to participate in athletic and other
extracurricular activities in a secondary school as described in
section twenty-five, article two of this chapter;
(ii) The child participates in the testing program currently
in use in the state's public schools. The test shall be
administered to the child at a public school in the county of
residence. Determination of acceptable progress will be based on
current guidelines of the state testing program;
(iii) The county superintendent is provided with a written
narrative indicating that a portfolio of samples of the child's work has been reviewed and that the child's academic progress for
the year is in accordance with the child's abilities. If the
narrative indicates that the child's academic progress for the year
is in accordance with the child's abilities, the child shall be
considered to have made acceptable progress. This narrative shall
be prepared by a certified teacher whose certification number shall
be provided. The narrative shall include a statement about the
child's progress in the areas of reading, language, mathematics,
science and social studies and shall note any areas which, in the
professional opinion of the reviewer, show need for improvement or
remediation; or
(iv) (iii) The child completes an alternative academic
assessment of proficiency that is mutually agreed upon by the
parent or legal guardian and the county superintendent. Criteria
for acceptable progress shall be mutually agreed upon by the same
parties; and
(E) When the annual assessment fails to show acceptable
progress as defined under the appropriate assessment option set
forth in paragraph (D) of this subdivision, the person or persons
providing home instruction shall initiate a remedial program to
foster acceptable progress and the county board shall notify the
parents or legal guardian of the child, in writing, of the services
available to assist in the assessment of the child's eligibility
for special education services:
Provided, That the identification of a disability shall not preclude the continuation of home
schooling.
In the event If that the child does not achieve
acceptable progress as defined under the appropriate assessment
option set forth in paragraph (D) of this subdivision for a second
consecutive year, the person or persons providing instruction shall
submit to the county superintendent additional evidence that
appropriate instruction is being provided.
If this does not occur,
then the child in question may be denied home instruction and shall
be required to attend public school.
(3) This subdivision applies to both home instruction
exemptions set forth in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this
subsection. The county superintendent or a designee shall offer
such assistance, including textbooks, other teaching materials and
available resources, as may assist the person or persons providing
home instruction subject to their availability. Any child
receiving home instruction may upon approval of the county board
exercise the option to attend any class offered by the county board
as the person or persons providing home instruction may consider
appropriate subject to normal registration and attendance
requirements.
(d) A child shall be exempt from the compulsory school
attendance requirement set forth in subsection (a) of this section
if the requirements of this subsection, relating to physical or
mental incapacity, are met. Physical or mental incapacity consists of incapacity for school attendance and the performance of school
work. In all cases of prolonged absence from school due to
incapacity of the child to attend, the written statement of a
licensed physician or authorized school nurse shall be required
under the provisions of this article:
Provided, That in all cases,
incapacity shall be narrowly defined and in no case shall the
provisions of this article allow for the exclusion of the mentally,
physically, emotionally or behaviorally handicapped child otherwise
entitled to a free appropriate education.
(e) A child shall be exempt from the compulsory school
attendance requirement set forth in subsection (a) of this section
if conditions rendering school attendance impossible or hazardous
to the life, health or safety of the child exist.
(f) A child shall be exempt from the compulsory school
attendance requirement set forth in subsection (a) of this section
upon regular graduation from a standard senior high school.
(g) A child shall be exempt from the compulsory school
attendance requirement set forth in subsection (a) of this section
if the child is granted a work permit pursuant to this subsection.
The county superintendent may, after due investigation, grant work
permits to youths under sixteen years of age, subject to state and
federal labor laws and regulations:
Provided, That a work permit
may not be granted on behalf of any youth who has not completed the
eighth grade of school.
(h) A child shall be exempt from the compulsory school
attendance requirement set forth in subsection (a) of this section
if a serious illness or death in the immediate family of the pupil
has occurred. It is expected that the county attendance director
will ascertain the facts in all cases of such absences about which
information is inadequate and report the facts to the county
superintendent.
(i) A child shall be exempt from the compulsory school
attendance requirement set forth in subsection (a) of this section
if the requirements of this subsection, relating to destitution in
the home, are met. Exemption based on a condition of extreme
destitution in the home may be granted only upon the written
recommendation of the county attendance director to the county
superintendent following careful investigation of the case. A copy
of the report confirming the condition and school exemption shall
be placed with the county director of public assistance. This
enactment contemplates every reasonable effort that may properly be
taken on the part of both school and public assistance authorities
for the relief of home conditions officially recognized as being so
destitute as to deprive children of the privilege of school
attendance. Exemption for this cause shall not be allowed when the
destitution is relieved through public or private means.
(j) A child shall be exempt from the compulsory school
attendance requirement set forth in subsection (a) of this section if the requirements of this subsection, relating to church
ordinances and observances of regular church ordinances, are met.
The county board may approve exemption for religious instruction
upon written request of the person having legal or actual charge of
a child or children:
Provided, That the exemption shall be subject
to the rules prescribed by the county superintendent and approved
by the county board.
(k) A child shall be exempt from the compulsory school
attendance requirement set forth in subsection (a) of this section
if the requirements of this subsection, relating to alternative
private, parochial, church or religious school instruction, are
met. Exemption shall be made for any child attending any private
school, parochial school, church school, school operated by a
religious order or other nonpublic school which elects to comply
with the provisions of article twenty-eight of this chapter.
(l) The completion of the eighth grade shall not exempt any
child under sixteen years of age from the compulsory attendance
provision of this article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit home school
children to participate in athletic and other extracurricular
activities of secondary schools under certain circumstances. It
also may deny home schooling and require attendance in a public
school when certain standards are not met.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.