Colorado State Legislature
Colorado Home Schooling
Compulsory School Age
Between 7 and 16 years of
age.
The Colorado general assembly has
declared that it is the primary right and obligation of the
parents to choose the proper education and training for
children under their care and supervision. They further
state that "non-public home-based education is a legitimate
alternative to classroom attendance for the instruction of
children and that any regulation of non-public home-based
educational programs should be sufficiently flexible to
accommodate a variety of circumstances." Home education is
"subject only to minimum state controls which are currently
applicable to other forms of non-public education."
22-33-104. Compulsory school attendance.
(1) Every child who has attained the age of seven years and
is under the age of sixteen years, except as provided by
this section, shall attend public school for at least one
thousand fifty-six hours if a secondary school pupil or nine
hundred sixty-eight hours if an elementary school pupil
during each school year; except that in no case shall a
school or schools be in session for fewer than one hundred
sixty days without the specific prior approval of the
commissioner of education.
(2) The provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall
not apply to a child:
(b) Who is enrolled for a minimum of one hundred
seventy-two days in an independent or parochial school
which provides a basic academic education. "Basic
academic education" for the purpose of this article
means the sequential program of instruction provided by
an independent or parochial school. Such program shall
include but not be limited to, communication skills of
reading, writing, and speaking, mathematics, history,
civics, literature, and science.
(i) Who is being instructed at home:
(I) By a teacher certified pursuant to article 60 or
61 of this title; or
(II) Under a non-public home-based educational
program pursuant to section 22-33-104.5.
22-33-104.5. Home-based education - legislative
declaration - definitions - guidelines.
(1) The general assembly hereby declares that it is the
primary right and obligation of the parent to choose the
proper education and training for children under his care
and supervision. It is recognized that home-based education
is a legitimate alternative to classroom attendance for the
instruction of children and that any regulation of
non-public home-based educational programs should be
sufficiently flexible to accommodate a variety of
circumstances. The general assembly further declares that
non-public home-based educational programs shall be subject
only to minimum state controls which are currently
applicable to other forms of non-public education.
(2) As used in this section:
(a) "Non-public home-based educational program"
means the sequential program of instruction for the
education of a child which takes place in a home, which
is provided by the child's parent or by an adult
relative of the child designated by the parent, and
which is not under the supervision and control of a
school district. This educational program is not
intended to be and does not qualify as a private and
nonprofit school.
(b) "Parent" includes a parent or guardian.
(c) "Qualified Person" means an individual who
is selected by the parent of a child who is
participating in a non-public home-based educational
program to evaluate such child's progress and who is a
teacher certified pursuant to article 60 of this title,
a teacher who is employed by an independent or parochial
school, a licensed psychologist, or a person with a
graduate degree in education.
(3) The following guidelines shall apply to a non-public
home-based educational program:
(a) A parent or an adult relative designated by a
parent to provide instruction in a non-public home-based
educational program shall not be subject to the
requirements of the "Teacher Certification Act of 1975",
article 60 of this title, nor to the provisions of
article 61 of this title relating to teacher employment.
(b) A child who is participating in a non-public
home-based educational program shall not be subject to
compulsory school attendance as provided in this
article; except that any child who is habitually truant,
as defined in section 22-33-107 (3), at any time during
the last six months that the child attended school
before proposed enrollment in a non-public home-based
educational program may not be enrolled in the program
unless the child's parents first submit a written
description of the curricula to be used in the program
along with the written notification of establishment of
the program required in paragraph (e) of subsection (2)
of this section to the superintendent of the child's
school district of residence.
(c) A non-public home-based educational program shall
include no less than one hundred seventy-two days of
instruction, averaging four instructional contact hours
per day.
(d) A non-public home-based educational program shall
include, but need not be limited to, communication
skills of reading, writing, and speaking, mathematics,
history, civics, literature, science, and regular
courses of instruction in the constitution of the United
States as provided in section 22-1-108.
(e) Any parent establishing a non-public home-based
educational program shall provide written notification
of the establishment of said program to the local school
district of residence fourteen days prior to the
establishment of said program and each year thereafter
if the program is maintained. The parent in charge and
in control of a non-public home-based educational
program shall certify, in writing, only a statement
containing the name, age, place of residence and number
of hours of attendance of each child enrolled in said
program.
(f) Each child participating in a non-public
home-based educational program shall be evaluated when
such child reaches grades three, five, seven, nine, and
eleven. Each child shall be given a nationally
standardized achievement test to evaluate the child's
academic progress, or a qualified person shall evaluate
the child's academic progress. The test or evaluation
results, whichever is appropriate, shall be submitted to
the local school district of residence or an independent
or parochial school within the state of Colorado. If the
test or evaluation results are submitted to an
independent or parochial school, the name of such school
shall be provided to the local school district of
residence. The purpose of such tests or evaluations
shall be to evaluate the educational progress of each
child.
(g) The records of each child participating in a
non-public home-based educational program shall be
maintained on a permanent basis by the parent in charge
and in control of said program. The records shall
include, but need not be limited to, attendance data,
test and evaluation results, and immunization records,
as required by sections 25-4-901, 25-4-902, and
25-4-903, C.R.S. Such records shall be produced to the
local school district of residence upon fourteen days
written notice if the superintendent of said school
district has probable cause to believe that said program
is not in compliance with the guidelines established in
this subsection (3).
(4) Any child who has participated in a non-public
home-based educational program and who subsequently enrolls
in the public school system may be tested by the school
district for the purpose of placing the child in the proper
grade and shall then be placed at the grade level deemed
most appropriate by the local school district of residence.
(5) (a) (I) If test results submitted to the local school
district of residence pursuant to the provisions of
paragraph (f) of subsection (3) of this section show that a
child participating in a non-public home-based educational
program received a composite score on said test which was
above the thirteenth percentile, such child shall continue
to be exempt from the compulsory school attendance
requirement of this article. If the child's composite score
on said test is at or below the thirteenth percentile, the
local school district of residence shall require the parents
to place said child in a public or independent or parochial
school until the next testing period: except that no action
shall be taken until the child is given the opportunity to
be retested using an alternate version of the same test or a
different nationally standardized achievement test selected
by the parent from a list of approved tests supplied by the
state board.
(II) If evaluation results submitted to the local
school district of residence pursuant to the provisions
of paragraph (f) of subsection (3) of this section show
that the child is making sufficient academic progress
according to the child's ability, the child will
continue to be exempt from the compulsory school
attendance requirement of this article. If the
evaluation results show that the child is not making
sufficient academic progress, the local school district
of residence shall require the child's parents to place
the child in a public or independent or parochial school
until the next testing period.
(b) If the child's test or evaluation results are
submitted to an independent or parochial school, said
school shall notify the local school district of
residence if the composite score on said test was at or
below the thirteenth percentile or if the evaluation
results show that the child is not making sufficient
academic progress. The local school district of
residence shall then require the parents to proceed in
the manner specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection
(5).
(6)
(a) If a child is participating in a non-public
home-based educational program but also attending his
local school district of residence for a portion of the
school day, the local school district of residence shall
be entitled to count such child in accordance with the
provisions of section 22-53-103 (7) for purposes of
determining pupil enrollment under the "Public School
Finance Act of 1988", article 53 of this title.
(b) For purposes of this subsection (6), a child who
is participating in a non-public home-based educational
program may participate on an equal basis in any
extracurricular or interscholastic activity offered by a
public school in the child's public school district of
residence or offered by a private school, at the private
school's discretion, provided the child:
(I) Is in compliance with all laws governing non-public
home-based education;
(II) Meets all of the public school district's
eligibility requirements for participation in the
extracurricular or interscholastic activity, except for
class attendance requirements of the school district or any
recognized association of schools organizing and controlling
the extracurricular or interscholastic activities, if the
child elects to participate in an extracurricular or
interscholastic activity through a public school;
(B) Meets all eligibility requirements established by a
private school in the extracurricular or interscholastic
activity, if the child elects to participate in an
extracurricular or interscholastic activity through a
private school.
(III) Has not been ruled academically ineligible to
participate in extracurricular or interscholastic activities
while a public school student within the last two years; and
(IV) Fulfills the same responsibilities and standards of
behavior and performance, including related classroom or
practice requirements, as other students participating in
the extracurricular or interscholastic activity of the team,
squad or group, and meets the same standard for
participation with the team, squad or group.
(c) No child participating in an interscholastic activity
pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subsection (6) shall be
considered attending the local school district of residence
for purposes of determining pupil enrollment under paragraph
(a) of this subsection (6).
