Iowa General Assembly
Iowa Home Schooling
Compulsory School Age
Homeschoolers have 4 options to
legally homeschool in Iowa. The first option is to work with
a supervising teacher; the parent must have 8 meetings, 4 of
which must be face-to-face. The second option is provide
annually the results of a test administered by a certified
teacher results at the end of every school year, by a
certified teacher; there is a specific group of tests that
the state approves and testing cannot be done by the parent.
The third option is to create a portfolio every year; the
parent finds a portfolio evaluator, who must be a certified
teacher, and the parent must keep samples of the child's
work, and a record of activities. At the end of the year,
these are reviewed by the evaluator. The final option is the
homeschool assistance program and only the larger school
districts offer these programs; this option is also known as
dual enrollment.
299A.1 Private instruction.
The parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a child of
compulsory attendance age who places the child under private
instruction shall provide, unless otherwise exempted,
competent private instruction in accordance with this
chapter. A parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a child
of compulsory attendance age who places the child under
private instruction which is not competent private
instruction, or otherwise fails to comply with the
requirements of this chapter, is subject to the provisions
of sections 299.1 through 299.4 and the penalties provided
in section 299.6.
For purposes of this chapter, "competent private
instruction" means private instruction provided on a
daily basis for at least one hundred forty-eight days during
a school year, to be met by attendance for at least
thirty-seven days each school quarter, by or under the
supervision of a licensed practitioner in the manner
provided under section 299A.2, or other person under section
299A.3, which results in the student making adequate
progress.
For purposes of this chapter and chapter 299, "private
instruction" means instruction using a plan and a course
of study in a setting other than a public or organized
accredited nonpublic school.
299A.2 Competent private instruction by licensed
practitioner.
If a licensed practitioner provides competent instruction
to a child of compulsory attendance age, the practitioner
shall possess a valid license or certificate which has been
issued by the state board of educational examiners under
chapter 272 and which is appropriate to the ages and grade
levels of the children to be taught. Competent private
instruction may include, but is not limited to, a home
school assistance program which provides instruction or
instructional supervision offered through an accredited
nonpublic school or public school district by a teacher, who
is employed by the accredited nonpublic school or
public school district, who assists and
supervises a parent, guardian, or legal custodian in
providing instruction to a child. If competent private
instruction is provided through a public school district,
the child shall be enrolled and included in the basic
enrollment of the school district as provided in section
257.6. Sections 299A.3 through 299A.7 do not apply to
competent private instruction provided by a licensed
practitioner under this section. However, the reporting
requirement contained in section 299A.3, subsection 1, shall
apply to competent private instruction provided by licensed
practitioners that is not part of a home school assistance
program offered through an accredited nonpublic school or
public school district.
299A.3 Private instruction by nonlicensed person.
A parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a child of
compulsory attendance age providing competent private
instruction to the child shall meet all of the following
requirements:
- Complete and send, in a timely manner, the report
required under section 299.4 to the school district of
residence of the child.
- Ensure that the child under the parent's,
guardian's, or legal custodian's instruction is
evaluated annually to determine whether the child is
making adequate progress, as defined in section 299A.6.
- Ensure that the results of the child's annual
evaluation are reported to the school district of
residence of the child and to the department of
education by a date not later than June 30 of each year
in which the child is under private instruction.
299.1 Attendance requirements.
Except as provided in section 299.2, the parent,
guardian, or legal or actual custodian of a child who is of
compulsory attendance age, shall cause the child to attend
some public school, an accredited nonpublic school, or
competent private instruction in accordance with the
provisions of chapter 299A, during a school year, as defined
under section 279.10. The board of directors of a public
school district or the governing body of an accredited
nonpublic school shall set the number of days of required
attendance for the schools under its control.
The board of directors of a public or the governing body
of an accredited nonpublic school may, by resolution,
require attendance for the entire time when the schools are
in session in any school year and adopt a policy or rules
relating to the reasons considered to be valid or acceptable
excuses for absence from school.
299.1A Compulsory attendance age.
A child who has reached the age of six and is under
sixteen years of age by September 15 is of compulsory
attendance age.
299.1B Failure to attend--loss of driver's license.
A person who does not attend a public school, an
accredited nonpublic school, competent private instruction
in accordance with the provisions of chapter 299A, an
alternative school, adult education classes, or who is not
employed at least twenty hours per week shall not receive a
motor vehicle operator's license until age eighteen. A
person under age eighteen who has been issued a motor
vehicle operator's license who does not attend a public
school, an accredited nonpublic school, competent private
instruction in accordance with the provisions of chapter
299A, an alternative school, or adult education classes,
shall surrender the license and be issued a temporary
restricted license under section 321.215.
299.2 Exceptions.
Section 299.1 shall not apply to any child:
- Who has completed the requirements for graduation in
an accredited school or has obtained a high school
equivalency diploma under chapter 259A.
- Who is excused for sufficient reason by any court of
record or judge.
- While attending religious services or receiving
religious instructions.
- Who is attending a private college preparatory
school accredited or probationally accredited under
section 256.11, subsection 13.
- Who has been excused under section 299.22.
- Who is exempted under section 299.24.
299.3 Reports from accredited nonpublic schools.
Within ten days from receipt of notice from the secretary
of the school district within which an accredited nonpublic
school is conducted, the principal of the accredited
nonpublic school shall, once during each school year, and at
any time when requested in individual cases, furnish to the
secretary of the public school district, within which the
accredited nonpublic school is located, a certificate and
report in duplicate on forms provided by the public school
district of the names and ages of each pupil of the
accredited nonpublic school who is of compulsory attendance
age and the grade level of each pupil, during the preceding
year and from the time of the last preceding report to the
time at which a report is required. In addition, the report
shall identify all students of compulsory attendance age who
were truant as defined by law or school policy and the
number of days of truancy for the period covered by the
report, and children who dropped out, withdrew from
enrollment, or transferred to another Iowa school and the
date their attendance ceased at the accredited nonpublic
school. The secretary shall retain one of the reports and
file the other with the secretary of the area education
agency.
299.4 Reports as to private instruction.
The parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a child who
is of compulsory attendance age, who places the child under
competent private instruction under either section 299A.2 or
299A.3, not in an accredited school or a home school
assistance program operated by a public or accredited
nonpublic school, shall furnish a report in duplicate on
forms provided by the public school district, to the
district by the earliest starting date specified in section
279.10, subsection 1. The secretary shall retain and file
one copy and forward the other copy to the district's area
education agency. The report shall state the name and age of
the child, the period of time during which the child has
been or will be under competent private instruction for the
year, an outline of the course of study, texts used, and the
name and address of the instructor. The parent, guardian, or
legal custodian of a child, who is placing the child under
competent private instruction, for the first time, shall
also provide the district with evidence that the child has
had the immunizations required under section 139.9. The term
"outline of course of study" shall include subjects
covered, lesson plans, and time spent on the areas of study.
299.24 Religious groups exempted from school
standards.
When members or representatives of a local congregation
of a recognized church or religious denomination established
for ten years or more within the state of Iowa prior to July
1, 1967, which professes principles or tenets that differ
substantially from the objectives, goals, and philosophy of
education embodied in standards set forth in section 256.11,
and rules adopted in implementation thereof, file with the
director of the department of education proof of the
existence of such conflicting tenets or principles, together
with a list of the names, ages, and post-office addresses of
all persons of compulsory school age desiring to be exempted
from the compulsory education law and the educational
standards law, whose parents or guardians are members of the
congregation or religious denomination, the director,
subject to the approval of the state board of education, may
exempt the members of the congregation or religious
denomination from compliance with any or all requirements of
the compulsory education law and the educational standards
law for two school years. When the exemption has once been
granted, renewal of such exemptions for each succeeding
school year may be conditioned by the director, with the
approval of the board, upon proof of achievement.
