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Vermont
home schooling laws and regulations cannot be summarized in a short
informational page or overview. It is incumbent upon
you to perform due diligence in researching and
familiarizing yourself with your state's legal's and
regulations as they pertain to homeschooling. This
information is provided for you to give you a
starting point. This is not intended to be legal
advice and is distributed for basic informational
purposes only. For more information about the laws
and regulations in this state please contact a state
or local support group or your public library.
(a) Enrollment notice. A home study program shall send a
written enrollment notice to the commissioner whenever it intends to
enroll a child. Enrollments at home study programs shall expire on July
1. If a home study program intends to re-enroll a child for the
following school year, a new notice under this section is required and
may be submitted at any time after March 1. The commissioner shall
accept and review enrollment notices upon receiving them. A notice under
this subsection shall include the following:
The name and age of the child.
The names, addresses, and telephone numbers of
the parents or guardians of the child.
For each child enrolled during the preceding
year, any assessment of progress required under subsection (d) of
this section.
For each child not previously enrolled in a
Vermont public school or Vermont home study program, independent
professional evidence on whether the child is handicapped. A
comprehensive evaluation to establish eligibilities for special
education is not required, but may be ordered by a hearing officer
after a hearing under this section.
For each child being enrolled for the current
year, a detailed outline or narrative which describes the content to
be provided in each subject area of the minimum course of study,
including any special services or adaptations to be made to
accommodate any handicapping condition in accordance with applicable
state and federal law. Methods and materials to be used may be
included but are not required.
The school district in which the home study
program is located.
The names, addresses, telephone numbers, and
signatures of the persons who will provide the instruction.
The signature of all custodial parents or
guardians.
(b) Notice to home study programs. Within 14 business
days of receiving an enrollment notice, the commissioner or designee
shall send the home study program a written acknowledgment of receipt.
The acknowledgment shall include a determination:
(1) either that the enrollment notice is complete and
no further information is needed, or specifically identifying
information required under subsection (a) of this section which is
missing. If information is missing the home study program shall provide
the additional information in writing within 14 days; and
(2) either that the child may be enrolled immediately
or that the child may be enrolled 45 days after the enrollment notice
was received. At any time before the child may be enrolled, the
commissioner may order that a hearing be held. After notice of such a
hearing is received, the child shall not be enrolled until after an
order has been issued by the hearing officer to that effect.
(c) Enrollment reports. Each home study program shall
notify the commissioner within seven days of the day that any student
ceases to be enrolled in the program. Within ten days of receiving any
enrollment report, the commissioner shall notify the appropriate
superintendent of schools.
(d) Progress assessment. Each home study program shall
assess annually the progress of each of its students. Progress shall be
assessed in each area of the minimum course of study by one or more of
the following:
A licensed Vermont teacher.
A teacher from an approved Vermont independent
school.
A teacher advisory service report from a
publisher of a commercial curriculum together with a portfolio of
the student's work.
A report prepared by the parents or the student's
instructor together with a portfolio of the student's work.
The complete results of a standardized
achievement test administered by a qualified person.
The complete results of a standardized
achievement test administered by an approved Vermont school, at the
option of the school or school district.
(e) Hearings before enrollment. If the commissioner
has information that creates a significant doubt about whether a home
study program can or will provide a minimum course of study for a
student who has not yet enrolled, the commissioner may call a hearing.
At the hearing the home study program shall establish that it has
complied with this section and will provide the studentwith a minimum
course of study.
(f) Hearings after enrollment. If the commissioner has
information that reasonably could be expected to justify an order of
termination under this section, he or she may call a hearing. At the
hearing the commissioner shall establish one or more of the following:
(1) the home study program has substantially failed to
comply with the requirements of this section;
(2) the home study program has substantially failed to provide a student
with the minimum course of study;
(3) the home study program will not provide a student with the minimum
course of study.
(g) Notice and procedure. Notice of any hearing shall
include a brief summary of the material facts and shall be sent to each
parent or guardian and each instructor of the student or students
involved known to the commissioner. The hearing shall occur within 30
days of the day that notice is given or sent. If a notice concerns a
child not yet enrolled in a home study program, enrollment shall not
occur until an order has been issued after the hearing. The hearing
shall be conducted by an impartial hearing officer appointed by the
commissioner from a list approved by the state board. At the request of
the child's parent or guardian, the hearing officer shall conduct the
hearing at a location in the vicinity of the home study program.
(h) Order following hearing. After hearing evidence,
the hearing officer shall enter an order within ten working days. If the
child is not enrolled, the order shall provide that the child be
enrolled or that enrollment be disallowed. If the child is enrolled, the
order shall provide that enrollment be continued or that the enrollment
be terminated. An order shall take effect immediately. Unless the
hearing officer provides for a shorter period, an order disallowing or
terminating enrollment shall extend until the end of the following
school year, as defined in this title. If the order is to disallow or
terminate the enrollment, a copy shall be given to the appropriate
superintendent of schools, who shall take appropriate action to ensure
that the child is enrolled in a school as required by this title.
Following a hearing, the commissioner may petition the hearing officer
to reopen the case only if there has been a material change in
circumstances.
(i) As used in this section, "minimum course of study"
is defined as in section 906 of this title. The educational content
provided shall be adapted in each area of study throughout the school
year to the age and ability of each child and adapted to any
handicapping conditions of the child. Nothing in this section requires
that a home study program follow the program or methods used by the
public schools.
(j) After the filing of the enrollment notice or at a
hearing, if the home study program is unable to comply with any specific
requirements due to deep religious conviction shared by an organized
group, the commissioner may waive such requirements if he or she
determines that the educational purposes of this section are being or
will be substantially met.
