Highlights
of the Pennsylvania Homeschooling Law:
Required Subjects
Many people, including me, will give opinions on
the PA homeschooling law.
I believe that
everyone should read the law for themselves, read a few opinions about
it,
and decide for themselves what approach makes sense for their family.
I might be wrong! I am not a lawyer! Please double-check legal information with appropriate sources!
Contents may be copied if credit is given.
What the PA Home Education Law says about Required Subjects:
Elementary
school – Grades 1-6
"At the elementary school level,
the following courses shall be taught: English, to include spelling, reading
and writing; arithmetic; science; geography; history of the United States and
Pennsylvania; civics; safety education, including regular and continuous
instruction in the dangers and prevention of fires; health and physiology;
physical education; music; and art."
Secondary
school – Grades 7-12
"At the secondary school level,
the following courses shall be taught: English, to include language,
literature, speech and composition; science; geography; social studies, to
include civics, world history, history of the United States and Pennsylvania;
mathematics, to include general mathematics, algebra and geometry; art;
music; physical education; health; and safety education, including regular
and continuous instruction in the dangers and prevention of fires. Such courses of study may include, at
the discretion of the supervisor of the home education program, economics;
biology; chemistry; foreign languages; trigonometry; or other age-appropriate
courses as contained in Chapter 5 (Curriculum Requirements) of the State
Board of Education."
Do I have to teach Fire Safety every year?
YES. All home ed students are required to have "regular and continuous instruction in the dangers and prevention of fires". Most people interpret the law to mean that this needs to be taught every year, though extensive instruction is not necessary. It’s a good idea to do certain “fire safety” things every year anyway, like change the batteries in your smoke alarms, and review fire procedures with your children. See my fire safety page for more ideas. Since the portfolio must "demonstrate that appropriate education is occuring", and since covering the required subjects is part of the definition of an "appropriate education", your portfolio should in some way demonstrate that you have provided instruction in fire safety. (See suggestions below.)
Do I have to teach the rest of the subjects every year?
The PDE doesn’t think so. (See the letter below.)
Secondary (grades 7-12):
School districts generally do not expect you to cover all the required subjects each year in grades 7-12, as they are used to a “class/credit”-based approach in these years. In public school, high school students typically take a class in World History one year, a class in US History another year, and may take no history at all in a given year if they’ve already earned all of the history credits they need for graduation. That doesn’t mean you have to do “credits”, of course! But it does mean that your district is less likely to expect you to cover all of the required subjects in a given year.
Elementary (grades 1-6):
The elementary years are a bit different. Many people, including the PDE, feel that the law does not require that all elementary-level subjects be taught each year. However, some evaluators and some school district officials do expect the portfolio to demonstrate that you have taught each of the required subjects each year. One example is PA History. In public schools, PA history is usually covered only in fourth grade. Some districts check for PA History when the student is in 4th grade. Some districts check for PA History (and all the other subjects) every year. Yet according to the PDE, home educators can teach PA history in 4th grade, or in another elementary grade, or a little bit each year.
Do I have to have samples of every elementary-level subject in my portfolio?
Some evaluators/districts apparently do look for something from each of the required subjects, to see that you've covered each of the subjects required by law. Some folks generally touch on these subjects at some time during the year anyway, so they mention them. Personally, I find it’s pretty hard to get through the year without doing anything in subjects like PA history. My children might do a field trip to a local historical site, read a book about Ben Franklin, or take a nature center class about the Lenni Lenape. If you want to "fly under the radar", you may wish to put something in your portfolio for each of the required subjects.
However, especially if you take a very structured approach to homeschooling, or if you’re concerned about validating the assumption that all subjects are required each year by complying with it, you may decide not to include all subjects in your portfolio. Be aware that if each subject is not covered in your portfolio, your school district may ask for more. If you anticipate problems with this, you may need to talk to your evaluator about her standards. If you run into a problem with your district, you can probably handle the situation with a call to the PDE. See the PDE letter below and my district problems page.
How can I demonstrate in my portfolio that I’ve done a particular subject?
There are lots of ways to show that you’ve covered a particular subject. Here are a few.
- A brief list or paragraph about work and/or activities in a particular subject. (“PHYS ED: Johnny likes to swim in the summer. He is in a weekly bowling league. This year he tried skiing, and really enjoyed our three ski trips. He also enjoys riding his bike around the neighborhood and taking hikes with the family. He tried ice-skating with his Cub Scout troop this year.” “READING: Sally read the Harry Potter series this year. She dressed as Hermione for Halloween. She saw the movie, and compared it to the book. She has also read several other books that have a boarding school setting.”)
- A sample of work - this can include a worksheet, a writing sample about the subject (“how bats see in the dark” for science , or “our trip to the Liberty Bell” for history/civics), a picture or diagram drawn by the student, a poem or story, etc. Note that writing samples can do double-duty, because they show English, spelling, reading, and writing in addition to whatever subject they are about.
- A book in your log. For example, you could list a book about bats for science, a book about grammar for English (like Ruth Heller’s excellent parts of speech series), a Magic Tree House book for history, and even a book about fire safety, if you can find one in your library.
- A photo of a project, like a Geography Fair display about Japan, or a model of the heart.
- A brochure or photo from a field trip – a map of the zoo, the program from a music concert, a flyer about a library program. Some people like collecting these mementos. We call them “portfolio fodder” in my family. It’s an easy way to remember and to document what you’ve done. Just put each activity’s papers in a sheet protector, put them in your binder, and by the end of the year you’re almost done with your portfolio! However, if you aren’t big on having lots of this stuff around, or if you would prefer not to give the school district these momentos, that’s OK. You can show the same thing by just keeping a list and putting the list in the portfolio. There’s no need to “prove” you did the activity by including the actual brochure about it.
Most people use a combination of these approaches. Just to be clear – you don’t need all of these things! One approach is to write a few highlights of your work in a particular subject, then include just a few of the above items. No need to provide a sample for each and every thing you’ve done all year!
Here is some correspondence between a homeschooler and the PDE about the required subjects:
From: Have a
Nice Day
Sent: Thursday, June 01, 2000 4:53 PM
To:
Subject: Need some confirmation
Hi,
A while ago, I spoke with you on the phone regarding covering the
subjects listed in the law. The law states that:
"At the elementary school level, the following courses shall be
taught:
English, to include spelling, reading, and writing; arithmetic; science;
geography; history of the United States and Pennsylvania; civics; safety
education; including regular and continuous instruction in the dangers and
prevention of fires; health and physiology; physical education; music; and
art."
My understanding is that these subjects need to be covered during the
period of grades 1-6...but they do not have to be covered every day of every
year. In other words, if several weeks have gone by without math instruction,
that its ok as long as it has been covered and sustained progress has been
made in the period from grade 1-6.
It also means that if I want to use "block instruction" that
that is acceptable according to the law. For example...perhaps this year I
want to focus solely on English and History, but not math, and next year I
want to focus solely on Math and Science...but not English. As long as all
the listed subjects have been covered at some point in the grades from 1-6
and there is sustained progress in the overall program, I have complied with
the law.
When I spoke with you, I am sure that you were in agreement with this. Is
that right? I know it might be asking a lot, but with evaluations and
portfolios coming due, I've had a lot of questions
about this, so can you get back to me asap.
Thanks,
Kristen Seitz
From: Pearce,
Sarah
To: 'Have a Nice Day'
Date: Friday, June 09, 2000 8:14 AM
Subject: RE: Need some confirmation
Dear Ms. Seitz,
I am responding to your phone call and e-mail regarding subjects which
are required by law to be taught in a home education program.
The law, 24 P.S. Sec. 13-1327.1(c)(1) as you have correctly quoted, does
not require that every subject must be taught every year, but that all listed
subjects must be taught during the elementary level of schooling. Therefore,
your suggestion that you may, in your homeschool, concentrate on English and
History one year and Math and Science the next, may be acceptable in the eyes
of the law. This may be an unusual program, especially in the elementary
years, but it is acceptable according to the law.
Please feel free to contact me if you have additional questions or
concerns.
Sincerely,
Sarah J. Pearce
Advisor
School Services Unit
Office of Elementary/Secondary Education
Pennsylvania Department of Education
333 Market Street
Harrisburg, PA 17110
Phone: 717-783-9287 (voicemail available)
Fax: 717-783-6802
TTY: 717-783-8445
e-mail: spearce.state.pa.us