State Laws & City Ordinance
State
Laws per
Home School Legal Defense Association
Compulsory Attendance Ages: “from the
child’s 7th birthday until his 18th birthday.”
Required Days of Instruction: 180
days
Required Subjects: A “curriculum of a
quality at least equal to that offered by public schools at the same
grade level.”
Home Schoolers have two options. Below is a summary, for more
detail refer to HSLDA . Also refer to the
FAQ page.
Option 1: Home Study
Option 2: Private School
City of Lake Charles Ordinance
Tax Deduction
Parental Rights info
Work Permits for Minors
Option 1: Home Study
- Go to the Louisiana Department of Education's web site. From the "most requested info" menu, choose "Home Study" and then click on the "Guidelines" link in the center of the page. When the booklet opens, scroll to the 3rd to last page. This is the application to print and fill out. If you do not have internet access, you may call the Department of Education toll free at (877) 453-2721 and request that a Home Study Application be sent to you.
- Home Study Program applications must be sent within 15 days of the start of your school year or within 12 months of your last application.
- First time homeschoolers must send a copy of each child’s birth certificate with the application.
- Renewing homeschoolers send a copy of the child's scores on a nationally standardized test OR a certified teacher’s evaluation stating the child “is being taught in accordance with a sustained curriculum of quality at least equal to public schools” or “at least equal to that offered by public schools to a child of similar disabilities” OR scores from a state standardized test (LEAP or iLEAP) OR a portfolio that includes such things as samples of the child's work, list of materials used and other documents may be submitted, but will usually be rejected as insufficient.
- Be sure to check off the box at the bottom of the form if you don't want your private information published.
- Make 2 copies of the application and send the original and 1
copy by certified mail, return receipt requested. Place the other
copy in a file and attach the return receipt when it arrives.
TOPS Information
Students must be in approved home study program before the start of their 11th grade year and all of their 12th grade year. Current ACT for home study graduates is 22. (24 for Performance, 28 for Honors) (as of 3/10/2009) Qualifying ACT score must be earned prior to high school graduation date. Must apply by FAFSA by all appropriate deadlines.
You can find more information on these flyers from this web page:
http://www.osfa.state.la.us/TOPSbrochures.htm
FYI Some Changes to Home Study
Option!
Dear friends:
As most of us are beginning a new school year, parents submitting home study applications should be aware of the following:
NEW VACCINE REPORTING REQUIREMENT
1. Home study applications for 11 year old students must now include proof of vaccination against meningococcal disease (meningitis). Students will be exempt from the requirement if their parents send in a signed statement that the student shall not be immunized for religious or personal reasons, or if they submit a doctor's statement that the immunization is contraindicated for medical reasons, or if there is a shortage of available vaccinations. The reporting requirement only applies to 11 year old students and does not include students in homeschools operating as private schools.
This is the first time any health information has been required to be submitted with home study applications. CHEF of LA sees this as an increase in regulation of home schools and an encroachment upon parental rights and students' privacy rights. We have already begun taking the necessary steps to have home study students removed from this reporting requirement during the next regular legislative session.
NO CHANGE IN ACCEPTABLE TESTS
2. Although the Louisiana Department of Education (LDE) posted a new schedule on their web site this week specifying which standardized tests they will accept at each grade level, LDE officials have reassured us that their policies concerning standardized tests for home study students have not changed, and that the incorrect schedule was posted in error. Please continue to send in scores from any standardized tests that have been accepted in the past. If your application is rejected, please contact Beryl Amedee, CHEF of LA's legislative liaison, at legislative@chefofla.org immediately.
CHEF of LA will continue to communicate with LDE officials and monitor their web page until the testing schedule is corrected.
LAGNIAPPE
3. Reminder: federal privacy laws don't automatically protect the information on your home study application. Please remember to check off the little box at the bottom of your home study application to limit what LDE can do with the information you submit.
Send a letter with your school’s letter head to:
Attn: Dr. Jackie Bobbett, Section Supervisor
Ancillary Resources Section
Louisiana Department of Education
P.O. Box 94064-9064
Baton Rouge LA 70804
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If you are homeschooling under the Private School Option, the State of Louisiana requires that a notification of enrollment letter to be sent in no later than 30 days after the start of your school year.
-
Make two (2) copies of your letter and send one via certified mail, return receipt requested. Keep the other in a file and attach the return receipt when it arrives.
-
Letter head should consist of school name and address. The telephone number is not required.
-
Private school letter must be sent each year you homeschool.
Here is a sample letter. -
If you withdraw your children from public school during the school year, you would word the letter a little differently. Use this sample mid-year letter.
City of Lake Charles Ordinance
On October 18, 2000, the Lake Charles City Council amended Section 13-5.2 of Code of Ordinances, which prohibits children between the ages of six and sixteen from being in any public place in the City of Lake Charles except in attendance at school between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. during any official school day. The ordinance provides an exception for children who are enrolled in a home school program approved by the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. However,
1. home schooled children must
maintain on their person a written, signed, and dated permission from
their parent or legal guardian allowing them to be in any public place
without the presence of their parent or legal guardian.
2. Also, the children must maintain on their
person a copy of the approval form verifying that they are enrolled in
an approved home study program.
If you should have any questions at all regarding the ordinance, please do not hesitate to contact:
Julie K. McCall, Assistant City Attorney
City of Lake Charles
326 Puju Street
P. O. Box 900
Lake Charles LA 70602-0900
Phone 337-491-1523; Fax 337-491-1488
Tax Deduction for H-schooling Expenses
The state of Louisiana is allowing a deduction on our Louisiana Income Tax Returns for some of our home schooling expenses. Please read all the details on their website .
Revised Statute 47:297.11—income tax deduction for certain educational expenses for home-schooled children
This statute allows an income tax deduction for educational expenses paid during the tax year by a taxpayer for home-schooling children. The deduction is for 50 percent of the actual qualified educational expenses paid for the home-schooling per dependent, limited to $5,000. Qualified educational expenses include amounts paid for the purchase of textbooks and curricula necessary for home-schooling. The total amount of the deduction may not exceed the taxpayer’s total taxable income.
Parental Rights
Those who want to change family policy in America to comply with
international law are preparing a full-scale effort to seek ratification
of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child during this next
Congress. Barbara Boxer recently told a planning group that they
intend to use children’s health care as leverage to seek ratification of
this UN children’s rights treaty.
Please
click here to read more about
the defining issue of our generation.