A BAD BILL When
A BAD BILL When the legislature’s in session, keep your eyes open- you never know when a state will challenge Pennsylvania for the dubious distinction of having the worst homeschooling laws. Stepping up to the plate today is Wyoming Senate File Number 110 [pdf file]. This proposal is so bad (how bad is it?), that the best thing I can say about it is that major portions would be thrown out as a violation of the NCLB Act. Here’s the offending section:
It shall be the responsibility of every person administering a home-based educational program to submit a curriculum to the local board of trustees each year showing that the program complies with the requirements of this subsection, specifying the name and grade level for each child receiving home-based instruction, program content areas and the student performance standards for each content area included within the curriculum. In addition to the curriculum, the person administering the program shall file with the local board a portfolio for each child receiving home-based instruction, providing evidence of academic achievement at the end of the first semester of each academic school year.
(c) In addition to subsection (b) of this section, if a child is withdrawn from public school and placed in a home-based educational program, the parent or guardian of the child shall within ten (10) days after the child is withdrawn, notify the appropriate local board in writing of the withdrawal and grade level of the child. Notice shall include the home-based educational program curriculum, program content areas and sequence plan for implementation, as specified under subsection (b) of this section.
(d) Each child receiving home-based educational program instruction shall be assessed under the statewide assessment system in the subject areas and at the grade levels specified under W.S. 21-2-304(a)(v).