NEW YORK
BOCES Requirements Burden Home Schools
In New York, Section 100.10 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education requires homeschoolers to submit Individual Home Instruction Plans (IHIPs) and quarterly reports to their local school districts for review. Home School Legal Defense Association has learned, however, that the New York State Education Department has authorized area Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) to review home instruction documents for local school districts.
Many homeschoolers are rightfully protective of their children's records and object to their documents being reviewed by BOCES, or anyone other than the superintendent. Further complicating this matter are handbooks developed by at least two of the BOCES offices in Dutchess and Cayuga-Onondaga counties. The handbooks outline procedures for reviewing the home school documents, but some of the provisions add to and/or contradict the home school regulations. BOCES is nevertheless attempting to require homeschoolers to comply.
Since the regulation contains no language authorizing the local superintendent to delegate his review responsibilities to a third party, HSLDA interprets this to mean that no such delegation is permitted. Certainly, BOCES offices do not have the authority to establish any guidelines which add to or contradict the home instruction regulation. HSLDA has contacted the New York State Education Department and requested that the regulation be amended to specifically prohibit any superintendent from delegating his responsibilities to a BOCES.
In the meantime, how are homeschoolers to respond? HSLDA is advising our members to deal only with their local superintendent directly. No information should be submitted to a BOCES. However, unless and until this issue is resolved, BOCES correspondence should be considered as correspondence coming from the local school district. Parents must be careful not to miss any deadlines for submitting the IHIP information or quarterly reports prescribed by the home instruction regulations. However, the information should be sent directly to the local school district.
