New York
Districts Attempt to Impose Testing
In four districts, public school officials have insisted that home schooled children must participate in state tests required for public school students. These Home School Legal Defense Association member families were instructed to have their children report to the public school to take the English LanguageArts and Math Assessment tests. In response, HSLDA informed each district that students in home instruction programs are not required to participate in any state tests.
Section 100.3 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education expressly provides that students receiving instruction at home may take, but shall not be required to take, thePupil Evaluation Program (PEP) tests. Revised Questions and Answers on Home Instruction, published by the New York State Education Department in July 1996, confirms the state’s position that students instructed at home are not required to take the PEP test, Regents Competency Tests (RCTs), or any other state test. Parents may use these tests to meet annual assessment requirements, but home-instructed students are not required to take them.
Home schooling families encountering this problem with testing should contact HSLDA for assistance. — Dewitt T. Black
HOME SCHOOL LEGAL DEFENSE ASSOCIATION
