North Carolina
DNPE Difficulties Resolved
A few months ago, Home School Legal Defense Association discovered that a number of our member families who had fully complied with state law by providing all of the required information to the Division of Non-Public Education (DNPE) had not been entered in the state’s computer database. As a result, anyone seeking to verify the home school’s existence was advised that DNPE had no record of the school. This created a problem for some home schooling families who needed to obtain a certificate of eligibility for a driver’s license for their children. And it presented a potential problem for families whose compliance with state law may have been questioned by local public school officials or social workers.
State law requires that when the home school is established it must provide DNPE with a notice of intent to operate, the name and address of the school, and the name of the school’s owner and chief administrator. State law does not prescribe the use of any particular form in furnishing the information. Although state law requires that the persons providing instruction have a high school diploma or its equivalent, it does not require the school to provide the state with a copy of the diploma or its equivalent. For many years, however, DNPE has taken the position that parents must utilize the state’s form, provide information beyond what the law requires, and provide a copy of the instructor’s high school diploma or its equivalent, e.g. GED certificate.
When HSLDA learned of DNPE’s practice, we began corresponding with Director Rod Helder about a solution for our member families. In May, we successfully reached an agreement to solve this administrative problem: DNPE has agreed to no longer require home schools to provide more information than is expressly stated in the statutes. Additionally, DNPE will no longer insist upon the use of the state’s form for providing the notice of intent. In return, HSLDA agreed to recommend that members voluntarily provide a copy of the instructor’s high school diploma or its equivalent. (Please note: HSLDA continues to believe that North Carolina law does not require home schools to submit this documentation. But we recommend that our member families do so in order that their home school may be entered in DNPE’s database.)
In the future, HSLDA member families providing the statutory information without use of the state’s form should indicate to DNPE that they are members of HSLDA. This will enable DNPE to enter the information in its database without further inquiries. — Dewitt T. Black
