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ACROSS THE STATES

Districts attempt to impose extra tests

Home School Legal Defense Association has recently dealt with two Pennsylvania school districts attempting to impose additional standardized achievement tests on homeschool students. A member family in the Wyalusing Area School District received a letter from the superintendent stating that standardized tests would be administered to students in grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 11 during the second half of the school year. The superintendent's letter also stated that standardized test results are "a mandatory requirement to be included in homeschool portfolios."

More recently, in the Canon-McMillan School District, an HSLDA member family received a letter from a school principal stating that their 7th-grade daughter was scheduled for standardized testing at the public school. The letter explained that such testing was based upon the school district's policy to require standardized tests for all students receiving home instruction.

HSLDA Senior Counsel Dewitt Black responded to both of these school districts in a letter stating that home education programs in Pennsylvania are governed exclusively by the provisions of the statutes enacted by the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Thus, local school districts are without authority to establish any policies or procedures that add to or contradict the requirements of state law. Black also pointed out that the statutory provisions for home education programs only require testing in grades 3, 5, and 8. At these grade levels, results of a nationally-normed standardized achievement test in reading/language arts and mathematics or the results of statewide tests must be included in the portfolio maintained by the parent.

HSLDA member families whose school districts attempt to impose requirements in addition to those specified in state law should contact us for assistance.

— by Dewitt T. Black