Changes in Home School Law
    Four new laws enacted during the 1999 legislative session affect the way home education is conducted in North Dakota.
    Senate Bill 2199, enacted March 29, 1999, expands opportunities for home school students to participate in extracurricular activities. Prior law limited such participation to the public school district in which the student resided, but the new law expands the participation to approved nonpublic schools, provided that the nonpublic school administrator permits it. Home school students participating in extracurricular activities are subject to the same standards for participation required of full-time students in the public or nonpublic school.
    North Dakota also amended its law for home schooling children with autism through House Bill 1064 signed by Governor Edward Schafer on March 11, 1999. Prior law required that the parent of an autistic child submit an instructional plan approved by a licensed psychologist and a state-certified teacher to the local public school superintendent. The new law eliminates the requirement that the instructional plan be approved by a licensed psychologist and state-certified teacher but requires that an individualized education plan developed by the local school district and the parent be filed with the superintendent. In the alternative, a substitute individualized education program may be developed by a team selected and compensated by the child’s parent. Prior law also required that the parent of an autistic child file progress reports prepared by a licensed psychologist, an occupational therapist, a speech pathologist, and a certified teacher by November 1, February 1, and May 1 of each school year. The new law requires that the progress reports be prepared by the individualized education program team selected by the parent. If the team agrees that the child is not benefiting from home education, they are required to notify the local superintendent and request that the child be evaluated by a multidisciplinary team appointed by the superintendent.
    S.B. 2126, enacted March 26, 1999, and S.B. 2143, enacted March 11, 1999, changed the law regarding immunization of students in a home education program. Added to the list of diseases for which immunizations are required are hepatitis B and haemophilus influenza type b (Hib). In the future, parents must file the immunization certification with the public school district in which the child resides, not the superintendent of public instruction as required under prior law. The new law also exempts children from immunization if a child’s parent or guardian has religious, philosophical, or moral beliefs opposed to such immunization.