| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 8/8/2006 4:52:35 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Maryland--Meetings not Required for Portfolio Review |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== August 8, 2006 Maryland--Meetings not Required for Portfolio Review Dear HSLDA Members, Some Baltimore homeschool families have received a letter from an Executive Assistant in Elementary Area 4 of Baltimore City Public Schools asking them to come in for a face-to-face portfolio review and suggesting that they fill out a two-page form before their review. Regulation 13A.10.01.01.F ("regulation F") prohibits every local school system from imposing any requirements in addition to what is imposed under state regulations. State regulations do not require a face-to-face meeting for a portfolio review. Any school system that insists on a face-to-face portfolio review is in violation of regulation F. While you may attend a face-to-face meeting if you wish, it is not mandatory. A sheet attached to the Executive Assistant's letter says, "Students are welcomed to accompany the parents/guardians to the review meeting." There is no legitimate need for children to attend a portfolio review, and we strongly advise against it. The letter clearly explains that the two-page form is optional. Although you may fill out the form if you wish, we recommend against it. Many items on the form call for information that is not required under law. Bear in mind that a portfolio is simple. It is merely a collection of materials that shows your child has received regular, thorough instruction in the required subjects of English, math, science, social studies, art, music, health, and physical education. Some of these subject areas naturally produce papers you could include in a portfolio; others do not. For example, when a student is working on music or art or physical education, he may not use a workbook or text, and may have no paperwork to show for his efforts. In this case, a simple outline of what the child did should suffice. Souvenirs can be useful additions. For example, if a student's art program has consisted exclusively of going to art museums, you may have a brochure from the museum you can include. If the child's music program is primarily singing in church, you may be able to include a church bulletin that lists the hymns, or even a photocopy of one or two of the hymns. Most forms of physical education will not produce any paperwork whatsoever. In that case, a brief description of the physical education program you provided for your children should suffice. Some of the information the form seeks, but which is not required under state regulations, is hours per day in each area, information about foreign language instruction, information about literature ("English" is required as a subject, but not "literature"), and a description of field trips or special projects. The information sheet attached to the form says a portfolio must include a lesson plan or schedule. This is not correct. The regulations do not include lesson plans and schedules as examples of materials for inclusion in a portfolio. The information sheet asks you to use a tabbed notebook or pocket portfolio. This is optional. It asks you to use a composition or spiral notebook for each subject. This is optional. The sheet says that work samples should coincide with the lesson plan and schedule. This is unnecessary since lesson plans and schedules are not required to be included in the portfolio. Regulation 13A.10.10.10.E(1) says that the portfolio review must be at a time and place mutually agreeable to the school system and parent. If the school system simply notified you of a time and date for a portfolio review without consulting with you in advance, you should feel free to reschedule if the appointment they set up is problematic for you. The sheet calls for "sample assessment tools" that document mastery of instruction. If you gave your child assessments in a particular subject, it would be appropriate to include those in the portfolio. You are not required to do any assessing at all, however, so you may have no assessments to include in the portfolio. In that case, work samples or other written materials should suffice. Furthermore, the regulations do not require your child to have "mastery" of any subject. The purpose of regulation F is to protect families from overzealous school officials who want to impose requirements beyond those specified in the regulations. HSLDA is ready to assist you if any official goes out of bounds Sincerely yours, Scott E. Woodruff, Esq. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Is customer service an art or a science? For us, good customer service is both an art and a science -it should appeal to our members and be effective. 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