Homeschooling a high-schooler is a big commitment with some big results! To help you through this stage of homeschooling, we’re here to make the paperwork aspect a bit easier for you. Below are some tips and templates to help you as you report for your child in grades 9-12.
Please note that Rochester Mom Collective wants to make homeschooling easier for you, however the following is not legal information or advice. You should always make sure to read and know the official NYS Regulations to ensure you are fulfilling all of the requirements. If you have questions, the New York State Homeschooling Q & A Facebook group is a valuable resource.
Things to Know
- Homeschoolers in New York are required to report (send paperwork to their local school district) for each child that turns 6 before December 1st of that school year and is younger than age 16. It is beneficial for many homeschoolers to continue reporting through graduation.
- You are not required to report for your child’s kindergarten year, if they do not turn 6 before December 1st, however, you may choose to report, if you wish.
- Paperwork should be sent to your local school district’s superintendent. They may also ask you to send it to another person who keeps track of the homeschooling paperwork.
- Make sure to keep copies of all of your paperwork.
- Make sure to keep proof of everything you submit. Sending paperwork through registered mail or email allows you to have a paper trail to track in case something goes “missing”.
- The homeschooling year in New York is from July 1st to June 30th.
- Homeschooled students are required to receive the equivalent of 180 days of instruction each school year. Students in grades 9-12 are required to receive 990 hours of instruction each year.
- A parent should have a printed calendar or planner available to record absences/missed school days. This does not have to be turned into the school district unless they specifically ask for it.
- The files below are fillable PDFs. You can save them to your computer as a template. After you fill them out, you can “print” them as a PDF so you can send a PDF version that cannot be altered.
Important Information to Consider when Homeschooling your High-Schooler
New York State requires homeschoolers to report for their child through June 30th of the year they turn 16. Some choose to stop submitting paperwork at that point and finish up with a GED. It is a good idea for many to continue reporting through graduation as it allows a student to receive a Letter of Substantial Equivalency. This is a letter from the district’s Superintendent expressing that your child has satisfactorily completed all of the courses and assessments required by New York State to graduate. While this is not the same as a diploma (which you award to your own child), it is valuable to have if your child wishes to continue on to post-secondary education.
Also of note is that once a family commits to homeschooling in high-school, it is difficult for a student to re-enter the school system. In the public schools, regents classes and exams typically begin in the 9th grade. Any regents courses and exams missed by homeschoolers wishing to re-enter the public school system must be taken in order to receive a Regents Diploma upon graduation. (An alternative of a local diploma is no longer offered to most students in New York State.) It is rare for a public school to accept a homeschool course as the equivalent to a regents course. So, if a student does decide to enter the public school system after homeschooling during the high school years, they will likely be required to repeat coursework and examinations, possibly adding on years in order to graduate.
The Basics of the Paperwork for Grades 9-12
- Letter of Intent (LOI)
- Individual Home Instruction Plan (IHIP)
- Quarterly Reports (4 throughout the year)
- Written Narrative/Annual Assessment
- Request for a Letter of Substantial Equivalency (only for graduating students)
- Transcript (only for graduating students)
- Diploma (only for graduating students)
Letter of Intent (LOI)
A Letter of Intent is a brief letter to inform your school district that you are going to homeschool. It is the first piece of paperwork that you send in when you begin, and again at the beginning of each school year. It must be sent to the school district by July 1st, or within two weeks of pulling your child out of a formal school setting.
Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP)
An IHIP is your plan for what you will use to teach the required subjects. It can be submitted with your LOI, or within 10 days of submitting your LOI. Your school district should send you a form that you can use to create your IHIP, but you are not required use it. The school district must reply to let you know if your IHIP fulfills the NYS requirements. If it does not, you may resubmit it. New York State tells homeschoolers what subjects they must cover, but homeschoolers may choose how to teach them.
NYS requires the following subjects to be taught over the course of grades 9-12:
- English (4 units)
- social studies (4 units) must include:
- American history (1 unit)
- participation in government (.5 units)
- economics (.5 units)
- mathematics (2 units)
- science (2 units)
- art and/or music (1 unit)
- health education (.5 units)
- physical education (2 units)
- electives (3 units)
*Note: 1 unit is the same as 6,480 minutes (108 hours) of instruction per school year.
NYS requires the following topics to be taught during Kindergarten through 12th grade:
- patriotism and citizenship
- health education regarding alcohol, drug, and tobacco misuse
- highway safety and traffic regulations, including bicycle safety
- fire and arson prevention and safety
Quarterly Reports
You must submit your quarterly reports 4 times throughout the school year. You may choose your own dates, as long as you space them out reasonably. They are generally submitted in the fall, winter, spring, and at the end of the school year (by June 30th). These inform the school district that you are meeting the requirements and completing the work outlined on your IHIP. If something changes in your educational approach, you may inform them on your report. You may also inform the school of the type of Annual Assessment you plan to do, and who will proctor it, by your third Quarterly Report (for grades 4+).
Annual Assessment
Annual Assessments are required for grades 4 and up. This is a standardized test to show that your child is making adequate academic progress. You may choose which test to give to your child from the approved list. You are responsible for purchasing the test and making sure it is properly administered (by yourself or a school professional). You need to inform the school of the type of Annual Assessment you plan to do, and who will proctor it, by your third Quarterly Report (for grades 4+). At the end of the school year, you must submit the results of your child’s Annual Assessment. A test is only required every other year, and can be substituted with a Written Narrative on off-years.
- You may choose to give the test at the end of grades 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 and submit a Written Narrative at the end of grades 5, 7, 9, and 11.
- This schedule has 5 years of testing.
- You may give the test at the end of grades 5, 7, 9, and 11 and submit a Written Narrative at the end of grades 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12.
- This schedule has 4 years of testing.
New York State approved assessments include:
- California Achievement Test
- Iowa Test of Basic Skills
- Stanford Achievement Test
- Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills
- Metropolitan Achievement Test
- New York State Education Department test (contact your school district for details)
- or another test approved by the State Education Department (contact your school district for details)
Written Narrative
A Written Narrative is required with the fourth Quarterly Report, on the alternating years as an alternative assessment to standardized testing. This states that the child adequately completed all of the required work, and is advancing to the next grade. The Written Narrative is usually done by the parents, however, you may also specify that a New York State certified teacher, a home instruction peer group review panel, or other person, may interview the child and review a portfolio of the child’s work and write a Written Narrative, if you prefer.
Request for a Letter of Substantial Equivalency
A Letter of Substantial Equivalency is a letter written by your district’s superintendent stating that your child has completed all of the work required by New York State to graduate. While this letter is not a diploma, it is a good source to have if your child plans to go on to any post-secondary education. In order to get this letter, you will need to make sure that you have fulfilled all of the requirements of New York State for homeschoolers and have appropriately reported all of it to your school district. Upon completion, you can send a request to your superintendent asking them to write a Letter of Substantial Equivalency for your child. Despite having submitted all of your required paperwork throughout the years, a superintendent may also request that you submit an official transcript in order to write the letter for you.
Transcript
As a homeschooler, it is your responsibility to create a transcript for your child, if they wish to pursue post-secondary education. There are many resources to create a transcript online, or you can use our template. To help you with this process, you will want to make sure to keep track of the important information throughout your child’s high school career for a complete picture of all of their hard work (we’ve provided tracking sheets below!) When it is time, you will be able to create a transcript that demonstrates that your child meets the requirements for graduation, honors the extra work they’ve done, and shows colleges their breadth and depth of learning.
Download our fillable templates for keeping track of your child’s information until you’re ready to create a transcript!
Save our template for creating a transcript!
Here, you’ll find a Google Sheets template that you can use to create a transcript. To download it, make sure you have a Google account and follow the directions provided below.
- Click the link for the template.
- Click on “File”
- Choose “Make a Copy”. This will save a copy to your Google Drive.
- Click on “File”
- Choose “Rename” and name the document what you’d like.
- Click on “File”
- Choose “Move” and choose on your Google Drive where you’d like to keep the Transcript file.
Once you’ve downloaded and saved the transcript template, you can customize it by replacing the instructions written in ALL CAPS with your own information.
- There are 12 spaces for courses per school year. If that is too many, you can simply erase the text. If you need more spaces, you can insert a row below the last space created.
- You can put in the grade your child received for the class (numerical or letter, whichever you prefer).
- The GPA (Grade Point Average) they earned for that class is a number between 0.0 and 4.0. At the bottom of the sheet, you can find the GPA they earned on the Grade Conversion Chart.
- Lastly, you can put in how many credits your child earned in for that class. A full year course is worth 1 credit, and half year course is worth .5 credits. New York State Regulations refer to credits as “units” and considers 1 unit the same as 6,480 minutes (108 hours) of instruction per school year.
- Quality Points are the result of dividing the GPA for a course by the number of credits earned. These will be automatically calculated to make your job easier.
- In the Notes section, you may make note of any courses that were completed using special programs of note of college course work.
- Make sure to sign and date the transcript. Some people prefer to have it notarized as well to make it extra official, but this is not generally necessary.
- All of the calculations and averages are automatically done for you on this transcript.
Diploma
A diploma is not provided for homeschooled students in New York State. If a parent desires that their child receives a diploma, they may create one themselves. However, colleges more heavily consider a completed transcript and Letter of Substantial Equivalency than a physical diploma from homeschoolers. If you would like a paper diploma to present to your child upon graduation, you can order one online or create your own.
Homeschooling your high-schooler is a great option for many families. There can be a bit more work than the reporting required for younger children, but the pay-off is worth it! Rochester has an active and informed community to support and guide you through the process. Joining a co-op or other group offers many benefits including socialization, academic support, and advice. Check out our Guide to Homeschool Co-ops and Groups in Rochester to get plugged in to the community!
