Special Situations in Homeschooling Your Child (continued)

CDE ANSWER: There is no law requiring that "credits" granted by a parent who has been teaching his or her own child be accepted by public or private schools. Both private schools and public schools establish their own policies regarding the evaluation and placement of new enrollees. Both have discretion to make this determination on the basis of assessments such as "end-of-course" tests or other methods they deem suitable.

QUESTION: I am transferring my child from a private school to a public school. The public school will not give my child credit for all his or her courses. Is the public school permitted to refuse credits issued by the private schools?

CDE ANSWER: California law does not require public schools to accept credits from private schools. Public school districts have the responsibility to evaluate the appropriate placement for a student. The district may make this determination on the basis of assessments, such as "end-of-course" tests or other methods they deem suitable.

HSC's legal staff can find nothing in the Education Code that contradicts the CDE's position.

If you have advocated for a different placement for your child and your child has NOT been tested, ask if there is some way to use objective criteria for placing your child, such as a formal assessment or evaluation by a district teacher, informal taking of a STAR test, or whatever they might accept. Even if the school won't accept your private homeschool credits, perhaps your child's performance on an assessment test or impression upon an evaluating teacher will allow placement in an appropriate level. Of course, if your child has used courses from a third party provider that provides certificates of completion or even grades, you can give these to the school as proof that your child has mastered the subject and need not take it again.

This situation has very practical implications for families who currently educate their children outside the public system. We have heard of very few problems for families that are moving their children into public elementary or early middle school grades at their regular age level. Where the problems start occurring is at the high school level. High schools believe that, when they grant a diploma, they are certifying that the student has completed certain work indicated on the transcript; since admission to the UC and CSU system hinges so much on having certain accredited courses completed, we can understand the source of this concern. We think they are reluctant to give credit to work done outside the public or larger private system because they aren't willing to certify that the work was done if they know nothing about the courses.

If you think that your child might want to go to public high school, or if you foresee yourself wanting them or needing them to get a public high school diploma, you would be well advised to have your child enter the public system before high school starts, and preferably no later than the beginning of eighth grade, so that they can complete courses that would satisfy prerequisites for high school classes. We have heard, anecdotally, that a number of public high schools are "sick of homeschoolers coming to us when their kids are starting senior year and asking us to admit them as seniors and issue them diplomas as a blessing, validation, or last ditch attempt to correct the work they did outside the system."

The Legality of Private-School Homeschooling in California, by Stephen Greenberg

Appellate attorney Stephen Greenberg has substantially revised his 1993 essay on the legality of R-4 homeschooling. The 2000 version covers all the bases—from an introduction to our system of law, through in-depth analysis supported by legal citations, to point-by-point arguments against the anti-homeschoolers' positions.

Download this essay. A paper copy can be obtained by contacting HSC at (888) HSC 4440.

The Legality of Homeschooling Using the Private-School Option, by Linda Conrad Jansen

If you find that you need to provide a more thorough written explanation of the legality of operating your own private school, you may download a legal brief prepared by HSC's former legal chair, Linda Conrad Jansen. If you do provide this to anyone, please give it to them in its complete form or contact HSC Legal if you need assistance.