Homeschooling

Yes. R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-19-1(a) requires that your at-home instruction plan be approved by your local school committee before you begin at-home instruction. If you do not obtain school committee approval before removing your child from the public school setting and starting at-home instruction, then your child may be subject to the consequences of failing to attend school under the compulsory attendance statute (R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-19-1).

You need to present your proposed at-home instruction plan to your local school committee for approval. Your plan will need to show that you will teach the required subjects and that this teaching will be “thorough and efficient.” There should also be agreement between you and your local school committee regarding how your child’s academic progress will be evaluated. This process may be initiated by submitting a letter of intent to homeschool to your superintendent’s office, but you should consult with your local school department for more specific information. 

Yes. In accordance with R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-19-1(a) and § 16-19-2, all at-home instruction programs must be “approved by the school committee of the town where the child resides.” This means that the student must first be registered and enrolled in the new district of residence prior to the approval of a homeschooling program. The new district would then be required to continue monitoring the homeschooled student’s attendance and academic progress. 

Rhode Island does not have a state statute or regulation governing special education access for homeschooled students. However, Rhode Island does require districts to provide homeschooled students with FAPE in a similar manner as parentally-placed private school students. The Commissioner has previously decided that “Rhode Island state education laws do not restrict parents from homeschooling their children simply because they are eligible for or receiving special education services under the [IDEA].”  Kimberly J. v. Coventry School Committee, RIDE No. 0040-00 (Dec. 5, 2000). In approving any at-home instruction program, the local school committee must consider the provision of special education services for any eligible student to ensure the at-home instruction is “thorough and efficient.”  Once an at-home instruction program is approved, it is incumbent upon the IEP team to meet and discuss how the student will access special education services and draft an updated IEP for the new setting. You should contact your local school department’s Special Education Office with any specific questions or for more information.

No. You only have to show that your child will receive instruction that is “thorough and efficient” pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 16-19-2.

Rhode Island law requires that you teach reading, writing, geography, arithmetic, the history of the United States, the history of Rhode Island, the principles of American Government, civics, health and physical education. You may also teach other subjects. All the at-home instruction subjects must be taught in English, but may also be taught in any other language. 

For the required subjects, you may copy the public school’s curriculum or use corresponding courses, or you may design your own curriculum. The Basic Education Program (“BEP”), 200-RICR-20-10-1, may also be helpful to you as these Regulations include a framework for a comprehensive curriculum that is used in the public schools. 

In addition to consulting the BEP, check with your local school department or public library. There are also many online sources that offer information on at-home instruction, some of which are provided at the end of this document.

Any use of an online program in your proposed at-home instruction plan must be determined and approved by your local school committee.

Local school districts must loan certain textbooks, including e-books, in mathematics, science, modern foreign languages, English/language arts and history/social studies, that appear on the State Approved Textbook List published annually by the Commissioner. You are responsible for the purchase of other instructional materials needed for your child’s at-home instruction program. Additional information regarding the textbook loan program may be found on the RIDE website: https://ride.ri.gov/instruction-assessment/instructional-initiatives-resources/textbook-search. 

The period of attendance must be substantially equal to that required in public schools. School districts in Rhode Island are currently required to provide a minimum of one thousand eighty (1,080) school hours during each school year, which is the equivalent of a 5 ½ hour day for at least 180 days per year. The at-home instruction does not have to exactly align with the public school calendar. 

The parent and school committee should agree on a way of evaluating your child’s progress in all the required at-home instruction subjects. This may include testing in the required subjects at regular intervals, but should ultimately be decided during the process of approving your at-home instruction plan.

If your at-home instruction plan includes testing as the method of evaluating your child’s progress in his/her home instruction program, the site of testing is subject to agreement by you and your local school committee. You may agree to conduct the testing at your home or at the public school.

You must keep attendance records. If you and your school committee agree that you will test at home, you must also keep progress reports/test scores. Regular reports must be submitted to your local superintendent, or whoever else may be designated as the point person for your at-home instruction.

The Commissioner has encouraged all school districts to allow participation in academic, extracurricular and inter-scholastic activities on a space available basis, and at no cost to the district or school. However, each school committee has authority to decide whether or not to allow a homeschooled child to participate in public school programs extracurricular activities. Additional requirements must be met by children who wish to participate in Rhode Island Interscholastic League athletic programs.

It depends. In Rhode Island, some districts issue a “certificate of completion of homeschooling program” while others issue a certificate denoting the completion of individual courses for purposes of the parent maintaining the student’s academic record. Your child may take the G.E.D. test to receive a high school equivalency diploma.

Yes. You should check with each college to determine what requirements must be met for admission.

The school committee’s decision may be appealed to the Commissioner. For questions regarding an appeal, please contact the RIDE Legal Office at 401-222-8979 or Legal@ride.ri.gov.