EDITED on 5/16/2022 to add additional information

Today I wanted to make a quick (we’ll see about that!) post about complying with the Pennsylvania Home Education Law in way of the portfolio and the evaluation. I hope this helps answer questions that many, many, parents have. I have seen these questions asked numerous times and I have seen well-meaning parents give inaccurate information, sometimes even illegal information. As I say often in my posts, if you want to homeschool in the state of Pennsylvania (or in your home state) the very first thing you need to do is read the law and than, read it again. The law tells you exactly the process and what is expected by you and by your evaluator and by your school district. Nothing needs to be added and should not be and nothing for sure should be subtracted because that is breaking the law. When you add or take away from what the law says, you are only hurting the homeschool community. When governing authorities see the law not being followed they will adjust accordingly and most likely it will not be in favor of homeschool families. So your first act, go here and read the law and make yourself a copy. Review the law often. Don’t take just the word of me, or other parents, no matter how long they have been homeschooling. Always, always, check what the law says and compare that to what you’re being told. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not up to your evaluator or your school district what you should or should not include. If you are part of a diploma program they will un-doubtably ask for more than the law requires, but that is your choice to follow their additional rules. I’m not going to mention any of those programs because I don’t use them and see no need for them for my family.

As for the portfolio, yes you need one. No you can not skip it. I’m not going to discuss filing as a private tutor because I know nothing of it other than it’s an option for parents who are certified teachers. When do you need a portfolio? If you filed an affidavit (required annually from age 6 to graduation year [which they say 18, however my daughter will be 17 when she finishes 12th grade]) you need a portfolio and an evaluation by someone qualified according to the law requirements. If you don’t create a portfolio, you broke the law. What’s required to be in the portfolio? Note what the law says below, you need a log of materials used listed by title, samples of work your child did, and test results from standardized tests that are required by law in 3rd, 5th, and 8th grades (only). And no you can not opt out of this testing. If someone tells you that you can, they are telling you to break the law. Yes, that’s really all. What samples of work you put in is really up to you. I involve my children in picking. See the text below:

“(e)  In order to demonstrate that appropriate education is occurring, the supervisor of the home education program shall provide and maintain on file the following documentation for each student enrolled in the home education program:

(1)  A portfolio of records and materials. The portfolio shall consist of a log, made contemporaneously with the instruction, which designates by title the reading materials used, samples of any writings, worksheets, workbooks or creative materials used or developed by the student and in grades three, five and eight results of nationally normed standardized achievement tests in reading/language arts and mathematics or the results of Statewide tests administered in these grade levels. The department shall establish a list, with a minimum of five tests, of nationally normed standardized tests from which the supervisor of the home education program shall select a test to be administered if the supervisor does not choose the Statewide tests. At the discretion of the supervisor, the portfolio may include the results of nationally normed standardized achievement tests for other subject areas or grade levels. The supervisor shall ensure that the nationally normed standardized tests or the Statewide tests shall not be administered by the child’s parent or guardian.”

It is really that simple. What kinds of samples? Again, you pick. How many? You can put as much as you want, there is nothing that designates how many you should show but you want to show enough that the evaluator can certify that appropriate education is occurring. Most parents I’ve communicated with typically choose between 3-5 samples per subject. Yep, that is all you need. I know from first hand knowledge that most evaluators don’t want stacks and stacks of materials to look over because it’s extremely time consuming and un-needed. There is no way you can encompass your school year into the portfolio. Don’t try. Add materials from beginning, middle and end to show progress.

“But what about attendance records? I was told I need those?” You were told wrong. The law clearly does not require those in your portfolio. “But how will my evaluator know I completed the amount of time?” Because you signed a sworn affidavit saying you would. I see no place in the law that the evaluator needs to see proof or evidence that you completed 180 days. If they want to ask you how many days you completed, great, verbally tell them if you wish. Keeping an attendance record to show proof is really no proof at all. That can be manipulated and comes down to trust anyway and the fact is that your affidavit is a legally binding document. If you want to check off days or keep a record, that’s fine to do for your own record keeping but you do not need to put that into your portfolio. It does not matter what your evaluator says. If your evaluator does not want to follow the law, find a new one. “But that is just a minor issue, it’s no big deal.” That’s untrue as well. Even “minor issues” of over-compliance can result in more regulation later. Let’s not do that.

(Added 5/16/2022) I wanted to point out that I hear from some that this text from the law, “”Appropriate education” shall mean a program consisting of instruction in the required subjects for the time required in this act and in which the student demonstrates sustained progress in the overall program.” , means that you need to provide attendance records in your portfolio. Is that really what it says? No it is not. It means the evaluator signs a statement that you complied with the law and the student is making progress. So, you might ask, how do they know you complied? A verbal answer will suffice. Nowhere in the law does it say you must provide documentation proving you complied. If you did not comply with the affidavit you signed in front of a notary, than you broke the law. Period.

Now that we cleared up the portfolio, let’s briefly explain an evaluation. The law is very clear on this too. Let’s go to the text first,

“(2)  An annual written evaluation of the student’s educational progress as determined by a licensed clinical or school psychologist or a teacher certified by the Commonwealth or by a nonpublic school teacher or administrator. Any such nonpublic teacher or administrator shall have at least two years of teaching experience in a Pennsylvania public or nonpublic school within the last ten years. Such nonpublic teacher or administrator shall have the required experience at the elementary level to evaluate elementary students or at the secondary level to evaluate secondary students. The certified teacher shall have experience at the elementary level to evaluate elementary students or at the secondary level to evaluate secondary students. The evaluation shall also be based on an interview of the child and a review of the portfolio required in clause (1) and shall certify whether or not an appropriate education is occurring. At the request of the supervisor, persons with other qualifications may conduct the evaluation with the prior consent of the district of residence superintendent. In no event shall the evaluator be the supervisor or their spouse.”

“(h.1)  An evaluator’s certification stating that an appropriate education is occurring for the school year under review shall be provided by the supervisor to the superintendent of the public school district of residence by June 30 of each year. If the supervisor fails to submit the certification due on June 30 to the superintendent, the superintendent shall send a letter by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the supervisor of the home education program, stating that the certification is past due and notifying the supervisor to submit the certification within ten (10) days of receipt of the certified letter. If the certification is not submitted within that time, the board of school directors shall provide for a proper hearing in accordance with subsection (k).” (see above note about “appropriate education”)

There you have it. It’s that simple. An evaluator is to review your portfolio which we laid out above, and interview your child. They then create a document with a statement that says “appropriate education is occurring”, sign it, hand it to you and you mail it to your school district superintendent by June 30th. If you want to know what happens if they won’t certify that, read the law. Frankly, I am not aware of this happening and if an evaluator won’t certify for you, you can find another evaluator and see if the issue was the former was asking for too much.

So who can be an evaluator? Again, the law is very clear,

“i)  A teacher or administrator who evaluates a portfolio at the elementary level (grades kindergarten through six) shall have at least two years of experience in grading any of the following subjects: English, to include spelling, reading and writing; arithmetic; science; geography; history of the United States and Pennsylvania; and civics.

(ii)  A teacher or administrator who evaluates a portfolio at the secondary level (grades seven through twelve) shall have at least two years of experience in grading any of the following subjects: English, to include language, literature, speech, reading and composition; science, to include biology, chemistry and physics; geography; social studies, to include economics, civics, world history, history of the United States and Pennsylvania; foreign language; and mathematics, to include general mathematics, algebra, trigonometry, calculus and geometry.

(iii)  As used in this clause, the term “grading” shall mean evaluation of classwork, homework, quizzes, classwork-based tests and prepared tests related to classwork subject matter.

2)  An annual written evaluation of the student’s educational progress as determined by a licensed clinical or school psychologist or a teacher certified by the Commonwealth or by a nonpublic school teacher or administrator. Any such nonpublic teacher or administrator shall have at least two years of teaching experience in a Pennsylvania public or nonpublic school within the last ten years. Such nonpublic teacher or administrator shall have the required experience at the elementary level to evaluate elementary students or at the secondary level to evaluate secondary students. The certified teacher shall have experience at the elementary level to evaluate elementary students or at the secondary level to evaluate secondary students. The evaluation shall also be based on an interview of the child and a review of the portfolio required in clause (1) and shall certify whether or not an appropriate education is occurring. At the request of the supervisor, persons with other qualifications may conduct the evaluation with the prior consent of the district of residence superintendent. In no event shall the evaluator be the supervisor or their spouse.”

I want to add, nowhere in the law does it require a teacher to provide a teacher ID or certification number on your evaluation. Not all approved evaluators will even have such a number. I ran into this issue the first year of homeschool. My evaluator is a PA certified teacher within the public school system. She signed the statement and we did not add her certification number as it is not required. The school continued to request it, by phone. I am a member of HSLDA so I contacted them to clear that up. I was met with incorrect guidance from them. Since it was clear they were not going to follow the law nor have my back for following only what the law said, I ended up providing the number but I should not have. It’s not because it was a big deal, it’s because it’s simply not required. It is not up to the school district to approve my evaluator. No where in the law does it give them that ability. It is up to you, the parent, to determine if your evaluator meets the requirements. Don’t over-comply. I should have just ignored their request. Any request by the school district needs to be done by writing and sent certified mail, otherwise you are not obligated to respond. That too is in the law. Please read it. Linking it here, again, for you.

One last note – the materials log. Parents have so many questions and I in the beginning also went crazy with tracking the materials thinking it needed to be a daily log. It does not. The law says, “a log, made contemporaneously with the instruction, which designates by title the reading materials used“. Contemporaneously means, “during the same time period”. Therefore the consensus is a list of materials you used. Not daily, just for the school year. Add to the list when you use additional materials. It also does not need to be broken down into subject categories. Keep it simple and don’t drive yourself crazy. PA is highly regulated but it’s not hard to follow the rules once you read exactly what the law says.

This post is for information purposes only and not meant to be legal advice.