The Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators

Necessary and Optional Reporting Forms

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The short article, "The Power of Precedent", was written by a homeschooling mother and former NICHE board member. We highly recommend that you read it. It will help you to clearly understand your responsibility to other home educating families when you submit information to your local district. Just click on the article to view it.

This page will give you information about the form and some helps in completing it. Please be very cognizant of the way you present information to the state. Be sure that your write clearly or type. The forms you submit to the state are the first view they may have of home education. It is in the best interest of all that we give a good impression. It is also a good idea to retain a copy of all correspondence with the school district and the state for your records.

Listed alphabetically, the forms you will find here are:

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Download a copy of CPI - Form A or obtain in from your local school district. A quick look at Form A reveals that some of the requested information is REQUIRED, and some of it is OPTIONAL. You must complete the REQUIRED information provided it is REQUIRED by law.  You do not have to submit information that is not required by law even if the form indicates that it is required. The required information includes child & family information, and instructional program information.

The one aspect of this form which is the most ill-defined is the request for an "outline of the course of study " including "lesson plans".  The way you respond to the request for lesson plans has the potential to set a precedent. Some home educators put an asterisk (*) next to this request and write "we plan to complete each book by the end of the school year." Nothing further is needed or can be required by the district superintendent unless you are under a HSAP or dual enrolled.

Many home educators across the state use the NICHE lesson plans forms. These forms have been accepted in every school district in which they were filed.

The OPTIONAL information  should NOT be completed unless your child desires dual enrollment, portfolio assessment, or standardized testing.

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PLAN OF INSTRUCTION FORMS - Lined and Unlined

There are two different styles of "Plan of Instruction" forms designed by the Home School Legal Defense Association and NICHE. Plan of Instruction forms Lined and Unlined may be used to comply with the request for lesson plans on the Competent Private Instruction Form (Form A). Form A tells you to attach lesson plans for the year.

The "Plan of Instruction" forms have been used and submitted by home educators all across Iowa, and have been accepted by school districts statewide.

You may choose which of the two forms works best with the curriculum you are using. If you use separate materials for each subject area, you will probably choose the form with separate subject listings (Lined). If you utilize a unit study approach, the "blank" form (Unlined) without subject headings will probably be your choice.

In either case, you simply write in the materials you will be using and submit this with your CPI form.

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REPORT OF PORTFOLIO EVALUATOR SELECTION FORM

Our law does permit the school district to approve the portfolio evaluator. In an earlier edition of the rules a training program for the portfolio evaluator was required. There is no longer a training program for the evaluator, but the approval language was left unchanged. This form will prevent the district from delaying the approval of your evaluator. To be an approved portfolio evaluator, your teacher must be an Iowa certified teacher certified for the grade level of your child.

CONTRACT FOR HOME SCHOOL PORTFOLIO EVALUATION

The Contract for Home School Portfolio Evaluation clearly outlines what is expected from the teacher evaluating the portfolio and what your responsibilities are. It is not required, but is recommended. Under the terms of this contract, no one can view your child's work or obtain information about your child without your permission. We strongly recommend that you meet with your teacher throughout the year to make sure that the evidence you plan to submit at the end of the year will be acceptable. This will avoid and end of year problem if the contents of your portfolio is not acceptable evidence of your child's yearly progress. Remember, it is the reviewing teacher who makes the determination of academic progress for your child. It is imperative you keep them informed.

TEST ADMINISTRATOR CERTIFICATION STATEMENT FORM

If you have chosen to comply with the Iowa homeschooling law by having your child tested -- and if you had that test administered somewhere other than in a public school or Area Education Agency -- you will probably need the Test Administrator Certification Statement Form.

This form may be filled out and included with your child's test scores when you submit them to your local school district and the Department of Education. The Certification Statement form merely gives added assurance to the school district that the standardized test was administered by a qualified test administrator using proper testing protocol as dictated by he test publisher. Before testing your child, we recommend you read the article, "Helping Your Child With Standardized Testing" We also recommend that you review the frequently asked questions about Testing.

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REPORT OF PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT RESULTS FORM

If you are using the portfolio option, the Report of Portfolio Assessment Results Form will help your evaluator review your portfolio.  The rules outline what a portfolio should include, and this form is an efficient way to make sure that all the required information is there. We also recommend that you review the frequently asked questions about the Portfolio option.

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Immunization Exemption Form

In Iowa there are immunization exemptions for medical and religious reasons. A medical exemption requires an Iowa physician to certify that immunizations for your children are not medically safe. The exemption for religious reasons is more complicated. If you believe that you have sincerely held religious reasons for not immunizing your children, we suggest you have competent counsel from an attorney knowledgeable about such issues.

Unless you have a medical or religious exemption to immunizations, you are required to submit evidence of immunizations when submitting your reporting form for the first time. If you have a medical or religious reason for not immunizing your children, you are expected to submit a form indicating this. The Iowa Department of Public Health Certificate of Immunization Exemption Form is submitted with your CPI Form. We also recommend that you review the frequently asked questions about Immunizations.

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The FERPA form is an optional form. It is not required, but it is recommended that you complete and submitted it to the school district with the two copies of your CPI form. Since one copy of your CPI form is sent to the local Area Education Agency (AEA), you should also send one to the AEA that serves your school district. You should not expect the local school district to forward the FERPA form to the AEA when they send the CPI form. It is best to send it to the AEA yourself.

This form tells the district and the AEA that you do not want any information concerning your child including directory information to be released to anyone without your prior consent. Failure to have this form on file with the district and the AEA can leave your child's information open to anyone who requests it.

There are 12 Area Education Agencies in Iowa. The map below will tell you which AEA serves your district. Once you have determined which AEA serves your district just click on the number to access the address from the table below. Send your FERPA form to this address. You can also visit your AEA website by clicking on their link.

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CONTRACT FOR HOME SCHOOL CONSULTATION

If you are choosing to use a supervising teacher, we recommend that you read the article, "Using The Supervising Teacher Option". This is an important decision and this article will provide you with information on how to choose the right person.

In order to protect your privacy and the license of your supervising teacher, we have developed the Contract for Home School Consultation. The attorneys at Home School Legal Defense Association have assisted also assisted with its development.

This document is entirely optional. Once in place, your communication with your teacher is confidential. If the state requests that your teacher submit information about your child to them, she can explain that she is under a legally binding contract. This contract prevents her from disclosing any information without your permission. It also clearly delineates the responsibilities you and your teacher have to each other. We also recommend that you review the frequently asked questions about using the Supervising Teacher option.

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Home School Teacher Visitation Log

The Home School Teacher Visitation Log is also not required, but it will provide documentation of teacher visits to your home or other contacts that are required or requested.