Homeschooling in Hawaii

What you must file

1. No fixed dateYou file

   Notice of intent to homeschool (Form 4140 or a letter)

   Before beginning home schooling

   Goes to: The principal of the assigned public school

   Form 4140 (Section B, option 5, Homeschooling) or a letter giving the child's name, address and telephone number, birth date and grade level, and the parent's signature and date. The school returns it signed as acknowledged by the principal and the complex area superintendent; this is a record of receipt, not permission. It need not be resubmitted every year while annual progress reports are submitted, but a new notice is required when the child transfers to a different local public school.

2. No fixed dateYou file

   Annual progress report

   Once every year. The rule sets no specific date.

   Goes to: The principal of the local public school

   One of four methods: (1) a score on a nationally normed standardized achievement test showing grade level achievement appropriate to the child's age; (2) progress on such a test equal to one grade level per calendar year, even if overall achievement is below grade level; (3) a written evaluation by a person certified to teach in Hawaii that the child shows appropriate grade level achievement or significant annual advancement commensurate with the child's abilities; or (4) a written evaluation by the parent that includes a description of the child's progress in each subject area in the child's curriculum, representative samples of the child's work, and representative tests and assignments, including grades for courses if grades are given. In a testing year (grades 3, 5, 8 and 10) the test results may serve as that year's progress report.

3. No fixed dateYou file

   Standardized test scores

   In grades 3, 5, 8 and 10. The rule names the grades, not a date. The rule still requires grade 10 scores, though the Department notes that its own public school students are now tested in grade 11 instead of grade 10.

   Goes to: The principal of the local public school

   Either the Statewide Testing Program at the local public school, comparable private testing at the parent's expense, or another means of evaluation approved by the principal.

4. No fixed dateYou file

   New notice of intent when the child changes local public school

   When the child transfers to a different local public school, for example moving up from elementary to an intermediate or middle school, or when the family moves to another school's area

   How often: each time the child changes local public school

   Goes to: The principal of the child's new local public school

   The same notice as before: Form 4140 or a letter giving the child's name, address and telephone number, birth date and grade level, and the parent's signature and date.

5. No fixed dateYou keep

   Record of the planned curriculum

   Kept for as long as you home school

   Goes to: Kept by the parent. Not filed, but if the principal finds progress is not adequate, the principal may ask for it and you must share it.

   The parent who submits a notice of intent must keep a record of the planned curriculum. It should include the start and end dates of the program, a record of the hours per week the child spends in instruction, the subject areas covered, the method used to determine mastery, and a list of textbooks and other materials in standard bibliographic form (for books: author, title, publisher and date of publication; for magazines: author, article title, magazine, date, volume number and pages). You do not submit it to the school.

6. No fixed dateYou file

   Notice that home schooling has ended

   When home schooling ends

   Goes to: The principal of the local public school

   Tell the principal you sent your notice of intent to, in writing or verbally, and say where the child is going next. The child must be re-enrolled in the local public school or a licensed private school unless a new alternative educational program is presented within five school days after home schooling ends. The Department also asks you to tell the school if the child enrols in a private school or the family moves out of Hawaii.