Toronto District School Board

Operational Procedure PR.553

Title: HOME SCHOOLING
Adopted: June 5, 2000
Revised: January 24, 2001, January 16, 2003, June 17, 2008
Authorization: EPP

1.0 OBJECTIVE
To provide direction for establishing home schooling
2.0 RESPONSIBILITY
Associate Director
3.0 PROCEDURES
3.1. Background

The Ministry of Education’s Policy/Program Memorandum No. 131, dated June 14,
2007, provides direction to school boards concerning Home Schooling and excusing
children who are being provided with a Home Schooling program from attendance at
their local school.

Section 21 of the Education Act identifies the requirements for children of compul-
sory school age and responsibility of their parents/guardians. It also lists the legal
reasons that a child may be excused from attending school.

21 (2) A child is excused from attendance at school if,

(a) the child is receiving satisfactory instruction at home or else-

where.

Section 24 deals with the appointment of the Provincial School Attendance Counsel-
lor and the authority to conduct inquiries to determine the validity of the reasons or
excuses for non attendance when the attendance counsellor is of the opinion the child
should not be excused.

Sections 25, 26, 30 and 31 deal with the appointment, jurisdiction, responsibilities
and powers of school attendance counsellors as well as identifying how and when
court proceedings are to be instituted by the school attendance counsellor.

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These procedures are based on the above references and are intended to inform the
Superintendent of Education, principals, staff in Social Work & Attendance Services
and parents of their respective rights and responsibilities in accordance with the Edu-
cation Act, Instructions for Enrolment Registers, Ontario Secondary Schools Grades
9 to 12; Program and Diploma Requirements and PPM No. 131.

3.2. Procedure

(a) Parent(s) wishing to Home School a child must obtain a Notice of Intent to
Home School (Form 553A), from the Board’s Policies and Procedures website,
their local home school, or by making a request from Superintendent of Educa-
tion.
(b) Once a completed letter has been submitted, the Superintendent of Education
will:
(i) Keep a record of the request

(ii) Issue a Letter of Acknowledgement to the parent informing them that

their child has been legally excused from attending a TDSB school

(iii) Inform the parent of the resources available to them. There is no support
in the way of teachers, programs, textbooks or other materials given by
the schools.

(iv) Update records annually ensuring that each student has been registered in
a school or that notification for the current year has been received.

3.3. Rights and Responsibilities

(a) Parents 1
Parent(s) are expected to provide written notice of their intent to provide a
Home Schooling program each school year, prior to September 1 of the im-
pending school year. Such notice should be directed to the Superintendent of
Education (See Form 553A, Notice of Intent to Provide Home Schooling)

Parent(s) who choose to provide a Home Schooling program for their

child(ren) should inform the school board and have their child legally excused
from attendance at school in accordance with Subsection 20(2) (a) of the Edu-
cation Act.

Parents who have furnished written notice and have received a letter from the
Superintendent of Education indicating that their child(ren) is/are legally ex-
cused from attendance at school may request access to the following resources:

1
In this document, parents refers to Parents and Guardians

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(i) Assessments and Tests Administered by the Education Quality and Ac-
countability Office

Parents wishing to have their children participate in the grades 3, 6, 9 and/or

Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (Grade 10) should contact the local
school principal by September 30 of the current school year. Fees will not be
charged by either the Board or the EQAO.

Space should be provided at the local school for the same date and time tests
are being administered to regular day school students. The parent will be re-
sponsible for transportation to and from the site.

The EQAO will send the results of the Home Schooled children to the school
that administered the assessments/tests and the school will send the results to
the homes of these children. The test results for these children will not be in-
cluded in the school or board reports generated by the EQAO

(ii) Courses Offered Through the Independent Learning Centre

Parents may enrol a compulsory school age child in courses offered through
the Independent Learning Centre (ILC) at the Ministry upon receiving ac-
knowledgement from the Board of their intent to home school. This letter, stat-
ing that the child is excused from attendance at school, must be submitted to
the ILC as part of the application.

(iii) Ministry of Education Curriculum Material

Parents providing Home Schooling may access curriculum policy documents

produced by the Ministry of Education free of charge through the Publications
Ontario web site, at www.publications.gov.on.ca or by calling the toll free
number 1-800-668-9938.

(b) Support Services Offered by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care
Parents of Home Schooled children may have access to Ministry of Health and
Long Term Care through local Community Care Access Centres provided that
the parent has received a letter from the Superintendent of Education indicating
that the child is excused from attendance at school for the purpose of Home
Schooling.

3.4. Principals

When the Principal is informed by a parent that they intend to withdraw a child from
school for the purpose of Home Schooling, she/he should inform the parent of the
requirement to submit written notice via Form 553A, Notice of Intent to Provide
Home Schooling. The parent should be informed that the notice should be directed
to the Superintendent of Education.

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Where it is evident that the child was removed from attendance at school because of
ongoing conflicts with the school, not for the purpose of Home Schooling, or there
has been a history of absenteeism by the child prior to the parent notifying the board
of their intent to provide Home Schooling, the Principal should consult with the Su-
perintendent of Education for appropriate direction.

Principals are responsible for ensuring that the student’s OSR is requested and main-
tained at the school where one is available.

3.5. Conflict With the School

Upon receiving a Notice of Intent to Provide Home Schooling the Superintendent of

Education, where appropriate, will consult with the principal of the child’s school to
establish the reason(s) related to the parents’ decision to provide Home Schooling.
When the reasons are due to conflict with the school or chronic absenteeism the Su-
perintendent of Education may request that staff from Social Work & Attendance
Services consult with the parent to discuss additional options.

Unless there exists sufficient grounds for investigating the matter further, the Super-
intendent of Education will issue a letter (Form 553B, Letter of Agreement) to the
parent. A copy of the letter shall be sent to the school.

3.6. Superintendent of Education

The Superintendent of Education will:

(a) be responsible for keeping a record of each Home Schooled child

(b) issue a Letter of Acknowledgement to the parent upon receiving a Notification
of Intent to Home School
(c) inform the parent of the resources available to them
(d) update records annually ensuring that each student has been registered in a
school or that notification for the current year has been received.
(e) follow the guidelines for conducting an curriculum query when deemed neces-
sary
(f) when a Letter of Intent or Request for an OSR is not received for students that
have been previously Home Schooled, a referral to Social Work & Attendance
Services should be made by the Superintendent of Education.
3.7. Guidelines for Conducting a Curriculum Query

A school board may have reasonable grounds to investigate whether satisfactory in-
struction is being provided in the following instances:

(a) refusal of a parent to notify the board in writing of the intent to provide Home
Schooling

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(b) a credible report of concern by a third party with respect to the instruction be-
ing provided in the home evidence that the child was removed from attendance
at school because of ongoing conflicts with the school, not for the purpose of
Home Schooling
(c) a history of absenteeism by the child prior to the parent notifying the board of
their intent to provide Home Schooling.
Curriculum query, directed by the Superintendent of Education should focus on the
following:

(a) an instructional plan for educating the child including literacy and numeracy at
developmentally appropriate levels
(b) plans for assessing the child’s achievement
A sample form for gathering information on a parent’s Home Schooling program is
available as Form 553C, Sample Format for Home Schooling Plan.

When the Superintendent of Education is unable to determine whether a child is re-

ceiving satisfactory instruction, further action may be taken in accordance with sub-
section 24(2) of the Education Act (Inquiry by Provincial Attendance Counsellor) or
by referral to the Children’s Aid.

Prior to requesting an inquiry by the Provincial School Attendance Counsellor the

Superintendent of Education, in consultation with Social Work and Attendance Ser-
vices, should ensure that:

(a) appropriate measures have been taken to determine whether the child is receiv-
ing satisfactory instruction;
(b) documentation of all communication and/or attempts to communicate with the
parents is retained;
(c) documentation on the nature of the information and material provided by the
parent is retained;
(d) a factual summary of the case history is prepared for submission to the Provin-
cial School Attendance Counsellor

3.8. Clarification of Related Policy

(a) Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR; PPM 129)

“Ontario Secondary Schools, Grades 9 to 12: Program and Diploma Requirements,
1999 (OSS)” will apply to students enrolled in an Ontario secondary school after
having received Home Schooling. Refer to sections 6.6, 6.7.2 and Appendix 8.

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(b) Enrolment Registers

Students excused from attendance at school for the purpose of Home Schooling will
not be recorded in the enrolment register. If, however, a student is receiving part time
instruction at school the student will be recorded in the appropriate register. Please
refer to the Ministry Instructions for Enrolment Registers.

(c) Part-time Attendance

Parents may request that a child attend school on a part- time basis however, admis-
sion will be determined by the principal of the school based on the ability of the
school to accommodate such requests. Per-Pupil grants will be prorated for students
who are registered on a part time basis according to the time the student is in atten-
dance at school. See enrolment on the register for appropriate protocol.

(d) Ontario Student Record(OSR)

There should be an OSR for all Home Schooled students maintained by the desig-
nated home school. Where a previous OSR does not exist, one will be created and all
copies of letters of intent filed there annually. Where parents do not re-submit their
letter of intent annually and the OSR is not requested from another jurisdiction, a re-
ferral to Social Work & Attendance Services as per existing procedures should be
followed.

4.0 REFERENCE DOCUMENTS

Form 553A, Notice of Intent to Provide Home Schooling
Form 553B, Letter of Agreement
Form 553C, Sample Format for Home Schooling Plan

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