from Howard Richman
In a letter to Pennsylvania Homeschoolers
Accreditation Agency (PHAA), the PA Department of Education has issued an
opinion that the diplomas of PHAA
(and those of the other
six organizations whose diplomas they recognize -- see list on page 25) are
the equivalent of a school diploma giving PHAA graduates the credential needed
to teach their own children.
They also noted that a letter from the
local school superintendent would function as the equivalent of a high school
diploma if that letter indicated that the student had completed the
requirements for graduation from a home education program.
Specifically, in an April 3, 2001, letter to
PHAA, Sarah J. Pearce of the School Services Unit at the PA Department of
Education wrote:
It is the opinion of the
Pennsylvania Department of Education that individuals who either receive a
diploma from an organization recognized by PDE to award a home education
diploma or receive a letter from the superintendent of the resident school
district indicating completion of the requirements for graduation from a home
education program per §13-1327.1(d) of the Pennsylvania School Code are
qualified under §13-1327.1(a) to become a Supervisor of a home education
program. Section 13-1327.1(a) defines a “Supervisor” as “the parent or guardian
or such person having legal custody of the child or children who shall be
responsible for the provision of instruction, provided that such person has a
high school diploma or its equivalent.” The diploma from a recognized
organization or letter from the superintendent are “equivalent” to a high
school diploma and thereby qualifies an individual to be a Supervisor of a home
education program.
Background
Pennsylvania’s Home Education Law requires
that the parent have a high school diploma or its equivalent. In the past, the
PA Department of Education has held that the PHAA diploma, and those issued by
the other six homeschool organizations whose diplomas they recognize, are the
equivalent of a high school diploma as far as scholarship grants and college
admissions are concerned.
Now they have confirmed that they are also
the equivalent as far as teaching one’s own children under the PA Home
Education Law is concerned.
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