4 Evaluation of student progress
5 Responsibilities of associate board or associate private
school
6 High school credit eligibility
7 Funding
8 Termination of home education program
9 Ministerial review
10 Repeal
11 Expiry
Schedule
Definitions
1 In this Regulation,
(a) “Act”
means the School Act;
(b) “Alberta
Programs of Study” means the courses of study, education programs and
instructional materials prescribed, authorized and approved by the Minister
under section 39(1)(a), (b) and (d) of the Act;
(c) “associate
board or associate private school” means
(i) the resident board,
(ii) the willing non‑resident board, or
(iii) the private school accredited under section 28(2) of the Act
that is supervising or has
agreed to supervise a home education program;
(d) “evaluation”
means a judgment as to the quality, worth or value of a response, product or
performance of a student in a particular year, based on the activities selected
by a parent to be focused on in a home education program for that year pursuant
to section 3(3);
(e) “home
education program” means an education program provided by a parent to a student
in accordance with this Regulation, but does not include any portion of an
education program that is the responsibility of a board or an accredited
private school to deliver;
(f) “outcomes”
means,
(i) with respect to a student receiving a home education program that
follows the Alberta Programs of Study, the learning goals prescribed by the
Minister, and
(ii) with respect to a student receiving a home education program that
does not follow the Alberta Programs of Study, the learning goals set out in
the Schedule;
(g) “resident
board” means the board of the district or division of which a student is a
resident student;
(h) “teacher”
means a teacher as defined in the Act;
(i) “willing
non‑resident board” means a board that is not the student’s resident
board but has agreed to supervise a home education program.
Notice of intention
to provide home education program
2(1) A
parent who intends to provide a home education program to a student during a
school year must notify the associate board or associate private school of that
intention using the form set by the Minister.
(2) A parent who is providing a home
education program to a student during a school year and intends to continue
doing so during the next school year must notify the associate board or
associate private school of that intention using the form set by the Minister.
(3) An associate board or associate
private school that receives a notice under subsection (1) or (2)
(a) must
complete its portion of the form referred to in subsection (1) or (2), and
(b) must
notify the parent in writing within 15 school days after receiving the notice
that it agrees to supervise or continue to supervise the home education
program.
(4) An associate board or associate
private school must notify the parent of any implications that a home education
program may have on the student’s eligibility to be granted high school credits
under section 6.
Home education
program
3(1) A
parent who intends to provide a home education program must develop the
program.
(2) A
home education program must enable a student to achieve outcomes that are
appropriate to that program.
(3) Each
year a parent who intends to provide a home education program must select
activities to be focused on in the year that will enable the student to achieve
the ultimate goal set out in subsection (2).
(4) A
home education program may follow the Alberta Programs of Study.
(5) Where
a home education program does not follow the Alberta Programs of Study,
(a) the
parent providing the program must certify, using the form set by the Minister,
that the activities selected by the parent for the year under subsection (3)
will enable the student to achieve the ultimate goal set out in subsection (2),
and
(b) the
associate board or associate private school that will supervise the program
must accept the program, including the selection of activities, in writing.
(6) A
parent referred to in subsection (5) must provide to the associate board or
associate private school a written description of the program which must
include
(a) a
list of the activities selected by the parent under subsection (3) and an
explanation as to how those activities will enable the student to achieve the
ultimate goal set out in subsection (2),
(b) the
instructional methods and resources to be used,
(c) the
means of conducting evaluations of the student’s progress, and
(d) the
name of the person instructing the home education program, if not the parent.
(7) A parent who has provided a
description of a home education program under subsection (6) may alter the
program, and must notify the associate board or associate private school of any
significant changes to the program.
(8) A teacher employed by the associate
board or associate private school must, at the request of a parent, advise and
provide assistance to the parent in the preparation of the written description
of a home education program.
(9) A
parent providing a home education program must administer and manage the home
education program.
Evaluation of student
progress
4(1) A
parent providing a home education program to a student
(a) must,
at regular intervals, conduct an evaluation of the progress of the student
(i) by maintaining dated samples of student work and a general record
of the student’s activities, and
(ii) by maintaining a record of the methods and dates of those
evaluations,
(b) must
be available for a regular review of the student’s achievement with the
associate board or associate private school at a time and place mutually
agreeable to the parent and the associate board or associate private school,
and
(c) must
ensure that the student is available in order that the associate board or
associate private school may conduct an evaluation of the progress of the
student
(i) at a time and place mutually agreeable to the parent and the
associate board or associate private school, and
(ii) in the presence of the parent, if the parent chooses to be
present.
(2) An associate board or associate
private school supervising a home education program
(a) must
ensure that a student at a level equivalent to grade 3, 6 or 9 is given the
opportunity to write the grade 3, 6 or 9 provincial achievement test, as the
case may be,
(i) at the time designated by the Minister, and
(ii) under the supervision of the associate board or associate private
school,
(b) must
arrange for teachers employed by the associate board or associate private
school to conduct at least 2 evaluations of the progress of the student in each
school year,
(c) must
record in the records maintained under section 5(e) the results of the tests,
if written, referred to in clause (a) of this subsection and of the evaluations
referred to in subsection (1)(c),
(d) must
advise the student’s parent as to the progress of the student, and
(e) must
make recommendations to the student’s parent on any matter that may assist the
student in attaining a higher level of achievement, where necessary.
Responsibilities of
associate board or associate private school
5 An associate board or associate private
school supervising home education programs must
(a) facilitate
student learning by offering assistance and advice to parents providing home
education programs,
(b) assign
teachers to home education who are supportive of home education parents and
students and who are informed about the special characteristics of tutorial
learning,
(c) provide
parents providing home education programs with access to a copy of all policies
of the associate board or associate private school respecting the supervision
of home education students and notify parents of any changes in those policies,
(d) advise
parents providing home education programs of the services and resources of the
associate board or associate private school that are available for use by the
parents and students,
(e) provide
for and maintain student records and advise parents providing home education
programs that they may view those records, and
(f) advise
a parent providing a home education program of entries made in the records
maintained under clause (e) relating to the progress of the student.
High school credit
eligibility
6 On the recommendation of a school
principal, a student receiving a home education program that follows the
Alberta Programs of Study is eligible to receive high school credits if the
student achieves the course standards and outcomes prescribed by the Minister.
Funding
7(1) The
Minister must provide funding in accordance with the regulations made under the
Government Organization Act or the School Act to an associate
board or associate private school that supervises a home education program.
(2) An associate board or associate
private school must offer not less than 50% of the home education program
funding received under subsection (1) to the parents who are providing home
education programs to students.
(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), if a
parent chooses to use distance learning materials approved by the Minister, the
associate board or associate private school is entitled to use the portion
attributed to the parent under subsection (2) to pay for those materials.
(4) A parent who receives funding under
subsection (2)
(a) must
(i) use the funding only to defray the costs incurred by the parent
for programs of study, instructional materials or other resources related to
the home education program, and
(ii) provide the associate board or associate private school with
receipts showing how the funding was spent,
and
(b) must
not use the funding
(i) as a form of personal remuneration, or
(ii) to pay for travel costs or other expenses usually required to be
paid by a parent of a student who is enrolled in a school operated by a board
or private school.
(5) A parent may decline all or part of
any funding offered by an associate board or associate private school under
subsection (2).
(6) Any instructional materials, other
than materials that cannot be used again, purchased by a parent with funding
received under subsection (2), must be returned to the associate board or
associate private school within one year following the student’s completion of
the course to which the materials relate if the associate board or associate
private school requests those materials within that year.
Termination of home
education program
8(1) During
the school year, an associate board or associate private school supervising a
home education program may terminate the home education program by notice to
the parent if
(a) the
associate board or associate private school determines that the student is not
making reasonable progress in the activities selected by the parent under
section 3(3) or in achieving the ultimate goal set out in section 3(2), or
(b) the
parent providing the home education program has not met the requirements of
this Regulation.
(2) A notice under subsection (1)
(a) must
be in writing,
(b) must
contain reasons for the termination, and
(c) must
inform the parent of the parent’s right under section 124 of the Act to ask the
Minister to review the decision to terminate the home education program.
(3) A termination under subsection
(1)(a)
(a) must
be made in consultation with the parent, and
(b) must
give due consideration to
(i) the age, grade level and abilities of the student, and
(ii) the evaluations of the progress of the student conducted by the
associate board or associate private school and the parent under section 4.
(4) A parent may terminate a home
education program by
(a) providing
notice of the termination in writing to the associate board or associate
private school, and
(b) enrolling
the student in a school operated by a board or private school.
(5) Where a student is enrolled in a
school operated by a board or private school under subsection (4)(b), the board
or private school may assess the student for the purpose of determining the
student’s appropriate grade or high school course placement.
(6) If an associate board or associate
private school terminates a student’s home education program under subsection
(1) when the student has the right of access to an education under section 8 of
the Act, the associate board or associate private school
(a) continues
to be responsible for the student’s education program for the remainder of the
school year, and
(b) must
ensure that the student has access to an appropriate education program for the
remainder of the school year.
Ministerial review
9 A decision made by an associate board or
associate private school under this Regulation may be reviewed by the Minister
in accordance with section 124 of the Act and the Minister may exercise the
powers set out in section 125 of the Act when reviewing the decision.
Repeal
10 The Home
Education Regulation
(AR 126/99) is repealed.
Expiry
11 For the purpose of ensuring that this
Regulation is reviewed for ongoing relevancy and necessity, with the option
that it may be repassed in its present or an amended form following a review,
this Regulation expires on July 31, 2011.
Schedule
Learning Outcomes for Students
Receiving Home Education Programs That
Do Not Follow the Alberta Programs of Study
1 A basic education must provide
students with a solid core program including language arts, mathematics,
science and social studies.
2 Students are expected to
develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will prepare them for life
after high school. A basic education
will allow students to
(a) read
for information, understanding and enjoyment,
(b) write
and speak clearly, accurately and appropriately for the context,
(c) use
mathematics to solve problems in business, science and daily life situations,
(d) understand
the physical world, ecology and the diversity of life,
(e) understand
the scientific method, the nature of science and technology and their
application to daily life,
(f) know
the history and geography of Canada and have a general understanding of world
history and geography,
(g) understand
Canada’s political, social and economic systems within a global context,
(h) respect
the cultural diversity, the religious diversity and the common values of
Canada,
(i) demonstrate
desirable personal characteristics such as respect, responsibility, fairness,
honesty, caring, loyalty and commitment to democratic ideals,
(j) recognize
the importance of personal well‑being and appreciate how family and
others contribute to that well‑being,
(k) know
the basic requirements of an active, healthful lifestyle,
(l) understand
and appreciate literature, the arts and the creative process,
(m) research
an issue thoroughly and evaluate the credibility and reliability of information
sources,
(n) demonstrate
critical and creative thinking skills in problem solving and decision making,
(o) demonstrate
competence in using information technologies,
(p) know
how to work independently and as part of a team,
(q) manage
time and other resources needed to complete a task,
(r) demonstrate
initiative, leadership, flexibility and persistence,
(s) evaluate
their own endeavours and continually strive to improve, and
(t) have
the desire and realize the need for life‑long learning.
