602.16 Equivalent Instruction
EQUIVALENT INSTRUCTION
The Board of Directors believes that Iowa’s public education system provides its children with an excellent opportunity to obtain a sound basic education which is essential to a child’s future economic success and personal happiness. However, the Board does recognize that not all of Iowa’s children can attend public school, and that some parents do not wish their children to attend public school. In the event that a child cannot attend or the child’s parents wish the child to not attend public school, the child must receive equivalent instruction from a certified teacher elsewhere.
The Board of Directors shall be responsible to annually make the final determination as to what constitutes equivalent instruction provided to a resident child not attending an approved public or private school. It shall be the responsibility of the superintendent of schools, with the Board’s approval, to develop guidelines in accordance with the laws of Iowa and Board policy for determining equivalent instruction. It shall also be the responsibility of the superintendent of schools to report to the Board the names and ages of resident students not attending an approved public or private school and sufficient other information to enable the Board to determine whether the child is receiving equivalent instruction from a certified teacher.
The Board may seek proof of satisfactory student progress by requiring documentation of course work or test results, or by any other reasonable method. In making a determination of the equivalency of an educational program, the Board may approve an instructional program which provides less time of instruction than that in a public school day by considering such factors as pupil-teacher ratio, pupil ability and needs. The hours designated for instruction shall not exceed the hours in a public school day.
If the Board receives information indicating that a child not enrolled in the public schools has been evaluated as being in need of special education, the Board or its designee shall notify the child’s parent or guardian of the results of the evaluation and request a meeting with the parent or guardian to assess the child’s instructional program. A Board’s prior approval, based upon a finding of equivalency under these standards, may be withdrawn in light of the child’s need for special education.
LEGAL REFS.: Iowa Code Secs. 257.25, 279.10, 279.11, 299.1-6, 299.11, 299.15 and 299.24 (1985 & Supp. 1985)
670 Iowa Administrative Code Chapter 63
Johnson v. Charles City Community School’s Board of Education
368 N.W. 2nd 74 (Iowa 1985)
CROSS REFS.: 501. Student Attendance
501.3 Student Compulsory Attendance Requirements
601.2 School Calendar
601.3 School Day
602.6 Special Education
Adopted: January 12, 1987
Reviewed: March 11, 1996
March 20, 2000
November 21, 2005
May 16, 2011
June 13, 2016
602.16R Equivalent Instruction
EQUIVALENT INSTRUCTION
The following criteria will be used by the Board of Directors in determining equivalency of instruction for children not enrolled in the public schools.
Nonpublic Department of Education-approved schools.
If the instruction provided is in a nonpublic school, the superintendent shall contact the Iowa Department of Education. If the private school is approved by the Iowa Department of Education, the board of directors will consider its program as meeting the equivalency standards.
Nonpublic, non-Department of Education-approved schools.
If the nonpublic, non-Department of Education-approved school is located within the school district, the secretary of the school district shall serve notice on the principal of such school, once during each school year and at any time when requested in individual cases, to furnish to the secretary a certificate and a report in duplicate of the following information:
1. Names of pupils
2. Ages of pupils
3. Number of days attendance of each pupil over 7 and under 16 years of age.
4. The course of study pursued by each pupil.
5. The test(s) used.
6. The names of teachers during the preceding year and from the time of the last preceding report to present time.
The secretary shall retain one of the reports and file the other with the secretary of the area education agency. The superintendent shall then evaluate the instruction of such school, after securing any additional information needed, taking into consideration the guidelines listed at the end of this regulation, and make a recommendation to the Board of Directors whether equivalent instruction is being provided by a certified teacher.
If the nonpublic, non-Department of Education-approved school is located in another district, the superintendent shall contact the secretary of the district within which the nonpublic, non-Department of Education school is located and request the above information from that district’s secretary. A letter from the superintendent of the district in which the nonpublic, non-Department of Education-approved school is located certifying that such district has determined that the school is providing equivalent instruction by a certified teacher may be accepted by the inquiring district.
Private instruction
If the superintendent becomes aware of a student of compulsory education age who is receiving private instruction not in a regularly conducted school, the superintendent shall require the board secretary to request from the person having control of the child a certificate with the following information:
1. Name and age of such child.
2. Period of time during which such child has been under said private instruction.
3. The details of such instruction and the name of the instructor.
The superintendent shall then evaluate the instruction of such pupil, after securing any additional information needed, taking into consideration the guidelines listed at the end of this regulation, and make a recommendation to the board of directors whether equivalent instruction is being provided by a certified teacher.
GUIDELINES FOR DETERMINING EQUIVALENT INSTRUCTION
For determining compliance with the compulsory education requirements of Iowa law and Board policy, the following standards shall be applied:
Required minimum curriculum - grades one through six. The following subjects shall be taught to children whose ages correspond to those of pupils in grades one through six:
a. Art;
b. English-language arts, including oral and written English, handwriting, literature, reading, and spelling;
c. Health and physical education, including the effects of alcohol, tobacco, drugs and poisons on the human body, and the characteristics of communicable diseases;
d. Mathematics;
e. Music;
f. Science, including environmental awareness and conservation of natural resources;
g. Social studies, including geography, Iowa and United States history, cultures of other nations, and national, state, and local government in the United States;
h. Traffic safety, including bicycle and pedestrian safety procedures;
i. Career education, including awareness of self in relation to others and the needs of society.
Required minimum curriculum - grades seven and eight. The following subjects shall be taught to children whose ages correspond to those of pupils in grades seven and eight:
a. Art;
b. English-language arts, including reading, spelling, grammar, oral and written composition;
c. Health and physical education, including the effects of alcohol, tobacco, drugs and poisons on the human body and the characteristics of communicable diseases, including venereal diseases and current health issues;
d. Mathematics;
e. Music;
f. Science, including environmental awareness and conservation of natural resources;
g. Social studies, including cultures of other nations, and American citizenship;
h. Career education, including exploration of employment opportunities and the concepts inherent in a work-oriented society.
Medium of instruction. All subjects shall be taught in the English language, except when the use of foreign language is deemed appropriate in the teaching of any subject or when the student is non-English speaking.
Minimum attendance requirements and allocation of instructional time. Instruction shall be given for a minimum of one hundred twenty days per year. The authorities in charge of a private instructional program or the certified teacher who provides private instruction shall allocate instructional time as appropriate to the needs of the pupil. In making this allocation of instructional time on a daily basis, the pupil’s needs and abilities, as reflected in available school records or diagnostic tests, and the total number of hours in the usual school day in this district should be considered.
Private Instruction:
Duties of the certified teacher. The following provisions shall be applied to the certified teacher providing private instruction to a pupil.
Proof of certificate. Upon request of the board, the teacher designated as providing instruction to that pupil shall furnish proof of a valid Iowa teacher’s certificate with the appropriate endorsements and approvals.
Teacher’s duties defined. The teacher’s duties shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
a. Diagnosing prescribing, evaluating, and directing the pupil’s educational program;
b. Setting goals and objectives for the educational growth of the pupil;
c. Providing instruction and utilizing instructional materials that are at a level appropriate to the pupil’s age, abilities, and needs;
d. Maintaining records of attendance, course work, and evaluations; and
e. Seeking a professional evaluation of a pupil who may be in need of special education, by a referral to the director of special education of the appropriate area education agency.
Duties not delegable. The certified teacher providing private instruction shall not delegate the responsibility for the duties defined in the preceding paragraph. The teacher shall provide others may provide supplemental instructional assistance. Supervision or consultation by the teacher shall not be construed as a sufficient substitute for the instructional duties delineated above.
The superintendent of schools shall make a recommendation to the Board of Directors as to whether each resident child of compulsory school age who is not enrolled in the public schools is receiving equivalent instruction by a certified teacher.