Homeschool

• The state of Colorado requires families to notify a Colorado school district of their intent to homeschool every year.

• Learn about Colorado regulations for homeschooling. These are Colorado Revised Statutes 22-33-104.5 and 22-33-107.

• The district does not provide textbooks or curriculum for homeschooled students. 

• The district’s administrative offices and all schools have Notification of Intent to Home School forms available for your use.

• Colorado Academic Standards can be found on the CDE website: https://www.cde.state.co.us/standardsandinstruction/standards

• Local Contacts:

  1. LEAP: Thompson School District Homeschool Enrichment Access Program tsdleap.org, tsdleapschool@gmail.com 970-203-5489

  2. Northern Colorado Home School Association –  http://www.ncha.info/

  3. Elizabeth Ridgway: ridgway_e@hotmail.com or 970-532-5653 - private individual testing (Woodcock-Johnson IV), academic evaluations, and homeschool coach

Thompson School District Home-Based Education Policy IHBG states (in part) the following:

In accordance with Colorado law, a parent or guardian of a student below the age of 16 who wants to establish a home-based educational program for that child shall comply with the procedures listed below: 

• The parent/guardian shall submit a notification of intent to homeschool to a Colorado school district every year, planning to teach an average of four (4) hours per day, 172 days per year. 

• The parent/guardian shall submit the results to TDS’s Homeschool Staff or to an independent or parochial school within the state. 

• If the parent/guardian chooses an independent or parochial school, TDS’s Homeschool Staff must be given the name of the school.

• If the score is at or below the 13th percentile, the parent/guardian shall be given the opportunity to have the student retested using an alternate version of the same test or a different nationally standardized test selected by the parent/guardian from a list supplied by the State Board of Education.

• If the student’s composite score on a retest remains at or below the 13th percentile, the district shall require the parent/guardian to enroll the student in a public, independent, or parochial school.

• Students who reside in the district and are registered for and receiving homeschool instruction may apply for enrollment in classes offered by the district schools. Acceptance will be determined by the district on a space-available basis. Parents who wish to use this option should request information and follow the pre-registration timelines at their selected school. 

• To be eligible to participate in enrichment* classes offered by Thompson School District,  home instruction students shall be enrolled and attending school by September 15 of the current year for at least 90 hours per semester. *See enrichment section below.

• Students choosing to enroll in extra-curricular activities*, including but not limited to sport-type courses, will be required to pay the material fees and course fees. *See enrichment section below.

Steps:

1. Prior to beginning a homeschool program for your students, the parent should select a curriculum appropriate to the needs of the child.

2. If the student proposed for enrollment has been declared habitually truant at any time during the last six months of his/her attendance at public school, the parent/guardian must also submit a written description of the curriculum to be used in the program. 

3. The parent/guardian must certify in writing the name, age, place of residence, and number of hours of attendance of each child enrolled in the program. 

4. The parent/guardian must maintain permanent records for each child enrolled in the program. These shall include, but need not be limited to, attendance data, test and evaluation results, and immunization records. 

5. Each student enrolled in the home-based educational program must be given a nationally standardized achievement test upon reaching grades three, five, seven, nine, and eleven, or have his/her academic progress evaluated by a qualified person (Example: licensed teacher or counselor).  

6. If the student’s composite score on the test is above the 13th percentile, or the evaluation indicates that the student is making sufficient academic progress according to his/her ability, the student shall continue to be eligible for the home-based educational program.

7. Students who reside in the district and are registered for and receiving home instruction may apply for enrollment in classes offered by the district schools.

Services: Children with disabilities who would receive special education and related services if they attended school full-time are not entitled to those services if their parents elect to homeschool them. Those services are available if the student enrolls in a district school. IEP teams will issue a Prior Written Notice (PWN) to parents when a parent of a student with an IEP chooses to homeschool, explaining that the student will not have access to specialized instruction and related services in the IEP while the student is homeschooled. Thompson schools remain ready to serve students with disabilities should parents of homeschooled students choose to re-enroll their child in a district school.

Do you have the intent to Homeschool? 

Please complete TSD’s ONLINE HOMESCHOOL NOTIFICATION FORM

or download, print, and send in our  Homeschool Notification Paper form (ENG)

Haga clic aquí para completar este formulario en español:  Notificación de intención de educación en el hogar o haga clic en el siguiente enlace para descargar e imprimir un formulario en papel y luego enviar el formulario completo a TSD: Notificación de intención de proporcionar la educación en el hogar.

Submitted notifications are reviewed twice-weekly. Once withdrawal procedures have been finalized with the student's TSD school, the student will be withdrawn from that school and considered a homeschool student.  Processing of the Notice of Intent may be delayed if additional requirements to withdraw or curriculum requirements must be met due to the student's attendance at the student's current school. Upon review by the Thompson School District, your school will be notified of your student's transition to Homeschool. Please make sure all fees are paid, and devices have been returned to your student's school. 

If you would prefer to send a written letter with the intent to homeschool, this letter should be emailed to homeschool@tsd.org or mailed to: 

1. The student's legal name
2. The age of the student
3. The address of the residence where homeschooling will take place
4. The name of the guardian who will be overseeing the homeschool process
5. Number of attendance hours for each child that will be participating in the home school program for the equivalent school year

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) affords parents and eligible students certain privacy rights with respect to educational records, including the right to inspect and review educational records, the right to request amendments to those records, and to limit disclosure of information from the records.  Please be aware that by submitting electronically or in hard copy your intent to homeschool, the Thompson School District (TSD) will maintain the document you provide, and, in accordance with FERPA and District policy, will only disclose information from it to school officials in the TSD Homeschool Office who have a legitimate educational interest into communicating with you about required assessments and notify school administration of your student’s disenrollment status.

If you have questions about these guidelines, please contact homeschool@tsd.org.

• Homeschool students are required to complete a nationally standardized achievement test as stated in Step 5 above (Initial Planning & Notification).  

• No nationally standardized achievement testing is available from the Thompson School District.

• CMAS is a Colorado state test and is not a nationally standardized assessment. Homeschooled students in grades 3-8 may take the current state standardized test (CMAS) by notifying their neighborhood school that they wish to participate in testing. The school will provide the testing dates and times. However, students will also need to complete the nationally recognized assessment requirement.

• Homeschooled students are not permitted to take the PSAT or SAT with a local district (see C.R.S. 22-7-1006.3(9)(b)). Full-time Homeschool students wishing to take the PSAT or SAT should sign up for a National Saturday testing date at their own expense. 

Homeschooled students may participate in any R2-J school district’s athletic or activity program if they meet R2-J’s Board of Education and the Colorado High School Activity Association’s eligibility rules, namely that the student:

1. Can be certified by the neighborhood school as eligible in a consistent fashion with other students (high school only).
2. Meets age, physical exam, semester, and course load requirements.
3. Resides in the R2-J attendance area or has an out-of-district waiver which may be approved by the league and state to participate (high school only).
4. Paid the activity or athletic fee.

• To receive a Thompson School District graduation diploma, homeschooled students must be enrolled for the entire senior year and pass all proficiency tests, all embedded assessments, and all graduation requirements.

Homeschooled students in elementary and middle school must submit a homeschool transcript to their neighborhood school when re-enrolling.

• Transcripts for High School students need to be submitted to the Registrar at the receiving school.
• The Colorado State Academic Standards can be found here: https://www.cde.state.co.us/standardsandinstruction/standards.
• Provide 2 to 3 examples of how the homeschool curriculum aligns to CDE standards for the course(s) that need to be added to the Thompson School District transcript.
• Provide a list of courses and the date/semester the homeschool course was completed (no more than 8 per year).
• 65 hours equals .5 credit.

To participate in Thompson School District enrichment opportunities, homeschool students must complete the following

• Thompson School District Online Registration 

• Any program requirements and or applications

• Notice of Intent to Homeschool with TSD or confirmation of enrollment in chosen umbrella school. 

Homeschool Secondary Students may enroll in supplemental courses up to and not exceeding five (5) high school courses or four (4) middle school courses. Enrolling in more than the courses mentioned, the student is considered a full-time student and is no longer homeschooling.

Homeschool students may NOT enroll in any CORE CURRICULUM CLASSES.