Colorado homeschooling/required testing Thank you so much for your responses! I'll do some more research with your suggestions. Hello. I have a 13 year old son who has a diagnosis of mild/moderate autism. He is by no means non-verbal but he does have severe language delays. He is in 7th grade and currently in a public school. We feel he has done fairly well in this environment prior to this school year but we are considering homeschooling from this point on because of recent issues. How is the required state testing handled with a special needs student? My son is not at grade level in most of his core subjects. He gets good grades based on a modified curriculum but if you gave him a straight 7th grade test he would not do well. He's never really been able to test at grade level but none of the schools he's attended has suggested leaving him behind a year. So if we decide to homeschool, when the time comes for state testing, do they look at his progress or at flat test scores? How does the school handle testing now? I would contact hslda.org to find out.   There are three options to homeschool: Here is a legal analysis of the homeschool laws in Colorado: http://hslda.org/laws/analysis/Colorado.pdf Below is a quote from that link, apparently under option 2  you do not need to do the testing that is required by other options.  (Testing is great for diagnosing and assesing level, but you would not be held to the law that says if he falls under the 13th percentile he would have to be enrolled in the public school) [quote] Option 2: Parents can enroll their children in a Colorado “independent school” but teach them at home. The decisive case, People in Interest of D.B., 767 P.2d 801 (Colo. App. 1988), held that, according to Colo. Rev. Stat. § 22-33-104(2)(b), children “enrolled in” (changed from the word “attending” in 1983) an independent or parochial school that provides a basic academic education can be allowed by that school to be taught at home. Such students are legally classified as private school students. a. In the D.B. case, the Court of Appeals stated: “Since the district has not challenged the adequacy of the education provided by the academy, the matter of the sufficiency of the children’s attendance is between them [the home schoolers] and the independent school in which they are enrolled.” 767 P.2d at 802. In other words, children that are enrolled in a Colorado independent school are exempt from the compulsory school attendance and homeschool laws and can still be instructed by their parents at home. Registration with the public school is not required. No testing or evaluation is mandated. b. Parents can establish an independent school by keeping minimal records and providing instruction in the required subjects, in addition to complying with other statutory requirements (see HSLDA’s memorandum on satellite schools). The independent school must be comprised of at least two homeschool families. c. The administrator can be one of the parents. The teachers are the parents, and all teaching is done in separate campus sites in each home. [/quote] check out the home school legal defense website, They have a list of each states laws and you should be able to find the answer to your question there.  Each state is different.  I am just starting to homeschool my 14 yr old who has apsergers/bipolar/adhd  I think it can be a great thing for our kids, when the public schools arent working for them.  Good luck to you.
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