Home Schools In North Carolina    By Rod Helder, Director, NC Division Of Non-Public Education

        Before the establishment of a public school system, children of early North Carolina parents were taught at home.  The children were usually taught by either the parents or by governesses.  There were also small neighborhood schools which met in private homes and also schools in churches.  With the coming of the public school system, however, the concept of home instruction virtually disappeared from the educational scene until about 1980.

        Since at least 1919, the State of North Carolina has had a compulsory attendance law as part of its General Statutes.  The age range has varied over the years.  Since 1946, the law has required all children who are at least age 7 but not yet 16 to attend school.  With the passage of legislation by the 1979 General Assembly de-regulating conventional non-public schools in North Carolina, the stage was set for a major court case which six years later would officially legalize home schools as non-public schools.  Circumstances leading to passage of the 1979 legislation are available in the article at this web site entitled Conventional Non-Public Schools in North Carolina.
 

The Delconte Case

        Since the newly enacted 1979 non-public school legislation did not define the word "school," several court cases relating to home instruction followed.  The defining one was the Delconte case.

        Larry Delconte, his wife and two children moved from the State of New York to Harnett County, North Carolina in March of 1981.  Delconte held a Bachelor of Science degree and taught his children at home legally while a New York citizen.  In September 1981, Delconte informed the Division of Non-Public Education of his intent to teach two of his children at his own non-public school in his home.  Delconte was notified a few days later by mail that the division could not acknowledge his school as a non-public school "within the meaning of the law" because of an August 1979 and March 1981 legal opinion by the Attorney General ruling that a home instruction setting could not qualify as a legal non-public school under the new 1979 legislation.  Upon receipt of the letter, Delconte continued to educate his children in his home.  He was subsequently prosecuted (two warrants were issued) for violating North Carolina's compulsory attendance statutes.  The charges were voluntarily dismissed by the State in the Civil Superior Court of Harnett County.  Delconte continued to teach his children at home and then filed suit against the State in Larry Delconte v. State of North Carolina.  In January 1983, the Superior Court ruled in favor of Delconte.  The State appealed to the Court of Appeals which then reversed against Delconte.  The Court of Appeals decision was in turn then appealed to the State Supreme Court in 1984 which handed down its findings on May 7, 1985 reversing the Court of Appeals decision.  It concluded:

Department of Public Instruction Legislative Efforts

        After the Delconte court decision, the Department of Public Instruction began an effort to address the home school issue legislatively.  In May 1985, a legislative study commission was proposed in the State Senate to investigate home instruction.  The commission was not funded.  In the spring of 1986, the department circulated a memorandum to state public school superintendents explaining the 1979 legislation and presenting the need for home school legislation along with specific ideas which should be contained therein.  It concluded with the following statement:

        On April 2,1987, the department reported to the State Board of Education that home instruction was a major concern and that legislation addressing the issue was needed.  The Board voted unanimously to accept the recommendations for legislative action on the issue.  On April 17, 1987 the department's House Bill 837 was introduced in the State House of Representatives followed by a similar version introduced in the State Senate on May 1 as Senate Bill 779.  These bills called for the following home instruction requirements:

        As a compromise alternative to these two bills, Senate Bill 708 was introduced on May 1, 1987.  It was less restrictive and:

        The Senate Education Committee conducted a hearing on May 14, 1987 about Senate Bill 779.  In the end, both Senate Bills 708 and 779 were sent to a subcommittee for further study.  No other action was ever taken on them.

        The one remaining bill, House Bill 837, proved to be rather controversial in nature.  May 28, 1987 was the deadline for non-appropriation bills to be passed by one chamber of the General Assembly in order for a bill to "remain active" in the 1987 session.  On May 19, 1987, the House Education Subcommittee on Curriculum met to discuss the bill.  At this meeting, four changes were made:  The concept of unannounced visits was proposed; the requirement for teacher degrees along with the concept of public school control of the program were both dropped; and, financial appropriations for the Division of Non-Public Education were added.  The subcommittee next met on May 22 and made further changes.  From June 24 through July 7 the subcommittee revised the bill four more times.  On July 8, a request for a public hearing on the legislation was denied by the House Education Committee, however, home school leaders were later granted eight minutes for an educational expert to speak on their behalf on July 14.  By the time the bill finally cleared the House Education Committee, it was in its sixth version.  On August 8, the bill went to the House floor for its second reading -- in an unusual Saturday session.  During the debate, the testing requirement was amended by a 53-21 vote.  That version then passed with a 69-15 vote.  The third and final reading was then scheduled for Monday evening, August 10 but was then rescheduled for the next morning.  On Tuesday, August 11, another testing amendment was added by a vote of 59-18 as the bill cleared the House.  The bill was then quickly sent to the Senate since adjournment of the 1987 General Assembly was now imminent.  In the Senate, the bill was sent to the Senate Education Committee which did nothing with it before the 1987 session concluded.  Later, the Department of Public Instruction issued a memorandum reporting on the 1987 session and its anticipated actions of the forthcoming 1988 session.  Concerning the 1987 House passage of its very latest version of House Bill 837, it said:

        By the time the General Assembly convened in May 1988 for its short session, North Carolinians for Home Education, the privately funded statewide home school advocacy organization, had drawn up a completely new version of the bill.  On June 10, 1988, it was presented to members of the Senate Education Committee who accepted it after home school leaders agreed to an annual testing requirement (instead of only at certain grade levels) and a high school diploma or its equivalent requirement.  On the Senate floor this bill was then amended for the final time on June 14 to allow two-household home school situations.  The final Senate vote was 43-5.  The House Education Committee accepted the Senate substitute version and the House officially concurred on the Senate substitute version on June 17 with a final vote of 93-0.  On June 20, 1988, the completely rewritten House Bill 837 was ratified becoming what is today known as Part 3 of Article 39, Chapter 115C of the North Carolina General Statutes.  At the conclusion of their legislative initiative, one of the home school organization leaders penned the following:

What is a Home School?

        G.S. 115C-563(a) defines a home school as a non-public school in which the child receives academic instruction from the parent, legal guardian or a member of the household in which the child resides.  The instructor must possess at least a high school diploma or its equivalent.  The home school law also permits two households to combine as one home school and allows the children from both households to be taught together by members of either household -- provided such persons hold a high school diploma or its equivalent.

        Schools enrolling children from more than two households, or parents simply hiring an "outside-the-household" professional instructor to teach academic subjects would be governed by the conventional school statutes -- not by the home school laws.  The home school legal definition, however, does allow the parent/guardian to hire someone from outside the household to teach non-academic (enrichment) subjects such as music lessons, art lessons, etc.  Home school parents also may employ a personal education consultant to teach the parent how to teach difficult subjects so long as the child does not receive academic instruction directly from the consultant.  The statute also prohibits a student of compulsory attendance age enrolled in a home school from receiving academic instruction at a local public, conventional non-public school or community college.  Enrollment in non-academic subjects at such institutions would, however, be permissible if the institution agrees to such a part-time arrangement.  In short, the State of North Carolina defines a home school NOT by where it meets but rather from whom the child receives the academic instruction.

        A family with children of compulsory attendance age has only three choices in the education of its children in North Carolina.  The child must either be enrolled in a local public school, a conventional non-public school or in a home school registered with this division and which satisfies the home school laws of the State.
 

Home Schools Today

        Home schools in North Carolina enrolling students of compulsory attendance age answer to the North Carolina Division of Non-Public Education.  The history and mission of the division and how to contact it are available from this web site.  The relationship between home schools and the division have been congenial.

        A family considering the concept of home instruction would normally begin by obtaining from this division a Home School Information Packet which is available from this web site and follow the instructions and procedures outlined in it.

        There were 381 home schools operating statewide with a combined enrollment of 809 students during the first school year (1985-1986) in which home schools were officially legal again in North Carolina.  The number of home schools has increased each year since.  The Home School Statistics section of this web site documents this fact by providing information from 1985 up through the most recently completed school year.  It contains information about the statewide total number of schools by each school year; the average number of students per home school as well as the number of males and females; and, growth and operational longevity trends.  Each year, a goodly number of home schools cease operation.  Home school "burnout" takes its toll on families whose circumstances and priorities often change with the passing of time.

        The question is often asked: "Why do families choose to teach their children at home in lieu of attending a conventional school?"  There are many reasons.  A few of them include:

        Two of the most common concerns about the concept of home instruction revolve around the academic progress and the lack of socialization of the children.  Each school year since 1985, the division has been inspecting student attendance and nationally standardized achievement test result records of home schools "from Murphy to Manteo."  The majority of these records indicate that home schooled students in this State are performing academically from one to three years above the national norms.  In recent years, parents of children with special needs have been withdrawing their children from school and teaching them at home in an effort to provide the needed one-on-one help in a non-distracting environment -- frequently at the suggestion of the classroom teacher.  These children typically rank below national norms as they come in to the home school setting and often, despite the parents' very best efforts, continue to rank below national norms.  Our observation has been that most home instructors are well aware of the socialization needs of their children.  Consequently, many of them are quite active in local home school support group student activities, 4-H clubs, scouts, church and other activities.

        Home school support groups exist throughout the state.  They are informal organizations of local home school families who gather together frequently so that the children can socialize with one another through group student activities.  They include field trips, science fairs, academic contests, choirs, bands, sporting events, etc.  Support groups also provide the parents opportunities to share teaching ideas, discuss their teaching frustrations, etc.  The division does not have direct contact or involvement with these local support groups or their activities.  There are, however, three statewide home school organizations -- North Carolinians for Home Education; Families Learning Together; and, Homeschool Alliance of NC -- which have information about and are in contact with local support groups.  North Carolinians for Home Education sponsors an annual statewide home school convention each year drawing several thousand home school parents and about 100 displayers catering to the needs of the burgeoning North Carolina home school educational market.

        The dramatic growth nationally of the home school movement has spawned the creation of many new companies exclusively serving home school needs.  In recent years, textbook, curriculum, educational material and other school suppliers have begun more marketing toward the home school community.  Most North Carolina home school families use traditional curriculum and textbooks.  However, a growing number of them are moving in the direction of computer delivered instructional services through CD-ROMs and the Internet.  There are educational suppliers which deliver instruction by rented CDs and video of actual classroom instruction.  There are also those who provide instruction via inter-active satellite technology making the parent instructors job much easier than in earlier years.

        Since the non-public school statutes are silent on the subject of curriculum and textbooks; and, since the non-public school community desires freedom of choice in such matters, the division does not directly provide that information.  Inquiring individuals, however, are routinely referred to the above named statewide home school organizations which make such information available.  Neither state government nor local North Carolina public schools provide student textbooks to home schools.  The division, however, does provide a list of vendors of nationally standardized tests which are required annually of home schools.
 

Recognition of Credit Earned

        The State of North Carolina does not provide a high school diploma for students graduating from non-public schools (including home schools).  Each non-public school (including home schools) issues its own diploma to students graduating from its high school program, retains student academic records after high school graduation and issues student transcripts as needed.  In a home school, therefore, the parent provides the high school diploma.  To what extent a home school issued high school diploma is recognized by colleges, the United States military and the business community is determined individually by each of those entities.  A parent considering establishing a home school to teach a high school student is advised to check in advance with the admissions office of any colleges in which the student might ultimately be interested or with United States military recruiting offices to ascertain how a home school high school graduate applicant would be handled.  Often to improve credibility, home school parents will have the high school student enroll in a home school high school distance learning program which is permissible by State law.

        The North Carolina General Statutes relating to public schools empower the local principal to decide whether or not student transfer credit will be recognized by his/her school in determining grade placement for the incoming student.  G.S. 115C-288(a) reads:

        Typically, a student presented for public school enrollment in grade 9 or below, after a year or more of home school enrollment, will -- as a minimum -- be required to produce the following evidence:  That the home school operated according to state law; a copy of the most recent student nationally standardized achievement test results (from a test not administered or scored by a relative or guardian); and, the student attendance record for at least the most recent school year.  Student immunization records as well as additional information is also usually requested.  The standardized test results always play a major role in deciding grade placement.

        For students who have completed grades 9, 10 or 11 elsewhere, the grade placement is usually also determined by the number of individual subject units earned in the previous school.  A unit is usually determined by fifty minutes of classroom instruction for at least 180 days in the subject.  For that reason, home schools not adhering to the unit rule will often encounter problems in acquiring public school recognition of high school level credit earned while enrolled in grades 9-11 in a home school.
 

Government Funded Programs

        In North Carolina, the only state government sponsored program in which non-public school students can voluntarily participate is Driver Education.  Since completion of the state-approved course is required to obtain a North Carolina driver's license, the course is provided free of charge to local non-public school students through the local public high school.  Home school parents simply contact the Driver Education instructor in the local public high school which the student would otherwise be attending and inform him/her of the need for the home school student to be enrolled in the next available session of the course at that public high school.  Schools normally give priority to oldest students as courses are scheduled.  Parents may also enroll the student in a local conventional non-public school's state-approved Driver Education course, if the school has room and is willing to include the home school student.  The parent may also pay a local professional driver training school to provide the state-approved Driver Education course.  Parent-taught driver education courses at home are not recognized toward meeting the course requirement for a North Carolina driver's license.  Since 1998, a teenager not yet possessing a high school diploma while under age 18 and who desires a North Carolina driver's license, must present to the local DMV office a State of North Carolina Student Driving Eligibility Certificate signed by the administrator of the North Carolina school in which the student is currently enrolled.  Information on this requirement is available at this web site.

        Local public schools are not mandated to provide government services to non-public schools other than Driver Education.  If a local public school system wishes to voluntarily make available to local home schools non-academic courses or permit home school student participation in non inter-school competition type activities, they may legally do so.  Public schools, however, may not allow non-public school students to play on public school teams or enroll them in an academic course in the public school and remain legally registered as a home school with this division.  Local public schools normally do not sell, rent or loan textbooks, curriculum or other educational materials to home school parents since home schools are non-public schools.  The parent purchases such materials.
 

Is it for Your Family?

        Any educator would agree that "one-on-one" academic instruction from a caring and competent instructor is an ideal setting for learning.  Some familiar people were educated in this manner.  They include:  Leonardo da Vinci, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, George Washington Carver, Winston Churchill, Benjamin Franklin, Hans Christian Anderson, John Wesley, Albert Schweitzer, Pearl Buck, James Madison, Pierre Curie, Conrad Adenaner, Charles Dickens, C.S. Lewis, Robert E. Lee, Douglas McArthur, Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, the Wright brothers, George Benard Shaw, Charlie Chaplin, John Quincy Adams, Cyrus McCormick, Andrew Carnegie, Sandra Day O'Conner and others.  A typical parent can certainly qualify as caring.  In analyzing your competency for the task, ponder the following questions:

Conclusion

        It would appear that North Carolina, like other states, has come full circle in the education of its youth -- from home instruction in years past to teaching children in groups (called schools) and then since the 1980's a growing trend back to home instruction.  Since in many of today's North Carolina households, both parents are employed outside the home, it would seem that the return to home instruction will probably not reach massive proportions in the near future.  Since 1985, home schools have gained more wide acceptance in North Carolina as well as in other states.  All fifty states now permit parents to teach their children at home in lieu of conventional school attendance.  The division web site includes links by state to the various state government agencies in the US which oversee private K-12 and home schools.  This web site also has a section entitled Frequently Asked Home School Questions which provides additional information on issues related to the operation of a home school in North Carolina.

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