Homeschooling in West Virginia
This page was last updated/reviewed on 01-July-2019.
West Virginia law permits homeschooling. Homeschoolers can be exempted from the compulsory school attendance that affects children from age six until their sixteenth birthday. According to West Virginia law, several criteria must be met:
- Home: The instruction takes place at home or at a place approved by the county school board
- Diploma: The person or persons providing home instruction must have a high school diploma or equivalent, or a post-secondary degree or certificate (evidence of this must be submitted)
- Notice of Intent: The parent must present to the county superintendent or county school board a notice of intent to provide home instruction that includes:
- The name, address, and age of any child of compulsory school age to be instructed
- Assurance that the child shall receive instruction in reading, language, mathematics, science and social studies
- Assurance that the child shall be assessed annually
- Annual Assessment: Annually, the person or persons providing home instruction shall obtain an academic assessment of the child for the previous school year; West Virginia law states that the assessment may be accomplished as follows:
A portfolio of samples of the child’s work is reviewed by a certified teacher who determines whether the child’s academic progress for the year is in accordance with the child’s abilities. The teacher shall provide a written narrative about the child’s progress in the areas of reading, language, mathematics, science and social studies and shall note any areas which, in the professional opinion of the reviewer, show need for improvement or remediation. If the narrative indicates that the child’s academic progress for the year is in accordance with the child’s abilities, the child is considered to have made acceptable progress.
WV Code §18-8-1(2)(C)(iii)
- Assessment Submission: The parent or legal guardian shall submit to the county superintendent the results of the academic assessment of the child at grade levels three, five, eight and eleven, as applicable, by June 30 of the year in which the assessment was administered
- Document Retention: A parent or legal guardian must maintain copies of each student’s Academic Assessment for three years
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I am not an attorney. The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.
