|
Private Schools Children who are instructed in a private, full-time day school are exempt from public school attendance ( Education Code Section 48222). Private schools must offer instruction in the several branches of study required in the state's public schools:
*Course of study for grades one through six— English, mathematics, social science, science, fine arts, health, and physical education ( Education Code Section 51210) SEE BELOW·OR (LOOK AT AN AT A GLANCE GUIDE)
**Course of study for grades seven through twelve--same as above plus foreign language, applied arts, vocational education, and driver education ( Education Code Section 51220) (LOOK AT AN AT A GLANCE GUIDE OR SEE BELOW.)
There is no requirement in the Education Code for a teacher in a private school to hold a state teaching credential. Private school authorities are required to obtain a criminal record summary on every applicant for employment in a position requiring contact with minor pupils except a parent or legal guardian working exclusively with his or her children. This law was amended substantially, effective September 30, 1997, and has been amended significantly since then. The California Department of Education is not empowered to license, evaluate, recognize, approve, or endorse any private elementary or secondary school or course. The State of California does not accredit public or private schools. Some schools, however, have elected to be accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). For information regarding whether a specific private school has been accredited by WASC, call (650) 344-4805. Private school owners/administrators are subject to local city and county ordinances (e.g., health, safety, zoning, business license, and so forth) that may be applicable to the operation of private schools. California private schools serving kindergarten through grade twelve are required by state law to file an informational affidavit with the Specialized Programs Division of the California Department of Education each year by October 15. In the 2000-01 school year, 4,252 private elementary schools and high schools (with six or more students), enrolling 648,564 students, filed affidavits. This affidavit is not a license. The affidavit is necessary for the pupil's exemption from public school and for the school to be eligible to receive the appropriate records from the pupil's last school of attendance. School districts have the responsibility to ensure that all school-age children in the district either are in attendance at a public school or are legally exempt. The annual California Private School Directory lists all private schools with an enrollment of six or more that have filed the informational affidavit. The directory also contains a summary of selected California laws that are applicable to private schools and a list of private school organizations. This directory may be purchased by contacting CDE Press at (800) 995-4099; it is also available in public libraries.
GRADES 1ST THROUGH 6TH
*51210. The adopted course of study for grades 1 to 6, inclusive, shall include instruction, beginning in grade 1 and continuing through grade 6, in the following areas of study: (a) English, including knowledge of, and appreciation for literature and the language, as well as the skills of speaking, reading, listening, spelling, handwriting, and composition. (b) Mathematics, including concepts, operational skills, and problem solving. (c) Social sciences, drawing upon the disciplines of anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, and sociology, designed to fit the maturity of the pupils. Instruction shall provide a foundation for understanding the history, resources, development, and government of California and the United States of America; the development of the American economic system including the role of the entrepreneur and labor; the relations of persons to their human and natural environment; eastern and western cultures and civilizations; contemporary issues; and the wise use of natural resources. (d) Science, including the biological and physical aspects, with emphasis on the processes of experimental inquiry and on the place of humans in ecological systems. (e) Visual and performing arts, including instruction in the subjects of dance, music, theatre, and visual arts, aimed at the development of aesthetic appreciation and the skills of creative expression. (f) Health, including instruction in the principles and practices of individual, family, and community health. (g) Physical education, with emphasis upon the physical activities for the pupils that may be conducive to health and vigor of body and mind, for a total period of time of not less than 200 minutes each 10 schooldays, exclusive of recesses and the lunch period. (h) Other studies that may be prescribed by the governing board.
GRADES 7TH THROUGH 12TH
**a) Commencing with the 1988-89 school year, no pupil shall receive a diploma of graduation from high school who, while in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, has not completed all of the following: (1) At least the following numbers of courses in the subjects specified, each course having a duration of one year, unless otherwise specified. (A) Three courses in English. (B) Two courses in mathematics – one must be Algebra I. (C) Two courses in science, including biological and physical sciences. (D) Three courses in social studies, including United States history and geography; world history, culture, and geography; a one-semester course in American government and civics, and a one-semester course in economics. (E) One course in visual or performing arts or foreign language. For the purposes of satisfying the requirement specified in this subparagraph, a course in American Sign Language shall be deemed a course in foreign language. (F) Two courses in physical education, unless the pupil has been exempted pursuant to the provisions of this code. (2) Other coursework as the governing board of the school district may by rule specify. (b) The governing board, with the active involvement of parents, administrators, teachers, and pupils, shall adopt alternative means for pupils to complete the prescribed course of study which may include practical demonstration of skills and competencies, supervised work experience or other outside school experience, career technical education classes offered in high schools, courses offered by regional occupational centers or programs, interdisciplinary study, independent study, and credit earned at a postsecondary institution. Requirements for graduation and specified alternative modes for completing the prescribed course of study shall be made available to pupils, parents, and the public. 51220. The adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, shall offer courses in the following areas of study: (a) English, including knowledge of and appreciation for literature, language, and composition, and the skills of reading, listening, and speaking. (b) Social sciences, drawing upon the disciplines of anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, and sociology, designed to fit the maturity of the pupils. Instruction shall provide a foundation for understanding the history, resources, development, and government of California and the United States of America; instruction in our American legal system, the operation of the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems, and the rights and duties of citizens under the criminal and civil law and the State and Federal Constitutions; the development of the American economic system, including the role of the entrepreneur and labor; the relations of persons to their human and natural environment; eastern and western cultures and civilizations; human rights issues, with particular attention to the study of the inhumanity of genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust, and contemporary issues. (c) Foreign language or languages, beginning not later than grade 7, designed to develop a facility for understanding, speaking, reading, and writing the particular language. (d) Physical education, with emphasis given to physical activities that are conducive to health and to vigor of body and mind, as required by Section 51222. (e) Science, including the physical and biological aspects, with emphasis on basic concepts, theories, and processes of scientific investigation and on the place of humans in ecological systems, and with appropriate applications of the interrelation and interdependence of the sciences. (f) Mathematics, including instruction designed to develop mathematical understandings, operational skills, and insight into problem-solving procedures. 51224.5. (a) The adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, shall include algebra as part of the mathematics area of study pursuant to subdivision (f) of Section 51220. (c) A pupil who completes coursework in grade 7 or 8 for algebra is not exempt from the mathematics requirements for grades 9 to 12, inclusive, as specified in subdivision (b) of this section or in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 51225.3. (g) Visual and performing arts, including dance, music, theater, and visual arts, with emphasis upon development of aesthetic appreciation and the skills of creative expression. (h) Applied arts, including instruction in the areas of consumer and homemaking education, industrial arts, general business education, or general agriculture. (i) Career technical education designed and conducted for the purpose of preparing youth for gainful employment in the occupations and in the numbers that are appropriate to the personnel needs of the state and the community served and relevant to the career desires and needs of the pupils. (j) Automobile driver education, designed to develop a knowledge of the provisions of the Vehicle Code and other laws of this state relating to the operation of motor vehicles, a proper acceptance of personal responsibility in traffic, a true appreciation of the causes, seriousness and consequences of traffic accidents, and to develop the knowledge and attitudes necessary for the safe operation of motor vehicles. A course in automobile driver education shall include education in the safe operation of motorcycles. (k) Other studies as may be prescribed by the governing board.
Public School Attendance48222. Children who are being instructed in a private full-time day school by persons capable of teaching shall be exempted. Such school shall, except under the circumstances described in Section 30, be taught in the English language and shall offer instruction in the several branches of study required to be taught in the public schools of the state. The attendance of the pupils shall be kept by private school authorities in a register, and the record of attendance shall indicate clearly every absence of the pupil from school for a half day or more during each day that school is maintained during the year.
Exemptions under this section shall be valid only after verification by the attendance supervisor of the district, or other person designated by the board of education, that the private school has complied with the provisions of Section 33190 requiring the annual filing by the owner or other head of a private school of an affidavit or statement of prescribed information with the Superintendent of Public Instruction. The verification required by this section shall not be construed as an evaluation, recognition, approval, or endorsement of any private school or course.
Required Earthquake Safety Instruction for your children.
Please peruse the following sites to obtain earthquake safety instructions for your family as required by the California Department of Education.
OPTIONS FOR HOMESCHOOLING TAKEN FROM THE CDE WEBSITE
How do I get an Affidavit? The Private School Affidavit is available online after September 15 at http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ps/rq/Affidavit.asp. Please check for updates.
Attn: Private School Affidavit California Department of Education 1430 N Street, Room 4401 Sacramento, CA 95814
Who must file a Private School Affidavit? Every person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation offering or conducting a full-time day or boarding school at the elementary or high school level must file an Affidavit (California Education Code Section 33190).
EDUCATION CODE 33190:
33190. Every person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation offering or conducting private school instruction on the elementary or high school level shall between the first and 15th day of October of each year, commencing on October 1, 1967, file with the Superintendent of Public Instruction an affidavit or statement, under penalty of perjury, by the owner or other head setting forth the following information for the current year. (a) All names, whether real or fictitious, of the person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation under which it has done and is doing business. (b) The address, including city and street, of every place of doing business of the person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation within the State of California. (c) The address, including city and street, of the location of the records of the person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation, and the name and address, including city and street, of the custodian of such records. (d) The names and addresses, including city and street, of the directors, if any, and principal officers of the person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation. (e) The school enrollment, by grades, number of teachers, coeducational or enrollment limited to boys or girls and boarding facilities.
The records required to be kept by section 48222. The courses of study offered by the institution. The names and addresses, including city and street, of its faculty, together with a record of the educational qualifications of each. (g) Criminal record summary information has been obtained pursuant to section 44237. (4) This section does not apply to a secondary school pupil working at the school he or she attends or a parent or legal guardian working exclusively with his or her children.) Whenever two or more private schools are under the effective control or supervision of a single administrative unit, such administrative unit may comply with the provisions of this section on behalf of each of the schools under its control or supervision by submitting one report. Filing pursuant to this section shall not be interpreted to mean, and it shall be unlawful for any school to expressly or impliedly represent by any means |
|
Before proceeding to the online course of study, familiarizing yourself with the California Department of Education in the several “branches of study” required for grades 1st through 12th might be a good idea. After deciding what your course of study will be, click on one of these options below: |
