Homeschooling in West Virginia.

Who you notify

Your county superintendent (or county board). File a one-time Notice of Intent when you begin; if your child is in public school, file on or before the day home instruction starts.

What the notice includes

Each school-age child's name, address and age, and your assurance that your child will be taught reading, language, math, science and social studies and assessed every year.

Parent qualification

Send proof of a high school diploma or equivalent, or a post-secondary degree or certificate from a regionally accredited or West Virginia-authorized institution. You don't need to be a certified teacher.

Yearly assessment

Each year, assess the previous year's work in one of four ways: a nationally normed test (normed within 10 years), the state's tests at a county public school, a certified teacher's portfolio review, or another assessment you and the superintendent agree on.

What you send, and when

Send results to the county superintendent only for grades 3, 5, 8 and 11, by June 30 of the year of the assessment. Keep copies of every yearly assessment for three years.

If progress falls short

If progress isn't acceptable, start a remedial program. If it's still not acceptable after a second year in a row, you must send additional evidence of appropriate instruction.

Stopping or moving

Tell the superintendent when home instruction ends. If you move counties, notify your old county's superintendent and file a new notice with the new county.

Help and classes

The superintendent offers help such as textbooks, when available. With county board approval, your child may attend county classes.

What this route is

Instead of the notice, ask your county board to approve instruction at home or another approved place for the same term as public schools. The superintendent and board must judge you qualified to teach the required subjects.

If denied

The county board must give you a written explanation.

Records

Give the superintendent attendance, instruction and progress records when asked.

What this is

A separate exemption for groups of families (learning pods) or tuition-charging microschools. They follow the same notice, credential and assessment rules as home instruction, but the law says they aren't homeschooling.