Dear Home Educator:

Montana State Law [MCA 20-5-109(5)] requires the parent or legal guardian choosing to home school, to sign up annually with their County Superintendent of Schools.  It is my responsibility to verify you are home schooling and complying with Montana State Laws and United States regulations, such as No Child Left Behind mandates. When signing up with my Deputy Kate Ike kate@lakemt.gov , we provide you with an extensive packet of resource information, but you are responsible for your own curriculum.

Included in the packet, are state laws pertinent to home schools on compulsory enrollment, attendance officer, and truancy laws.   Statutes define a home school as "the instruction by a parent of his child, stepchild, or ward in his residence." The law states that a nonpublic home school shall: (1) Maintain records on pupil attendance and disease immunization; (2) Provide at least 180 days of pupil instruction Be housed in a building that complies with applicable health and safety regulations; (3) Provide an organized course of study; and (4) notify the county superintendent of schools each school fiscal year of the student's attendance at the home school. It is essential to complete each year’s notification within ten days of the start of public school in your district. If your child is not enrolled at the public school where you reside and there is no notification form in our office by September 20th, your child would be considered TRUANT, and the District-of-Residence will proceed appropriately. Please sign up at this office. A PDF file for registration is available online via The Lake County Superintendent of Schools. Please notify my office if you enroll back in public school. Districts have various policies and practices that control admittance and assessment for appropriate grade placement of non‑accredited, non‑public school children. 

Opportunity to Participate in Federally Funded Programs by Nonpublic Schools

Federal law requires schools to offer participation in federally funded programs to every one in the district. The Lake County Superintendent of Schools provides the federal program descriptions, and provides the non-public schools the opportunity to participate in these programs through completion of the required form. The federally funded programs descriptions and form are included in the home school packet. Read pages 7-24, print, complete, and mail page seven, the Opportunity to Participate in Federally Funded Programs, to my office.  When registering for home school, both Home School Notification and the Federally Funded Programs Form are required. Copies are sent to the district of residence and also maintained in the home school file. A separate federal form must be completed for elementary and high school students, unless your district is a recognized K-12 District (only St. Ignatius in Lake County). If your district receives Title I, Part A funds and you choose to participate in any of the federal programs, your District-of-Residence is required “to hold consultation in a meaningful and timely manner” with you.  Do not check off number 4 until you have received the consultation with the district. Please retain a copy of the form for your records.

Please do not hesitate to contact the office if we can be of further service. We have attendance forms and more information, like the Montana Coalition of Home Educators (MCHE), which publishes the Montana Homeschool Reference Guide. The Montana Office of Public Instruction’s web site has numerous resources including Montana Content Standards and a Get Answers Tab to help you out.

Sincerely,
Joyce Decker Wegner
County Superintendent of Schools

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