Syracuse LEAH

The Letter of Intent simply informs the school district of your decision to educate your child at home for the coming school year. Don’t worry about not saying enough in the letter.

July 1st, 2010

Dear Superintendent:

We plan to homeschool our children Aaron and Bethany Jones for the 2010-2011 school year.

Thank you in advance for your response.

Sincerely,
Mr. & Mrs. Jones

NOTE: Remember to mail your letter on or before June 29th so that your superintendent receives it by July 1st. If you are beginning to homeschool during the year you must send this notice within 14 days from starting.

Always document the date that you send any correspondence to your school district, and the date on which they respond. ALWAYS make copies of anything you send. In some cases it is recommended that you send all written communication by certified, return receipt mail to verify that the school district received it.

Your school district should send you a copy of the state regulations and an IHIP form after receiving your Letter of Intent. A completed IHIP form for every child between the ages of 6 and 16 must then be submitted by August 15th or 4 weeks after you receive the form from your school district. You do not have to use the forms they send you. You may make you own as long as it provides the necessary information.

This is the website in which you will find the homeschool regulations:
www.emsc.nysed.gov/nonpub/homeinstruction

What is an I.H.I.P?

Individual Home Instruction Plan is a brief statement of your “plan of action” for the coming school year. It includes the child’s name, address, date of birth, grade level, and the name of the individual providing the instruction. You will also need to provide the four dates, which YOU have chosen, on which you plan to submit your quarterly reports (divide the school year into 4 quarters of 45 days each to equal 180 days of instruction). Next you will need to include the syllabi, curriculum materials, textbooks, OR plan of instruction. That word ‘or’ is important… you are not required to give all of this information, just the one of your choosing.

What is a Quarterly Report?

The quarterly report is the statement which you file four times a year which documents the number of hours of instruction that took place, a brief description of the materials covered in each subject as listed in the IHIP, and a grade or narrative evaluating the child’s progress in each subject.

For more information and sample forms you may consider buying a NYS Regulations Manual from Syracuse LEAH.

1st-6th Grades	7th & 8th Grades		9th-12th Grades			Required Subjects K-12 patriotism citizenship alcohol, drug, tobacco ed. Highway, bike, traffic safety fire prevention
SUBJECTS	SUBJECTS	UNITS	SUBJECTS	UNITS
Math	Math	2	English	4
Language Arts	English	2	Social Studies-includes	4
Social Studies	History/Geog.	2	American History	1
Science	Science	2	Government	½
Health	Health	regularly	Economics	½
Music	Music	½	S S Elective	½
Visual Arts	Art	½	Science	2		Units: 1 unit=108 hrs. or 3 hrs. per wk for 36 wks ½ u = 54 hrs ¼ u = 27 hrs
Phys. Ed	Phys. Ed	regularly	Math	2
	Library	regularly	Phys. Ed	2
	Practical Arts	regularly	Art or Music	1
Required once during Grades 1-8: US Constitution and History, NYS History			Health	1/2
			Electives	3
Grades 1-6= 900 hrs. instruction/year Grades 7-12=990 hrs. instruction/year