BILL NUMBER: S7706

SPONSOR: MARTINEZ
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to home instruction

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

The purpose of this bill is to clarify the obligations of public school
superintendents and parents where a parent has complied with state regu-
lations governing home instruction to students of compulsory school
attendance age and such parent seeks a letter of substantial equivalence
from the public school of the city or district where the student
resides.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends subdivision 2 of section 3204 of the education law to
add a new paragraph iv to clarify the obligations of public school
superintendents and parents concerning the. issuance of providing a
letter of substantial equivalence where a parent has complied with home
              

instruction requirements prescribed in the commissioner's regulations.

Section 2: Establishes the effective date.

 
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):

Revisions have been added to clarify various responsibilities and time-
frames.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Unlike public or private high school students, home instruction students
do not receive a high school diploma.Instead, they may receive a letter
of "substantial equivalence" from the public school of the city or
district where they reside.However, due to persistent confusion, some
public school administrators will not issue a letter of substantial
equivalence, and some institutions of higher education will not accept
such a letter as evidence of the student's fulfillment of a four-year
high school course. Failure to obtain a letter of substantial equiv-
alence can be a major obstacle to a home instruction student applying to
college or a licensed private career school.Many institutions of higher
education do not permit students to enroll as degree candidates unless
they can provide satisfactory evidence of a high school education or its
substantial equivalent. Even more significantly, if a student is unable
to enroll as a degree candidate, then the student is ineligible to apply
for financial aid.  These obstacles may result in students seeking high-
er education opportunities outside of New York State.

Despite confusion among some public schools and institutions of higher
education concerning the format and substance of the letter of substan-
tial equivalence, SED's guidance on home instruction clearly states that
"A home instruction program that adheres to the standards of the regu-
lations at each stage of the process should be deemed to be substantial-
ly equivalent."' This bill clarifies that a public school superintendent
need only verify the fact of compliance to be authorized to issue a
letter certifying home instruction as "substantially equivalent" to the
public school. In turn, this bill also provides institutions of higher
education with certainty that they may accept a letter of substantial
equivalence as satisfactory evidence of the home instruction student's
fulfillment of a four-year high school course.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2023 - A.2957 - Referred to Education

2022 - A.9926 - Referred to Education

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
1 New York State Education Department, Non-public Schools, Home Instruc-
tion Q&A No. 37 at http://www.nysed.gov/nonpublic-schools/home- instruc-
tion-spestions-and-answers (April 14, 2022).