Morgan County — WVHEA Board member Pam Mann reported that the county’s new homeschool coordinator was enacting new homeschool policies that were not supported by the law. The coordinator a) requested the type of assessment homeschool families planned to use; b) would not accept portfolio evaluations from teachers without WV certification; and c) refused to accept portfolio evaluations from homeschool parents who are certified teachers. The coordinator developed these new policies after consulting with the WVDE’s Karen Larry.

The coordinator met with a group of county homeschoolers in early September to discuss the new policies and during the discussion agreed to accept evaluations from teachers certified out of state, provided the evaluators supplied the information necessary to verify their certification.

In an email to WVHEA, Karen Larry supported the county coordinator’s interpretation of the law. WVHEA responded, explaining our understanding of the law and promising to inform the evaluators it knows of regarding the portfolio assessment requirements.

Meanwhile, Morgan County homeschool families plan to continue to monitor the situation.