Homeschooling in West Virginia? Here’s your plan.

Under Option 2, the notice-based pathway in W.Va. Code 18-8-1(c)(2), you give the county superintendent or county board a notice of intent when you begin home instruction. If your child is enrolled in a public school, the notice is due on or before the date home instruction begins. The notice includes the name, address, and age of each child of compulsory school age you will instruct, and your assurance that the child will receive instruction in reading, language, mathematics, science, and social studies and will be assessed annually. You also submit satisfactory evidence of a high school diploma or equivalent, or a qualifying post-secondary degree or certificate. No board approval is required.

Each year under Option 2, you obtain an academic assessment for the previous school year in one of four ways: a nationally normed standardized achievement test published or normed within the past 10 years, the state's public school testing program at a public school in your county, a portfolio of your child's work reviewed by a certified teacher who writes a narrative, or an alternative assessment you and the county superintendent agree on. On a standardized test, acceptable progress means the mean of the results in the required subjects is within or above the fourth stanine, or shows improvement from the prior year. You keep copies of each assessment for three years and submit results to the county superintendent at grades 3, 5, 8, and 11, by June 30.

Option 1, under W.Va. Code 18-8-1(c)(1), starts with a request to the county board for approval of home instruction. If the board denies the request, it must give you good and reasonable justification in writing. Instruction is given by a person the county superintendent and county board judge qualified to teach the subjects required in public elementary schools, for a time equal to the instructional term in W.Va. Code 18-5-45. On the superintendent's request, you provide the county board records of attendance, instruction, and progress. Option 1 has no annual assessment, and the law sets no separate withdrawal letter.

Option 2 (Notice and Annual Assessment) involves a one-time notice, evidence of your qualification, an annual assessment chosen from four methods, and submission of results at grades 3, 5, 8, and 11. Option 1 (School Board Approval) starts with a request for county board approval, and the county superintendent and board decide whether the instructor is qualified. Under Option 1, you provide records of attendance, instruction, and progress when the superintendent asks. Option 3 (Learning Pod or Microschool) uses a notice and annual assessment much like Option 2.

Learn about the Hope Scholarship. A child who is an eligible Hope Scholarship recipient and gives the county superintendent a notice of intent to participate is exempt from compulsory attendance under W.Va. Code 18-8-1(m). Check the program's official website for current amounts, eligibility, and application dates.

Understand the assessment standard. Under Option 2, a standardized test shows acceptable progress when the mean score in the required subjects is within or above the fourth stanine, or improves on the prior year. If an assessment does not show acceptable progress, you start a remedial program. After a second consecutive year without acceptable progress, you submit additional evidence to the county superintendent that appropriate instruction is being provided.

Qualifications for Option 2. The teaching parent submits evidence of a high school diploma or equivalent, or a post-secondary degree or certificate from a qualifying institution. Under Option 1, the county superintendent and board decide whether the instructor is qualified.

Sports and activities. Under W.Va. Code 18-2-25, students receiving home instruction may be eligible for interscholastic athletics and extracurricular activities at the public school serving their residence zone, if they meet the academic, age, amateur, and conduct requirements.

Public school classes. Any child receiving home instruction may, with county board approval, attend any class the county board offers, subject to normal registration and attendance requirements.

Keep your own records. Keep copies of each annual assessment for three years, and keep course records for college applications.