Tips for Writing Your Education Plan (con't) from "The Parent's Guide to Successful Homeschooling" If after trying one or more of the above suggestions, you find that a school official insists on actually seeing the books and materials, you could point out that your plan includes making use of such intangible resources, and that the internet and the public library are accessible to anyone, where you can find the information easily. It is all really about how best to define access in this context. You need to remember that approval can only be conditioned on requirements that are absolutely necessary to the State interest in making sure that all of the children will be educated properly. Since most of the schools feel that a list of resources meets their need for access to teaching materials, and since some of them are happy with far less than that, it would be very hard difficult to argue that physical access is needed. Some of these resources that you can use are: · Encyclopedias · Dictionaries · Atlases · reference books and materials (such as textbooks, field guides, timelines, globes, maps, etc.) · newspapers · Magazines · Library loan books, tapes, magazines, etc. · educational games · educational computer software and on-line services · calculating and measuring tools and utensils · arts & crafts supplies · writing supplies · musical instruments · audio-visual equipment and materials · religious materials · science lab equipment · sports equipment · community resources (such as museums, theatres, sports programs, · private lessons, volunteer opportunities)   Guideline 4: School officials and parents have to agree on a way to host the evaluations that may include any of the following approaches: · standardized testing, · progress report, · dated work samples. · Other methods of assessment, if they are agreed upon by parents and school officials, are also allowed. You need to choose the one form of assessment that best fits your own individual style of homeschooling, either testing, progress report or dated work samples. If you add a line such as, An annual progress report/dated work sample/standardized test results will be submitted upon request, as was mentioned earlier; it is a good way to just be sure. If they don't ask, you don't need to submit anything. Some families prefer to use different methods of assessment for different children. Once you have submitted a plan that includes information that is outlined by the guidelines, you can rest assured that you have already fulfilled your responsibility to homeschool. From here you can either hand deliver your plan to the school and ask for a receipt, or mail it certified mail, by requesting a return receipt. It is not unheard of for schools to lose your paperwork, so it's good to have a copy of what you have sent to them, as well as the proof that you have submitted it. Depending on what town you live in, you may or may not hear anything from your school once you've submitted your plan. If it is important to you to receive approval in writing, you can include a sentence such as, “I would appreciate a letter of approval from you” in your cover letter.  This type of proof of homeschooling can be used to get special discounts at various stores and museums, as well as student discounts for use of the MBTA. If the home school proposal is rejected for some reason, the superintendent or the school committee must provide you with details of the reasons for the decision. The parents must then be given an opportunity to correct or change their proposal as a means of fixing its inadequacies. However, if the parents start the education of their children at home in spite of the school committee's refusal to approve their proposal, the burden of proof under the laws, moves to the school committee as a way to show that the instruction that was outlined in the home school proposal fails to meet with the standards of the public schools in the same town.  Basically, if the school sees a problem with your plan, they are obligated to give you the opportunity to fix it. If, having submitted a plan, you commence homeschooling without approval, the school will then assume that the burden to show that your plan does not meet their standards of that in the public schools. In the unlikely event that the school wants to take you to court over the matter, the huge costs that are incurred for them to do it along with the fact that they would have to bear the burden of proof to show your plan is not adequate would most likely be a detriment to them, especially given the chance that a judge would recommend an quick and easy resolution to the situation.