Prince William County Public Schools

PWCS is responsible under the law (Virginia Code § 22.1-254) to verify that all school-aged children residing in the county are:

• Attending a public school or a private, denominational, or parochial school;
• Being taught by a tutor or teacher of qualifications prescribed by the Virginia Board of Education and approved by the division superintendent;
• Being provided home instruction (as described in Virginia Code § 22.1-254.1); or
• Have been exempted from compliance with the compulsory school attendance law.

If you opt to discontinue the home instruction of your child, Virginia law requires you to satisfy the compulsory school attendance requirement in another way.

PWCS provides you the option to complete a Notice of Intent to Discontinue Home Instruction form. Completion of this form is not required, but it is a convenient way to ensure that PWCS has the information necessary to verify that you and your child are in compliance with the law.

Under Virginia law, (Virginia Code § 22.1-254.1), any parent of a child who will be 5-years old by September 30 and who is not 18-years old may elect to provide home instruction in lieu of school attendance.

A parent or guardian is qualified to provide home instruction if one of the following conditions is met:

Parents or guardians electing to provide home instruction in lieu of school attendance shall annually notify the PWCS no later than August 15 of their intent to provide home instruction for the child – including a description of the curriculum.

The parent is required to submit to the local school division, by the following August 1, evidence of the child's academic progress with either:

1. Evidence that the child has attained a composite score in or above the fourth stanine on any nationally normed standardized achievement test, or an equivalent score on the ACT, SAT, or PSAT test; or
2. An evaluation or assessment which the division superintendent determines to indicate that the child is achieving an adequate level of educational growth and progress, including but not limited to:
   • An evaluation letter from a person licensed to teach in any state, or a person with a master's degree or higher in an academic discipline having knowledge of the child's academic progress, stating that the child is achieving an adequate level of educational growth and progress; or
   • A report card or transcript from a community college or college, college distance learning program, or home-education correspondence school.

Learn more on the Virginia Department of Education's Home Instruction webpage.

Please submit paperwork as soon as possible to avoid the August rush.

Completing the Notice of Intent to Provide Home Instruction Online

To use the online Annual Notice of Intent system, parents/guardians access the system through their PWCS ParentVUE account. If you don't have a PWCS ParentVUE account, learn how to create an account.

Online Notice to Provide Home Instruction Form Options

Before beginning the online home instruction annual notice of intent process, parents/guardians are encouraged to review the following home instruction options to choose from to ensure the correct selection is made.

• Home Instruction Full Time – First-time completion for full-time home instruction students.
• Home Instruction Partial – Middle and high school home instruction students who will be taking up to two classes at their zoned school in PWCS.
• Home Instruction Continuing – Families of students who were in home instruction the previous school year. Evidence of Progress should be submitted with this packet (unless age exempt by law).

Information Collected in the Online Notice to Provide Home Instruction Form

All Home Instruction Students

1. Description of curriculum or program of study.
   • Please note that due to recent changes in the Virginia Code, parents/guardians need only submit a list of subjects to be studied during the coming year.
2. Supporting documents proving eligibility to provide home instruction.

Continuing Home Instruction Students

• Evidence of Progress – See the Annual Evidence of Progress Requirement for more information.

Completing the Notice of Intent to Provide Home Instruction by Email or Mail

Please the following forms and provide the following information to the PWCS Home Instruction office.

• Notice of intent to provide home instruction (PDF)
• Description of curriculum or program of study.
  • Please note that due to recent changes in the Virginia Code, parents need only submit a list of subjects to be studied during the coming year. Parents may complete the sample Description of Curriculum (PDF) or submit a curriculum description or program of study in an alternate format.
• Supporting documents proving eligibility to provide home instruction.

Contact Information

Email: [email protected]

Mailing Address:

College, Career, and Student Support Department
Home Instruction Office
PO Box 389
Manassas, VA 20108

If you are discontinuing home instruction, you may notify us (as a courtesy) in one of three ways.

1. Visit the Online Registration Account & Records Access webpage in ParentVUE. After following the directions to log in, you will be directed to options which include withdrawing your student from home instruction using the Home Instruction Discontinue packet.
2. Complete and submit the Notice of Intent to Discontinue Home Instruction Form (PDF) by email at [email protected]; or
3. Mail:
   
   PWCS College, Career and Student Support Department
   Home Instruction Office
   PO Box 389
   Manassas, VA 20108

If your student is enrolling in PWCS, please register your student.