Home Instruction
For the convenience of our home instruction families, the PWCS Home Instruction Notification and Evidence of Progress processes are now online. This online notification system is the most efficient way to submit your home instruction documents. We hope you will utilize this system to notify us of your intent to home instruct your child(ren) or seek partial or full-time enrollment in your child's zoned school. As always, we will gladly accept your documentation via our online portal, email, or USPS, whichever is most convenient for you.
If you opt to discontinue Home Instruction of your child, the Commonwealth of Virginia requires you to satisfy its compulsory attendance law (Virginia Code § 22.1-254) in another way. PWCS is made responsible under the law 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 Board 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 education statute. PWCS provides you the option of completing 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 information necessary to verify that you and your child are in compliance with the law.
If choosing to discontinue home instruction for your student, please review the process provided under the blue tab "Discontinue Home Instruction" below.
If choosing to enroll or reenroll in PWCS after time spent in Home Instruction, please refer to the Registration webpage.
All students home instructed for the current school year must provide "Evidence of Progress." For information on these requirements, please select the blue tab "Evidence of Progress Requirement" below.
Important Dates:
- Acceptance of Evidence of Progress for the current school year and Notice of Intent packets for the upcoming school year will begin on April 15. Please submit paperwork as soon as possible to avoid the August rush.
- All Evidence of Progress must be submitted no later than August 1 after the conclusion of the school year.
- Annual Notification of Home Instruction should be provided to PWCS by August 15 prior to the school year in which the home instruction will commence.
Online Home Instruction Process
If choosing not to use the online system, we will continue to accept documents via email or mail. Please note that sending documents in this manner may require additional time for us to process and to provide you with a letter of compliance. Visit our webpage for the list of Home Instruction Documents, and email and and mailing addresses.
For further questions about Home Instruction, please contact the Home Instruction office at [email protected].
For more information, please review Regulation 722-2 - Home Instruction by Parents.
Notification of Home Instruction Requirement
In accordance with Section 22.1-254.1 of the Code of Virginia, any parent of a child who will have reached the fifth birthday on or before September 30 of any school year and who has not passed the eighteenth birthday 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:
- The parent or guardian holds a high school diploma;
- The parent or guardian is a teacher of qualifications prescribed by the Board of Education;
- The parent or guardian provides the child with a program of study or curriculum which may be delivered through a correspondence course or distance learning program or in any other manner; or
- The parent or guardian can provide evidence that an adequate education is provided for the child.
Parents or guardians electing to provide home instruction in lieu of school attendance shall annually notify the school division superintendent no later than August 15 of intention to instruct the child and provide a description of the curriculum.
Evidence of Progress Requirement
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:
- 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
- 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. (Virginia Department of Education: Private Schools & Home Schooling)
Required Home Instruction Documents
Deadline Dates
| Date | Action to Be Completed |
|---|---|
| April 15 | First day to submit Notice of Intent for the upcoming school year. You can also choose to send all required Home Instruction documents at this time. |
| August 1 | Due date for Evidence of Progress |
| August 15 | Due date for the Notice of Intent and supporting documents. |
College Admissions and Placement Exams
High school-aged home instruction students can participate in Advanced Placement (AP) and Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) examinations and are eligible to receive free AP and PSAT testing opportunities to the same extent as students enrolled in Prince William County Public Schools. If a student wishes to participate in the PSAT or AP Testing, the parents must notify the school no later than:
- September 1 for the PSAT
- November 10 for AP Tests
- A $40 fee will be incurred for any AP test order submitted after November 10.
- Please contact the student's base school for details.
Driver's Education Information
Students approved for home instruction may complete driver education at home. The student must currently be enrolled in a home instruction program approved by the school division superintendent.
Please refer to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles Driver Education Information for Home Schoolers website for details.
Eligibility to Participate in School-Sponsored Activities
Partially-enrolled home instruction and private school students may participate in school-sponsored intramurals, student organizations and clubs, and other extracurricular activities, with the exception of Virginia High School League (VHSL) activities. Partially-enrolled home instruction and private school students shall be required to meet all criteria for participation in the desired organization, club, and extracurricular activities. (Regulation 722-2)
Partial Home Instruction Enrollment
The Prince William County School Board allows partial enrollment of home instruction/private school students for up to two credit-bearing high school courses per semester. For more information, please complete the online Home Instruction registration process provided on the link above. You can contact your zoned high school counseling department if you have further questions.
Discontinue Home Instruction (Optional)
If you wish to discontinue home instruction, you may notify us, as a courtesy, in one of three ways:
- Visit the Online Registration Account & Records Access webpage. After following the directions to log in, you will be directed to options which include withdrawing your student from home instruction.
- Complete and submit the Notice of Intent to Discontinue Home Instruction Form (PDF) by email at [email protected]; or
- Mail: