NICHE provides a wide variety of free materials that may be used by home educating families in Iowa. Click on any of the listed items below to download these documents (Acrobat Reader is required).
Keep in mind that it is a good idea to retain the original copies of all filed forms and correspondence with school officials for your records.
Listed according to applicable purpose, the available forms & resources are:
General Resources
2012 - 2013 CPI Handbook Purpose: This Department of Education publication is published annually to provide information for parents and school district officials on Competent Private Instruction.
Click herefor the latest update on the dual enrollment / testing issue. Click here for the latest update on the birth date / age issue.
The NICHE Legal Summary Purpose: The Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators provides this helpful brochure outlining the legal requirements and options for home educators in Iowa.
Purpose: The Competent Private Instruction Report is also published annually by the Department of Education. All homeschooling parents in Iowa must file a Competent Private Instruction Report for every child of compulsory school attendance age (6-16).
Click here for complete, step-by-step instructions on how to complete & file a CPI Report Form. Click herefor the latest update on the dual enrollment / testing issue. Click here for the latest update on the birth date / age issue. Plan of Instruction Form - Lined [PDF] or Plan of Instruction Form - Unlined [PDF] Plan of Instruction Form - Lined[Word doc] orPlan of Instruction Form - Unlined[Word doc] Purpose: We offer two different styles of "Plan of Instruction" forms designed by the Home School Legal Defense Association and NICHE. Plan of Instruction forms -- lined or unlined -- may be used to comply with the requirement on the Competent Private Instruction Form (Form A) for an attached outline of course of study. Please keep in mind that the Iowa law & rules are silent as to what subjects must be included on the Plan of Instruction. NICHE "Plan of Instruction" forms have been used and submitted by home educators all across Iowa, and have been accepted by school districts statewide. Choose the form style that works best with the curriculum you are using. If you use separate materials for each subject area, you will probably choose the lined form. If you utilize a unit study approach, the unlined form will probably be your choice. In either case, simply write in the materials you will be using and submit this form with your CPI form.
Certificate of Immunization Exemption Purpose: This document must be filed with your CPI form if you intend to use the exemption for immunizations. To learn more about this form and immunizations, please see the Immunization FAQ page.
Privacy Form for Dual-Enrolled or HSAP-Enrolled Student Privacy Form for Non-Enrolled Student Purpose: These option forms are recommended to protect your family's privacy. They inform school officials that you want protections afforded by federal and state laws. The form for dual-enrolled or HSAP-enrolled Students notifies school officials that you are claiming federally mandated privacy protections, and that you do not want any information concerning your enrolled child -- including directory information -- to be released to anyone without your prior consent. The form for non-enrolled students notifies school officials of that information about your child -- including directory information -- is confidential information protected by Iowa Code. Failure to have one of these forms on file with the district and the AEA (where your CPI forms are filed) can leave your child's information open to anyone who requests it. Some home educators make two copies of their CPI form and then staple privacy forms to both copies. Because you cannot be certain that the school district will forward a copy of your optional privacy form along with your required copy of the CPI form to the AEA, you can send a copy of your privacy form to the AEA that serves your school district.
The contact information for the 10 Area Education Agencies in Iowa can be found on the AEA website.
Supervising Teacher Option Forms
Contract for Home School Consultation Purpose: This optional contract is provided to help define and delineate the rights and responsibilities of both parties in a homeschool consultation arrangement: the parents and the teacher. The attorneys with Home School Legal Defense Association assisted in producing it. For more details on the supervising teacher option, we recommend that you read the article, "Using the Supervising Teacher Option" or read the information on our Supervising Teacher FAQ page. Home School Supervising Teacher Visitation Log Purpose: This optional easy-to-use form is offered to help supervising teachers keep the required log of their visits with homeschooling families.
Portfolio Evaluation Option Forms
Contract for Home School Portfolio Evaluation Purpose: This optional contract is provided to help define and delineate the rights and responsibilities of both parties in a homeschool portfolio evaluation arrangement: the parents and the teacher. The attorneys with Home School Legal Defense Association assisted in producing it. For more details on the portfolio evaluation option, we recommend that you read the information on our Portfolio Option FAQ page. Report of Portfolio Evaluator Selection Form Purpose: If you will be using the portfolio evaluation method, you may find this simple optional form helpful. When filled out and submitted to your resident school district, it provides a mechanism to fulfill the legal requirement of seeking the school district superintendent's approval of your selected portfolio evaluator. This approval process is simply a check of the appropriateness of your evaluator's license. Report of Portfolio Assessment Results Form Purpose: This optional form is offered to make the portfolio evaluator's job much easier. It provides an efficient tool to assure that all of the required information is included in the portfolio evaluation results report. For more details on the portfolio evaluation option, we recommend that you read the information on our Portfolio Option FAQ page.
Standardized Testing Option Form
Test Administrator Certification Statement Form Purpose: If you choose to arrange for private -- rather than public school or AEA -- standardized testing for annual assessment purposes, this form may be attached to the submitted test results to provide added assurance that the standardized test was administered by a qualified test administrator using proper testing protocol as dictated by the test publisher. Before having a standardized test administered to your child, we recommend that you read the article, "Helping Your Child with Standardized Testing." For more details on the standardized testing option, we recommend that you read the information on our Testing Option FAQ page.
List of Accredited Correspondence Schools Purpose: NICHE provides this non-exhaustive list of homeschool correspondence schools for which we have been able to verify accreditation required to qualify as a source of annual assessment reports.
Serving Families Homeschooling in Iowa - Since 1992 Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators - niche@homeschooliowa.org - (515) 830-1614 - (800) 723-0438 in Iowa