CPI with Reporting & Private Supervision

CPI with Reporting
& Private Supervision Details:

REQUIREMENTS

• ANNUAL REPORTING
What: CPI Report Form A, in duplicate
Where: Your resident school district
When: By September 1 or within 30 calendar days of starting instruction under this option
Note: When using this option, you must complete the CPI Form A item asking for a licensed teacher’s name and folder number.

• VISITS WITH SUPERVISING TEACHER
What: You and your student meet with your privately-retained teacher.
When: At least twice every 45 days of instruction (1 out of every 2 visits must be face-to-face).
Who: The supervising teacher must have a valid Iowa teaching certificate or practitioner license appropriate to the grade level of the student. This includes an Iowa substitute teaching license and the substitute authorization.
See FAQ sections below for details about supervising teachers duties and qualifications.

PUBLIC SCHOOL ACCESS AVAILABILITY

• Access is available to dual enrollment
Public school services, activities, classes, or Senior Year Plus options are available.
MORE INFORMATION

• Access available for driver education
Parents using any homeschool option in Iowa may access public school driver education or parent-taught driver education.
MORE INFORMATION

• Access to free public school standardized testing.
Parents using any homeschool option in Iowa may request free public school standardized testing, but testing is not a legal requirement for this option.

SCHOOL DAY ATTENDANCE AND SCHOOL SUBJECT REQUIREMENTS

• Instructional days
Parents using this CPI option must provide instruction for at least 148 days per school year, with at least 37 days per quarter, but there is no legally-defined mechanism for verification.

• No school subject requirements
The law and rules do not include a list of required subjects, but the CPI Form A, which must be filed for this option, does require an attached outline of course of study or a list of texts used.

SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

• Parents may homeschool students with special educational needs.
While using CPI with Reporting & Private Supervision, public school and/or AEA services are available through dual enrollment, if desired.
MORE INFORMATION

TOOLKIT FOR CPI with Reporting
& PRIVATE SUPERVISION

CPI Form A Tools

Competent Private Instruction Report
[Form A]

Purpose:
The Competent Private Instruction (CPI) Report [Form A] is published by the Department of Education for use by parents providing CPI with reporting.

The DE's most recent version of CPI Form A is linked below, but it needs several corrections and updates.

We will provide the new version when available.

DOWNLOAD FORM A

OUTLINE of Course of Study Form

Purpose:
This form, designed by Homeschool Iowa and reviewed by Home School Legal Defense Association, has been used for decades to comply with the requirement on the CPI Form A for an "outline of the courses of study.

It provides full compliance with the CPI Form A Instructional Program Information item.

DOWNLOAD THE OUTLINE OF COURSE OF STUDY FORM

Certificate of Immunization Exemption

Purpose:
This document must be included with your first CPI form filing if you intend to use the exemption for immunizations.

DOWNLOAD FORM

Privacy Form for Dual-Enrolled Student

Purpose:
This optional form is recommended to protect your family's privacy. It informs school officials that you want protections afforded by federal and state laws and that you do not want any information concerning your child – including directory information – to be released to anyone without your prior consent.

DOWNLOAD FORM

CPI Form A
Filing Receipt

Purpose:
This optional form may be used when filing the CPI Form A. Ask the school district official receiving your form to sign the receipt form, and retain it with your homeschool records.

DOWNLOAD FORM

Note: If you're a Homeschool Iowa member, you can access a fillable (type-in) versions of many of the forms on this page by logging into the Member Portal and then going to the CPI section on our Iowa Homeschool Forms website page.

Teacher-Related Tools

Supervising Teacher Contract

Purpose:
This optional contract, created with the help of Home School Legal Defense Association, can be used to clarify the arrangements between homeschooling parents and supervising teachers.

DOWNLOAD CONTRACT

Supervising Teacher Log

Purpose:
This optional easy-to-use form is offered to help supervising teachers keep the required log of their visits with homeschooling families using CPI Option 1.

DOWNLOAD LOG

"Using the Supervising Teacher Option"

Purpose:
Supervising teacher and homeschooling mom Terri Miller shares suggestions and tips on how to find a supervising teacher, what to look for in a supervising teacher, and how homeschooling families and supervising teachers can best work together.

DOWNLOAD ARTICLE

General Resources

Department of Education Private Instruction Handbook

Purpose:
This Department of Education publication is published to provide information for parents and school district officials on private instruction, including Competent Private Instruction (CPI) and Independent Private Instruction (IPI). (This is the newest version available, but it does contain some errors.)

DOWNLOAD HANDBOOK

The Homeschool Iowa Legal Summary

Purpose:
A brief summary, presented in clear and simple terms, of the legal requirements and options for home educators in Iowa.

VIEW HOMESCHOOL IOWA LEGAL SUMMARY

The Homeschool IOwA Resource Guide

Purpose:
Homeschool Iowa members have access to this helpful two-page guide listing homeschool curricula, materials, periodicals, catalog companies, and other resources. Website links are included. Not a member? Join now!

DOWNLOAD GUIDE FROM MEMBER PORTAL

CPI with Reporting & Private Supervision FAQs

A licensed teacher providing private supervision is hired by the homeschooled student's parent. A licensed teacher providing HSAP supervision is selected, hired, and assigned by the public school providing the Home School Assistance Program. In order to access the services of a HSAP supervising teacher, the parent must enroll the homeschooled student in the public school Home School Assistance Program.

Parent-selected supervising teachers must meet with the student and parent at least twice every 45 days of instruction (one out of every two visits must be face-to-face). Home School Assistance Program supervising teachers must meet with the student and parent at least four times every 45 days of instruction (one out of every two visits must be face-to-face).

As long as your supervising teacher's license is appropriate for the grade levels of each of your homeschooled children, you will need only one supervising teacher.

Please note that some Iowa teacher licenses are limited to specific grade levels (e.g. K-6, K-8, 5-12, etc.) Be sure to ask your selected teacher if his or her license is appropriate to provide supervision for all of your children of compulsory school attendance age (6-16).

A parent-selected supervising teacher must:

consult with and advise the student's parent.
provide formal and informal assessments of the student's progress to the student and the student's parent, guardian, or legal or actual custodian.
maintain a diary, record, or log* of visits and assistance provided.
refer to the child's district of residence for evaluation a child who the practitioner has reason to believe may be in need of special education.

* The log is a private document. Parents and their supervising teacher can decide who will retain it.

A substitute authorization is not a teaching license. The Department of Education created it to meet the high demand for substitute teachers.

A person seeking a substitute authorization must have an Associate's degree (or 60 or more post-secondary semester hours) and complete a substitute training program available through the AEA system.

The substitute authorization is good for 5 years. Renewal requires 2 renewal credits and the mandatory reporter training for child and dependent adult abuse.

Although it would seem at first that this does not relate to home educators, it does indeed, as we have verified that the Department of Education approves the use of a substitute authorization for supervisory services in privately-funded home schools.

To put it simply, if you have an Associate's degree or 60 hours of completed college credit, and you are willing to "jump through the required hoops" to obtain a substitute authorization, you can serve as a supervising teacher for your own child -- or for other homeschooled children. This is true for privately-retained supervising teachers -- not those employed by Home School Assistance Programs.

More Information

A person holding a substitute teaching license must have completed a teacher education program. A substitute teaching license authorizes the person to substitute teach in any area, on any level, K-12, for a maximum of 90 days per assignment.

A person holding a substitute authorization must have completed an Associate's degree (or 60 or more post-secondary semester hours) and complete a substitute training program available through the AEA system. A substitute authorization allows the person to substitute in the middle school, junior high or high school for a maximum of 5 days per assignment. (Note that the substitute authorization is now valid for grades K-12.)

According to the Department of Education, either a substitute license folder number or a substitute authorization folder number will be accepted as a licensed supervising teacher folder number in privately-funded home schools.

A substitute authorization may be issued to an individual who:

has completed an Associate's degree (or 60 or more post-secondary semester hours)
has completed a substitute training program available through the AEA system.

Substitute authorization courses are offered through Area Education Agencies system. Use the AEA website to find the online substitute authorization course.

Application forms for the substitute authorization are available on the website for the Iowa Bureau of Educational Examiners. You'll need to create an account on their system to apply.

More Information