Home Education

Per Florida Statute all Home Education students are required to maintain a portfolio. F.S. 1002.41 defines a portfolio as "A log of educational activities which is made contemporaneously with the instruction and which designates by title any reading materials used and samples of any writings, worksheets, workbooks, or creative materials used or developed by the student."
Portfolio samples include, but are not limited to:

1. Daily Log (contemporaneous lesson plans) 

• daily/weekly/monthly schedule
• including field trips
• lesson plans/course objectives

2. Reading Log (list of curriculum used and books read throughout the year)

• list of books the student read
• list of curriculum used including textbooks and workbooks

3.  Sampling of Student Work

• Sampling does not mean including every page of school work completed but still includes enough to give a thorough picture of progression in a given subject throughout the year.
• You may want to organize the portfolio using tabs to designate each subject covered throughout the year. You may include photos of your child engaged in learning activities, extracurricular activities, homeschool groups, event, etc.

The portfolio shall be preserved by the parent/guardian for two years and shall be made available for inspection by the superintendent, or the superintendent's agent, upon a 15-day written notice. The superintendent, or the superintendent's agent, is not required to inspect all portfolios.

In addition to maintaining a portfolio, F.S. 1002.41 also requires the parent/guardian to provide an annual evaluation of the home education student. Failure to do so places the Home Education Program in non-compliance and permits the superintendent, after notice to the parent, to terminate the program.

The parent/guardian selects the method of evaluation from those provided in Florida Statute (see list below), then sends a copy to the CCPS Home Education Office.

Evaluation options include:

• A Florida certified teacher chosen by the parent/guardian may evaluate the child's progress based on a review of the portfolio and discussion with the student;
• The student may take any nationally normed student achievement test administered by a certified teacher (see State and National Assessments section below)
• The student may take a state student assessment test used by the school district and administered by a certified teacher, at a location and under testing conditions approved by the school district;
• The student may be evaluated by a psychologist holding a valid, active license pursuant to the provisions of Section 490.003 (7) or (8), F.S.; or
• The student may be evaluated with any other valid measurement tool as mutually agreed upon by the school superintendent of the district in which the student resides and the student's parent/guardian.

A student in a home education setting must be evaluated once a year to demonstrate educational progress at a level equivalent to his or her abilities. "Annually" is defined in Florida Statute as one year from the date of the Notice of Intent.

SUBMITTING YOUR ANNUAL EVALUATION

When: Annually, based on the original date of the Notice of Intent. CCPS refers to this as the student's Home Education "anniversary" date. For example, if the notice of intent date is January 8th, then the student's annual evaluation DUE date will be January 8 of the following year. The annual evaluation for this particular student will always be due on January 8 for as long as the student remains enrolled in Home Education. 

How: Annual evaluations may be submitted in a variety of ways:

• Email evaluation to: HomeEd@collierschools.com
• Have your Florida-certified evaluator email evaluation on your behalf via email
• Fax evaluation to (239) 377-0164

Home Education Annual Evaluation Form

If you need to transfer an existing Home Education program from another Florida county or have moved from Collier to another county, complete a transfer request form.

Transfer Home Education Program Form

According to F.S. 1003.26, students who exhibit a pattern of nonattendance in public schools and enroll in Home Education as a means of meeting the compulsory school attendance law must be informed of and satisfy specific requirements. 

When a student with a pattern of non-attendance enrolls in Home Education, the parent/guardian will:

• Receive a copy of the Home Education law, F.S. 1002.41, and the accountability requirements of the truancy law, F.S. 1003.26(1)(f); and
• Be referred to a Home Education review committee.

The Home Education review committee will review the student's portfolio every 30 days until the committee is satisfied the Home Education program is in compliance.

• If the parent/guardian fails to provide a portfolio to the committee, the District will terminate their child's Home Education program.
• Once terminated, the parent/guardian has three (3) days to enroll the child in a traditional public, private, or charter school.
• Failure to enroll the child in one of the attendance options listed above will constitute non-compliance with compulsory attendance requirements and may result in criminal prosecution under F.S.1003.27(2).
• Additionally, the child cannot be re-enrolled in a Home Education program for 180 calendar days.  
   

Driver License Law - Pursuant to Florida Statute, accruing excessive unexcused and/or validated absences will cause a student to be designated "habitually truant" and will result in a recommendation for revocation of the student's driver's license F.S. 322.091.

Register for Assessments Here

Home Education families are required by section 1002.41(1)(c), Florida Statutes to submit an annual evaluation of their student’s educational progress to the school district. The statute provides several options for completion of the annual evaluation.

One of the options you may choose to meet this requirement is participation in the statewide assessment program. Click here for more information and to access practice tests available to the public.

The statewide assessment program for 2024-2025 includes Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) English Language Arts (ELA) Reading and Math, Statewide Science Assessments, and End-of-Course (EOC) Assessments (specific middle and high school subject areas). Parents planning to have their child return to a public school for the next year and/or prior to high school graduation should remember that some assessments are used for course placement and some assessments are graduation requirements.

CCPS District Assessment Calendar

Collier County Public Schools DOES NOT award high school diplomas to students in Home Education. To be eligible for a CCPS high school diploma, students must be enrolled in a CCPS school for the entire 2nd semester of what would be their senior year and meet all graduation requirements.

Alternative pathways to completion are listed below. 

Option 1:  Affidavit of Home Education Program Completion

• Homeschool parent confers the diploma on the student, indicating successful completion of their prescribed homeschooling course of study. 
• Complete a Home Education Affidavit
• An affidavit of completion is NOT a diploma 

Option 2:  GED

• Home Education students interested in pursuing a GED must notify the Home Education Office (239-377-0522 or HomeEd@collierschools.com
• More information about GED courses: Collier Adult Education or GED Ready

Florida Gulf Coast University

Accelerated Collegiate Experience (ACE)

Florida SouthWestern State College

Dual Enrollment

INTERSCHOLASTIC EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

Home Education students may participate in middle and high school interscholastic extracurricular student activities in accordance with the provisions of F.S. 1006.15. Contact your school's Activities Office for more information and requirements.

School Contact Information

SPELLING BEE

Collier County Public Schools coordinates the annual Optimist Club of Naples Spelling Bee. Home education students are eligible to participate.

• Open to students in grades 6-8
• Held in early March
• Final Collier County Bee is held at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Administrative Center

Contact Nicole Paller, Spelling Bee Coordinator, for information regarding how students qualify and participate.

Send email

Families who have applied for and been granted a Personalized Education Program (PEP) scholarship are required to terminate their Home Education programs.

Even though PEP students are home educated, it is the Florida Department of Education and Step Up for Students (not Collier County) that monitor the families for compliance. Please reach out directly to your PEP contact for support and guidance with the program. 

Additional information about the PEP program can be found at the following sites:

• Step Up for Education
• PEP Frequently Asked Questions
• PEP Resources
• PEP Assessment List

Terminate Home Education

Register for State Assessments