You can ask the principal, but really the superintendent or assistant might be a good option too. This sounds like district policy, and the HS principal can’t waive that.
FYI from a homeschooler website.
https://www.home-school.com/Articles/can-homeschoolers-participate-in-public-school-programs.php
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I’m not entirely sure I see why homeschoolers, any more than private schoolers, should be entitled to use local public school facilities at whim. I get that you pay local taxes (and I’m sure there are other local facilities you pay taxes for that you don’t use either), but local property taxes are not the entirety of school income. As noted above, CA as an example uses enrollment and attendance among other factors to determine state subsidies. At our local school, various programs (including, I believe, APs) are not covered by any tax income and are paid for out of parent donations to the school and town educational foundation. Homeschoolers and private schoolers specifically therefore do not contribute in these ways.
ACT/SAT are different tests than AP/PSAT. For the former anyone can sign up online and it’s first come, first served for the available slots. It doesn’t matter one iota if the testee attends the school or not. Anyone signing up later or simply wanting a different testing date than offered at the school has to go elsewhere. There’s no discrimination against homeschoolers.
AP/PSAT tend to be district specific at this point in time. In an ideal world one could sign up for those online as well. Until then, if someone has a homeschooler who is shut out, I bet they’d win in a court case - at least in our state considering sports/band/clubs are available to all now. If one pays taxes they should be able to use the school for things the school offers - just as they could for full time schooling. Opting out of classes doesn’t mean they have to opt out of everything. With the public library one can choose not to take out books and still use the internet or videos.
Going to a public high school on a random Tuesday afternoon and asking to use the library is a whim. Registering weeks or months ahead for an exam offered by the College Board isn’t.
Equal access refers to the ability to take classes part-time, participate in after school activities, or join the school sport teams. This situation is none of those things.
I would approach private schools in the area. You could also offer to pay any additional cost to them if there is any.
I totally get the frustration with the public school. The reality is that for many, a lot of what they offer is not available to all the enrolled students. So creating opportunities for students who are not enrolled just riles up the parents of the already excluded. (This would be the case at ours.) Rather than fighting them, I’d find out what the privates can do.
One other “out there” option. Find out who the local GED services work with on these issues. They may have already found the folks who are accomodating on these issues (although not AP specifically).
You have plenty of time.
Our local HS is bigger than Santa Clara University in CA. I am sure they have enough capacity to accommodate 2 more students.
The pure fact of the matter is many folks in public schools don’t like homeschoolers and actively discriminate against them for that reason alone.
If things don’t get changed by legal/state methods, then you need to look for other places. Private schools can be more willing and I’d be interested in the CC option a PP mentioned.
OP said in post #19 only students registered in the AP classes can take the exams (same as my D’s high school btw) and had asked school if his/her kids could therefore take the classes. Does that not count as taking classes part time?
Of course I would assume any pre-requisites the public school might need for students to be enrolled in these classes would be happily met (proof of previous coursework, any vaccination requirements, etc). And if AP classes are at capacity, as sometimes happens. I would assume already enrolled kids at the HS would get preference rather than outside ones.
From the College Board website: "In order to receive authorization to offer an AP course, school administrators and teachers must be approved through the AP Course Audit process, which entails development and submission of curricular materials to college and university professors for review and validation. " (http://ncee.org/what-we-do/excellence-for-all/participating-states-and-schools/certified-board-examination-systems/the-college-board-advanced-placement-program/)
So if a homeschooling parent is not approved by the College Board, and their homeschooling course didn’t go through the audit process, they can’t assume their child will be allowed to take the certifying exam.
A parallel (off the top of my head) might be parent-taught driver’s ed. In Texas you have to purchase an approved curriculum before your kid can take the driving test.
Thank you for posting this thread! I have homeschooled for 20 years and never knew it was a possibility - it would have really saved us money on dual credit! I’m glad to see some have found a way to access AP tests, and I’ll tell other homeschoolers to explore the option before making their high school plan.
@TexasMom96 Getting your syllabus approved by the College Board permits you to use the AP designation on your homeschooler’s transcript. You still need to find a brick and mortar school willing to permit your homeschooled child to sit for the actual AP exam. (This year might be different since no one is taking the exam at a brick and mortar school)
Your student does not have to have his course approved by the College Board in order to sit for the AP exam. My kids took many AP exams at our local public school despite the fact that the course listed on their transcript was not an AP class because I hadn’t had the course approved by the College Board. The colleges they attended still awarded AP credit for the courses.
FWIW, I believe the College Board closed the AP exam registration when they announced it was going to be an online test this year, although there are now, in theory, unlimited seats.
Can you please tell me if I have this correct then:
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If homeschooling course is approved by the College Board: course can be designated as “AP” on the transcript.
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If school district allows student to take the AP test, even WITHOUT the AP designation on the transcript, student can submit the score to the college for course credit.
Would love to know for the future, and for advising other homeschoolers properly! Thanks for opening my eyes!
As others have mentioned, private schools can be much more accommodating. This is the third year D21 has been able to register/test for AP exams through our local private school (though of course this year;s exams will be online). I pay for the exam itself, and I have paid twice for proctors when D21 was the only one taking that particular exam. This school is so wonderful - they even let D21 sit in on practice sessions last year with the AP Spanish class. So find the closest private school to you and ask them.
If a student is homeschooled, the local public school doesn’t get the state and federal funds for that student. The school isn’t discriminating against the student by not letting them take tests (or play in sports or music) but just using the school’s resources for its students first.
- Yes, if you submit your course syllabus to the College Board, and it is approved, you can list the course as AP on your child's transcript. You will also have access to the online teacher community on the College Board website. (I have first-hand experience doing this.)
- Yes, I also have experience with my kids taking AP exams at our public high school despite the fact that I did not go through the process of having the class officially approved by the College Board.
Colleges only cared about the AP score when awarding credit - the classes did not have to carry the AP designation.
My kids were fortunate that we live in a homeschool friendly public school district. They were welcome to participate in the extracurricular public school activities and were able to take all of their APs and PSATs at the school. Many homeschoolers aren’t as fortunate and have a difficult time finding a school that will permit them to sit for these exams.
Registration for AP classes takes place in the fall. The AP exams are held in the month of May.
AP registration now takes place in the fall. Homeschoolers should begin looking at the beginning of the school year to find a place willing to let them test.