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Lowell committee asks administration to draft homeschool policy after data report; adopts five home‑education requests
Summary
Following a report that showed a rise in homeschooling (largest group in grades 5–8), the committee asked the superintendent to draft a policy on application windows and multi‑year reporting. The committee also approved five home‑education requests and asked for a running total in future reports.
The Lowell City School Committee heard a report on home education and asked the administration to develop a clearer policy about when parents may begin homeschooling during the school year. The committee also voted to adopt five home‑education requests at the March 4 meeting.
Superintendent Skinner presented a breakdown of currently home‑schooled students by grade, noting the largest cohort in grades 5 through 8 (73 students in that band). Member Mr. Bahu requested that future reports include running totals showing changes from meeting to meeting so the committee can track trends; the superintendent agreed to provide that information.
Members raised concerns about parents requesting to begin homeschooling late in the academic year and asked whether the district should set a cut‑off or application window. The superintendent said the current policy allows requests throughout the year but that other districts use a deadline or window; he offered to draft proposed policy language and return a recommendation to the committee, with members proposing a target timeframe for presentation by May 1 or May 15 so any new rules could be considered before the next school year.
The committee voted to adopt five home‑education requests and directed the administration to include multi‑year comparison data and examples of neighboring districts' approaches when presenting the draft policy.
