covid-19 and homeschooling requirements

The Colorado Department of Education announced today a "pause on 2019-20 assessments, accountability."  See the official announcement here: 

https://www.cde.state.co.us/communications/20200317stateassessments?fbclid=IwAR3OAqgNvAugzeeVX2C3pxF_sNXln_X2OgEPKAEGug0tJzKqBR7q_9IXSsg 

​What does this mean for homeschoolers? Nothing, really. :) Homeschool law is different that public school law. Homeschoolers (who file a notice of intent, known as a NOI) are not required to take a state assessment (CMAS.) They are required to either evaluate with a qualified evaluator or take a nationally standardized test. These are two very different options. If you'd like to see the differences, feel free to check out this guide from my website "Guide to Choosing Testing or Evaluation."  Homeschoolers that are registered with an Independent School (also called an umbrella school) follow the requirements of that school.

Today in a Facebook group, a lawyer from HSLDA posted regarding the above announcement, "The public schools can decide how they operate. However, parents who homeschool in CO operate either under the supervision of an Independent School or as a non-public home based education program in accordance with 22-33-104.5. The CDE has no authority to suspend the operation of this statute. Although homeschooled children have some legal rights to participate in state assessments and thus this announcement would make that more challenging, parents under the NOI potion of 22-33-104.5 are still obligated to comply with assessments. There are various options as it relates to assessments and you can get more information at www.hslda.org/co. You can join HSLDA at www.hslda.org/join for answers to your questions. Blessings all!!" 

Could something change? Sure! But for now, homeschoolers (who filed a notice of intent) still need to test or evaluate.  ​