It’s easy to think of services offered by Regional Offices of Education (ROE) as being exclusively targeted to traditional public schools and their students, but that’s just part of the role that ROE26 and the state’s other 34 Regional Offices of Education (ROE) and three Cook County Intermediate Service Centers (ISC) play.
A core responsibility of local Regional Office of Education #26 is to provide guidance and assistance to school districts and families, in order to assure that all students receive a quality education, according to Regional Superintendent John Meixner.
Three areas that the public may not always think about involve residency, homeschooling and services to homeless students.
“Our first priority is always to the student. That can include clarifying residency questions, working with parents who homeschool their children and providing services to homeless students,” says Meixner.
Residency
School district residency is not always as straightforward today as it once was. Blended families, divorced, separated or never-married parents and parents who must travel to work can all cause confusion.
State law is clear. Every child is entitled to tuition-free enrollment in the school district where he or she resides. Children are presumed to live in the school district where the persons who have legal custody of the child live, Meixner explained.
After a divorce, a child is presumed to reside with the custodial parent, but joint custody arrangements are becoming increasingly common and can add to confusion. Parents can also find school district boundaries confusing. ROE26 offers an interactive map of all school district boundaries in the region, (http://www.arcgis.com/apps/OnePane/basicviewer/index.html?appid=2b9476f235244c91b5c978ef99cef43e#has-flyout) that can be accessed on its website. Parents can type in an address and see what district they live in. Regional Office Staff can also assist families if they have questions about residency.
Homeschooling
More than 60 years ago the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that home schooling is considered a “private school” and students and parents who choose to home school their children are in compliance with mandatory education requirements so long as the teacher (which can be a parent or a private tutor) is competent, required subjects are taught and the student receives an education at least equivalent to public schooling. (People v. Levisen, 404 Ill. 574 (1950)).
While parents are not required to register home-schooled students, many parents choose to notify their regional superintendent of education and/or the State Board of their intention to home-school. A simple one-page form (http://www.roe26.net/schools/Home-School) is also available on the ROE26 website for families that choose to use the form.
State law gives Illinois parents a great degree of latitude in designing and choosing a program of home education that best meets the needs of their children. But that also places near-total responsibility on parents for their student’s education while they are being home-schooled. In a 1974 decision, a federal district court stated the burden of proof rests with parents to establish that their plan of home instruction meets state requirements.
Meixner explained that Regional Superintendents have first-line responsibility for investigating reports of noncompliance with the compulsory attendance laws found in the Illinois School Code.
To meet their responsibility, Regional Offices of Education must, when necessary, establish that parents are indeed providing instruction that is at least commensurate with the standards established for public schools. When there is evidence that home instruction does not satisfy state law, the regional superintendent is obligated to have a local truant officer investigate.
Homeless Students
More than 54,000 Illinois students were homeless in 2015, according to a May 2016 report from the Illinois State Board of Education. While that was down from the previous two years, it was still more than double the number who were reported homeless in 2010.
All children, including the homeless, are entitled to a free public education. But, homeless children face a number of obstacles and unique challenges. The goal of the Homeless Education Program is to assist School Districts to ensure equal educational access for all homeless children and youth, including preschoolers, so that each student will have the opportunity to succeed in school programs and meet the same challenging state standards to which all students are held.
The federal McKinney–Vento Act requires school districts to be proactive in finding homeless children who are not attending school and identifying which children and youth are homeless. ROE26 staff works with families and with local school districts to assure that homeless children get enrolled and are able to attend school. ROE’s also offer specialized training and assistance for school districts to help identify and offer services to homeless children. In addition, through their regional safe and alternative schools, may ROE’s directly serve the educational needs of homeless children. More information can be found on ROE26 homeless education webpage at http://www.roe26.net/homeless/.