Declaration of Intent and Attendance Forms
Updated for September, 1999

(for original DE forms click here or see below)

It's that time of the year when homeschoolers across the State of Georgia receive forms to send back to their local superintendent to declare their intent to operate a home study program and report their attendance data. For a number of years now, home educators in Georgia have experienced problems with reporting forms and procedures in these five categories:

• The DE Forms 1109 and 1110, approved by the Department of Education in 1984, have been modified to ask for information which exceeds what the code requires of home study program parents or guardians
• The forms are requested to be sent to an inappropriate designee of the superintendent such as a visiting teacher or attendance officer, that is, a school social worker, in conflict with the code
• A packet of information accompanying the forms contains some incorrect information in conflict with the code
• The forms are sent late or are not available from the local superintendent and the deadline to send it in has been changed in conflict with the code
• The forms are used for purposes other than enrollment or attendance, in conflict with the code

This report will discuss the first problem. In the past some local superintendents have been modifying DE Forms 1109 and 1110, authorized by the State Board of Education, April 12, 1984, to ask for information which exceeds that required by GA code which states, "...such printed forms and procedures shall not be inconsistent with or exceed the requirements of the Code section." We consider these modifications to be defective because they do exceed the requirements of the code. Examples follow:

• Request for telephone number. - Many counties
• Request for grade level. - Many counties
• Request to agree to notify superintendent if the home study program ends or moves, followed by a signature. - Atlanta City Schools; Fulton County -1998
• Request to indicate need for special education
• Request to attach copy of high school diploma or GED

The law is clear regarding the information that is to be reported: name and ages of children between 7 and 16 years of age as applicable under the compulsory attendance law; address of home study program; statement of 12 month period to be considered the school year; attendance.

In August, 1999, the Department of Education posted a new declaration of intent form (no form ID is provided) on the DOE website in Adobe Acrobat format. The new form, which may be downloaded by clicking here , asks for an indication of "special needs" and also includes a statement about notifying the superintendent if the address changes or the home study program is discontinued.

HEIR has contacted Ms. Melanie Stockwell, Esq, Director of Legal Services for the GA Department of Education for an explanation of the changes to DE 1109. Ms. Stockwell stated that the special needs information was being requested to enable the DOE to comply with requirements of the "child find" statutes (we hope to post more information on "child find" in the near future), but that supplying such information is optional.

When asked about the superintendent notification statement, Ms. Stockwell stated "It's there to protect you." Ms. Stockwell was unable or unwilling to provide a clear explanation of what homeschoolers needed protection from. In an email, Ms. Stockwell stated the following, "...The form is a sample form. If you do not feel that it is appropriate to answer certain questions, you do not have to do so. ... The state department is certainly not in the business of deciding whether the form is filled out appropriately. We believe these two items only serve to protect your interests, but if you disagree, we certainly do not care whether you fill them out or not."

You may wish to use the original DE Forms 1109 and 1110 which are in compliance with the law. Although no longer available from the Department of Education, you may download them from the HEIR website at http://www.heir.org/forms.htm.

The following are excerpts from GA Code 20-2-690 concerning the matter of reporting requirements and provisions. The complete home study program code section may be accessed on the following site (use "NEXT" buttons several times): http://www.ganet.org/cgi-bin/pub/ocode/ocgsearch?docname=OCode/G/20/2/690

GA Code 20-2-690(c)(2) states that:

the declaration shall include a list of the names and ages of the students...address where the home study program is located... and a statement of the 12 month period that is to be considered the school year for that home study program. Enrollment records and reports shall not be used for any purpose except providing necessary enrollment information...(5)The home study program must provide instruction each 12 months to home study students equivalent to 180 days...

Section (e) states:

The State Board of Education shall devise, adopt, and make available to local superintendents of schools, who shall in turn make available to administrators of private schools and parents or guardians with children in home study programs such printed forms and procedures as may be reasonably necessary to carry out efficiently the reporting provisions of the code section, but such printed forms and procedures shall not be inconsistent with or exceed the requirements of the Code section."

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