Nebraska Department of Education Education Support Services February 2007

A REPORT ON PARTICIPANTS IN NEBRASKA EXEMPT SCHOOLS

2006/07 School Year

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION

Background .......................................................................................................................................... 1 Descriptors/Definitions ........................................................................................................................ 2 General Information ..............................................................................................................................2

DATA REVIEWED

Students, Family Units, and Attendance Centers ..................................................................................3 Students and Family Units by County...................................................................................................3 Exempt School Students Compared to Total Census ............................................................................4 Students by Age ....................................................................................................................................5 New and Renewal Filings for Exempt Status........................................................................................5 Discontinuing Enrollment at the Exempt School ..................................................................................6

APPENDICES

Appendix A - Exempt Students, Family Units, Attendance Centers, and Counties of Residence, School Year 2006/07, As of January 1, 2007.......................................A - 1 Appendix B - Historical Summary of Exempt Students, Family Units, Attendance Centers, and Counties of Residence, School Years 1985/86 through 2005/06 .........................................................................................................................B - 1 Appendix C - Number of Students and Families by County, School Year 2006/07, As of January 1, 2007.................................................................................................................C - 1 Appendix D - Percentage of Exempt School Participants to Total Census Count, School Years 1985/86 - 2006/07................................................................................................D - 1 Appendix E - New and Renewal Filings for Exempt Status, 2006/07 School Year, As of January 1, 2007................................................................................................................. E - 1

1

INTRODUCTION Background On April 10, 1984, legislation was enacted that allowed parents to provide educational

opportunities for their children outside of approved or accredited public or non-public

schools (State Statute Section 79-1601). Parents, through a parent representative, were

allowed to file for exempt status based on sincerely held religious beliefs. The Nebraska

Department of Education (NDE) was given the responsibility for establishing rules and

regulations governing procedures and standards for parents filing for an exemption. Rule

13 was developed in response to the statutory directive and became effective on August

22, 1984, and was subsequently revised, with an effective date of January 19, 2005.

In March 1999, a revision was made to the original State Statute. This revision gave

parents or legal guardians the option to exempt their schools because the requirements for

approval and accreditation required by law: 1) violate sincerely held religious beliefs, or

2) interfere with the decisions of the parents or legal guardians in directing their child's

education. The Department then implemented a new rule (in addition to Rule 13) entitled

Rule 12: "Regulations and Procedures for Exempting Schools for Which Parents Elect Not

To Meet Legal Requirements for State Approval and Accreditation for Other Than

Religious Reasons," with an effective date of August 4, 1999, and was subsequently

revised, with an effective date of January 19, 2005.

Families that choose to be exempt from approval and accreditation requirements or "home

school," file under either Rule 12 (interferes with the decisions of the parents or legal

guardians in directing their child's education) or Rule 13 (violates sincerely held religious

beliefs) on an annual basis. These rules describe the procedure and forms that are to be

used in the filing process for those seeking exempt status. It was from the forms submitted

by those filing for exempt status for the 2006/07 school year that the data in this report was

compiled.

2

Descriptors/Definitions For the purpose of consistency, data collected by January of each school year is presented

in this report. The following descriptors and their definitions are used in this report.

Exempt status defines those parents who file to exempt themselves from

approval and accreditation regulations, and receive official notification

from the Commissioner of Education acknowledging their election to do so.

Exempt schools is the term used in Nebraska for “home schools.”

Exempt students refers to the children attending exempt schools.

A family unit is a single family comprised of legal parent(s) or guardian(s) and

child(ren).

A single family attendance center refers to a site occupied by students

belonging to one family having received exempt status.

A multi family attendance center refers to a site occupied by a group of

children from two or more families having received exempt status.

General Information Rules 12 and 13, the forms parents complete to file for exempt status, a listing of

frequently asked questions about exempt schools, and other related information can be

accessed from the Exempt Schools portion of the NDE/Education Support Services’

website at http://ess.nde.state.ne.us/OrgServices/ExemptSchools/Default.htm.

3

DATA REVIEWED Students, Family Units, and Attendance Centers Appendix A contains statistics for the 2006/07 school year regarding students, family

units, attendance centers, and counties of residence. A historical summary for school years

1985/86 through 2005/06 can be found in Appendix B.

From 2005/06 to 2006/07 there was a 6 percent increase in the number of exempt school

students from 5,616 to 5,956. Of the total 5,956 students, 91 percent attend a single family

attendance center and 9 percent attend a multi family attendance center. There was a 2

percent increase in the number of family units from 2,852 in 2005/06 to 2,921 in 2006/07.

Of the total 2,921 families filing for exempt status, 610 (or 21 percent) filed under Rule 12

and 2,311 (or 79 percent) filed under Rule 13. See Appendix A for additional information.

Students and Family Units by County For the 2006/07 school year, exempt students resided in all but four of the ninety-three

Nebraska counties. The counties with no exempt students were Arthur, Blaine, Thomas,

and Wheeler.

The 10 counties with the greatest number of exempt students in 2006/07 were as follows:

1) Douglas 1,2622) Lancaster 9043) Sarpy 5854) Cass 1835) Lincoln 1576) Washington 1417) Platte 1258) Seward 1239) Scotts Bluff 114

10) Buffalo 114

4

Douglas, Lancaster, and Sarpy Counties accounted for 46 percent of the State's total

number of exempt children.

Appendix C lists statistical information on families and students, by county, for the

2006/07 school year. The information includes families and children who are in single

family and multi family attendance centers, and are exempt under Rule 12 or Rule 13.

Exempt School Students Compared to Total Census Effective July 16, 2004, the compulsory school attendance age (per Section 79-201,

R.R.S.) is as follows:

Prior to July 1, 2005, a child is of mandatory attendance age if the child (i) has

reached 7 years of age, (ii) did not reach 16 years of age prior to July 16, 2004,

and (iii) has not reached 18 years of age; and

On and after July 1, 2005, a child is of mandatory attendance age if the child (i)

will reach 6 years of age prior to January 1 of the then-current school year, (ii)

did not reach 16 years of age prior to July 16, 2004, and (iii) has not reached 18

years of age.

Prior to the July 16, 2004 change in law, compulsory school attendance law was age 7 up

to age 16.

Appendix D shows the percentage of exempt school students to the total census count for

school years 1985/86 through 2006/07. For school years 1985/86 through 2003/04, the

total of exempt students each year was divided by the total census count within age 7

through age 15 range to derive a percentage figure; for school year 2004/05, the total of

exempt students was divided by the total census count within age 7 through age 16 range

to derive a percentage figure; and for school years 2005/06 & 2006/07, the total of exempt

students was divided by the total census count within age 6 through age 17 range to derive

a percentage figure. The percent of students attending exempt schools compared to the

total census count of Nebraska children for 2006/07 was 1.99 percent.

5

Students by Age The number of exempt students listed by age and percentage of total exempt students are

listed below. The compulsory school attendance law (Section 79-201 R.R.S.) states that a

child is of mandatory attendance age if the child will reach 6 years of age prior to January

1 of the then-current school year, and has not reached 18 years of age.

Age Number of Exempt Students

Percentage of Total Exempt Students

5 123 2%

6 509 9%

7 556 9%

8 558 9%

9 545 9%

10 564 9%

11 545 9%

12 540 9%

13 515 9%

14 468 8%

15 417 7%

16 347 6%

17 269 5%

Total 5,956 100% New and Renewal Filings for Exempt Status The data in Appendix E shows that of the 2,921 family units filing for exempt status, 509

(or 17 percent) were filing for the first year in 2006/07, and 2,412 (or 83 percent) were

renewing their exempt status from the previous school year.

See Appendix E for additional data.

6

Discontinuing Enrollment at the Exempt School For a child who is of mandatory attendance age, attendance at the exempt school may be

discontinued in the following two cases:

If the child has reached the age of 16 and is below age 18 and the parents or

guardians wish to discontinue the enrollment of the child, the parents or guardians

shall file a "Parent or Guardian Form to Discontinue Enrollment at Exempt School"

(Form C) with the Commissioner of Education (per Section 010.01 of Rule 12 and

Rule 13).

If the child is below age 18 and has completed the program of instruction offered

by the exempt school, the parents or guardians shall sign a separate "Parent or

Guardian Form to Report Completion of Program" (Form D) with the

Commissioner of Education (per Section 010.02 of Rule 12 and Rule 13).

Listed below are the numbers of Form C's and Form D's filed during the 2006/07 school

year:

Reason For Discontinuing Enrollment at the Exempt School

Number of Students Impacted

The child has reached the age of 16 and is below age 18 and the parents or guardians

discontinued the enrollment of the child (Form C).

9

The child is below age 18 and has completed the program of instruction

offered by the exempt school (Form D).

48

A-1

Appendix A

Exempt Students, Family Units, Attendance Centers, and Counties of Residence School Year 2006/07

As of January 1, 2007

Students Rule 12 960 Single Family 5415 Rule 13 4996 Multi Family 541

TOTAL STUDENTS 5956 TOTAL STUDENTS 5956

Family Units

Rule 12 610 Rule 13 2311

TOTAL FAMILY UNITS 2921

Attendance Centers

Rule 12 Single Family 597 Rule 13 Single Family 2038 Rule 12 Multi Family 2 Rule 13 Multi Family 30

TOTAL ATTENDANCE CENTERS 2667

Counties Containing Exempt Children 89

NOTE: Statistics reflect data collected by January of each school year. All statistics reported before the 1999/00 school year were Rule 13 exemption only. The first year for Rule 12 exemption was 1999/00.

B-1

Appendix B

Historical Summary of Exempt Students, Family Units, Attendance Centers, and Counties of Residence

School Years 1985/86 through 2005/06

Number of Students

School Attendance Centers School

Year Single Family

Multi Family Total

Family Units Single

Family Multi

Family

Total

Counties Containing

Exempt Students

1985/86 492 447 939 518 262 20 282 N/A

1986/87 830 546 1,376 753 517 26 543 66

1987/88 977 660 1,637 873 509 33 542 70

1988/89 1,155 553 1,708 946 618 29 647 76

1989/90 1,341 566 1,907 1,106 755 53 808 80

1990/91 1,559 588 2,147 1,221 876 30 908 81

1991/92 2,030 574 2,604 1,443 1,122 28 1,150 83

1992/93 2,296 635 2,931 1,623 1,264 32 1,296 87

1993/94 2,633 690 3,323 1,819 1,436 29 1,465 88

1994/95 3,061 762 3,823 2,110 1,679 38 1,717 86

1995/96 3,340 797 4,137 2,220 1,770 33 1,803 90

1996/97 3,682 725 4,407 2,394 1,988 33 2,021 89

1997/98 4,045 716 4,761 2,603 2,200 36 2,236 92

1998/99 4,135 675 4,810 2,666 2,274 38 2,312 90

1999/00 4,125 581 4,706 2,591 2,252 39 2,291 91

2000/01 4,071 588 4,659 2,507 2,180 35 2,215 89

2001/02 4,427 573 5,000 2,628 2,310 39 2,349 90

2002/03 4524 562 5086 2690 2366 36 2402 90

2003/04 4448 481 4929 2634 2348 32 2380 87

2004/05 4499 477 4976 2642 2363 33 2396 87

2005/06 5134 482 5616 2852 2587 29 2616 89

Appendix C

Number Of Students And Families By County School Year 2006/07 As of January 1, 2007

C-1

Students Family Units County Rule 12 Rule 13 Multi Single Total Rule 12 Rule 13 Multi Single Total

Adams 10 89 0 99 99 7 39 0 46 46 Antelope 6 5 0 11 11 3 3 0 6 6 Arthur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Banner 0 9 0 9 9 0 4 0 4 4 Blaine 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Boone 1 9 0 10 10 1 3 0 4 4 Box Butte 15 26 0 41 41 6 14 0 20 20 Boyd 4 7 0 11 11 3 3 0 6 6 Brown 3 10 0 13 13 3 5 0 8 8 Buffalo 28 86 0 114 114 14 38 0 52 52 Burt 2 55 1 56 57 2 20 1 21 22 Butler 3 25 0 28 28 2 9 0 11 11 Cass 18 165 51 132 183 16 75 26 65 91 Cedar 1 7 0 8 8 1 5 0 6 6 Chase 2 9 0 11 11 1 4 0 5 5 Cherry 4 40 12 32 44 4 23 7 20 27 Cheyenne 14 22 0 36 36 9 13 0 22 22 Clay 4 35 0 39 39 3 17 0 20 20 Colfax 1 14 0 15 15 1 4 0 5 5 Cuming 3 27 1 29 30 3 9 1 11 12 Custer 4 55 2 57 59 4 26 1 29 30 Dakota 9 29 0 38 38 4 12 0 16 16 Dawes 3 28 0 31 31 2 16 0 18 18 Dawson 8 45 24 29 53 5 28 16 17 33 Deuel 5 4 0 9 9 2 3 0 5 5 Dixon 0 15 0 15 15 0 6 0 6 6 Dodge 19 75 9 85 94 10 37 6 41 47 Douglas 287 975 174 1088 1262 179 470 91 558 649 Dundy 0 3 0 3 3 0 2 0 2 2 Fillmore 0 12 0 12 12 0 4 0 4 4 Franklin 0 5 0 5 5 0 1 0 1 1 Frontier 0 4 0 4 4 0 3 0 3 3 Furnas 5 19 0 24 24 4 7 0 11 11 Gage 11 67 0 78 78 8 30 0 38 38 Garden 1 4 0 5 5 1 2 0 3 3 Garfield 0 4 0 4 4 0 2 0 2 2 Gosper 1 6 0 7 7 1 2 0 3 3 Grant 4 0 0 4 4 1 0 0 1 1 Greeley 0 11 8 3 11 0 7 5 2 7 Hall 16 76 0 92 92 12 37 0 49 49 Hamilton 11 59 0 70 70 8 23 0 31 31 Harlan 0 44 0 44 44 0 11 0 11 11 Hayes 0 2 0 2 2 0 1 0 1 1 Hitchcock 4 24 3 25 28 3 12 2 13 15 Holt 15 52 9 58 67 10 20 6 24 30 Hooker 2 0 0 2 2 1 0 0 1 1 Howard 4 6 0 10 10 2 3 0 5 5 Jefferson 2 28 0 30 30 2 12 0 14 14

Appendix C (continued)

Number Of Students And Families By County School Year 2006/07 As of January 1, 2007

C-2

Students Family Units County Rule 12 Rule 13 Multi Single Total Rule 12 Rule 13 Multi Single Total

Johnson 5 21 0 26 26 2 11 0 13 13 Kearney 0 18 0 18 18 0 8 0 8 8 Keith 5 29 5 29 34 3 13 4 12 16 Keya Paha 0 13 0 13 13 0 4 0 4 4 Kimball 1 18 0 19 19 1 7 0 8 8 Knox 1 13 0 14 14 1 7 0 8 8 Lancaster 124 780 29 875 904 78 357 16 419 435 Lincoln 15 142 10 147 157 12 69 4 77 81 Logan 1 5 3 3 6 1 3 1 3 4 Loup 0 5 0 5 5 0 3 0 3 3 Madison 9 88 10 87 97 6 42 7 41 48 McPherson 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 Merrick 8 15 0 23 23 4 10 0 14 14 Morrill 3 19 0 22 22 3 9 0 12 12 Nance 2 4 0 6 6 1 2 0 3 3 Nemaha 1 25 0 26 26 1 13 0 14 14 Nuckolls 4 15 0 19 19 3 6 0 9 9 Otoe 14 60 0 74 74 9 24 0 33 33 Pawnee 1 15 0 16 16 1 6 0 7 7 Perkins 5 31 31 5 36 2 19 19 2 21 Phelps 3 23 0 26 26 3 13 0 16 16 Pierce 0 10 0 10 10 0 5 0 5 5 Platte 8 117 81 44 125 6 47 32 21 53 Polk 2 30 0 32 32 2 15 0 17 17 Red Willow 6 31 14 23 37 4 21 10 15 25 Richardson 11 13 0 24 24 6 6 0 12 12 Rock 0 17 0 17 17 0 7 0 7 7 Saline 5 30 1 34 35 3 11 1 13 14 Sarpy 114 471 24 561 585 67 218 12 273 285 Saunders 11 82 4 89 93 4 34 1 37 38 Scotts Bluff 19 95 4 110 114 13 49 4 58 62 Seward 7 116 20 103 123 6 53 8 51 59 Sheridan 6 21 1 26 27 4 12 1 15 16 Sherman 5 9 0 14 14 4 5 0 9 9 Sioux 4 15 0 19 19 2 5 0 7 7 Stanton 7 31 0 38 38 3 12 0 15 15 Thayer 1 18 0 19 19 1 10 0 11 11 Thomas 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Thurston 0 5 0 5 5 0 2 0 2 2 Valley 1 17 0 18 18 1 10 0 11 11 Washington 14 127 8 133 141 11 53 3 61 64 Wayne 1 13 2 12 14 1 7 1 7 8 Webster 0 38 0 38 38 0 13 0 13 13 Wheeler 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 York 6 58 0 64 64 3 24 0 27 27 STATEWIDE TOTALS 960 4,996 541 5,415 5,956 610 2,311 286 2,635 2,921

Appendix D

Percentage Of Exempt School Participants To Total Census Count

School Years 1985/86 – 2006/07

D-1

School Year Total Census Count Exempt Student

Count

Percent Of Exempt Students In Total Census

Count 1985/86 214,9981 939 .44 1986/87 214,7321 1,376 .64 1987/88 215,6781 1,637 .76 1988/89 217,1041 1,638 .75 1989/90 222,4481 1,907 .86 1990/91 227,8951 2,147 .94 1991/92 232,5502 2,604 1.12 1992/93 231,1932 2,931 1.27 1993/94 231,4702 3,323 1.44 1994/95 234,0102 3,823 1.63 1995/96 235,1933 4,137 1.76 1996/97 223,7993 4,407 1.97 1997/98 237,9183 4,761 2.00 1998/99 235,0553 4,810 2.05 1999/00 233,6704 4,706 2.01 2000/01 233,0145 4,659 2.00 2001/02 230,1405 5,000 2.17 2002/03 227,9355 5,086 2.23 2003/04 229,0955 4,929 2.15 2004/05 253,9196 4,976 1.96 2005/06 302,1917 5,616 1.86

2006/07 299,9907 5,956 1.99

1Statistics And Facts About Nebraska Schools, Nebraska Department of Education, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, and 1990; Ages 7 through 15. 2School District Census Info. Tab Six, Nebraska Department of Education, 1991/92, 1992/93, 1993/94, and 1994/95; Ages 7 through 15. 3Statistics And Facts About Nebraska Schools, Nebraska Department of Education, 1995/96, 1996/97, 1997/98, and 1998/99; Ages 7 through 15. 4County Superintendent School District Census Report, 1999; Ages 7 through 15. 5School District/System Census Report, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003; Ages 7 through 15. 6School District/System Census Report, 2004; Ages 7 through 16. 7School District/System Census Report, 2005 and 2006; Ages 6 through 17.

Appendix E

New and Renewal Filings for Exempt Status 2006/07 School Year

As of January 1, 2007

E-1

Family Units Rule 12 Rule 13 Statewide Totals

New

# Of Family Units 209 300 509

% Of Total Family Units 34% 13% 17%

Renewal

# Of Family Units 401 2,011 2,412

% Of Total Family Units 66% 87% 83%

TOTAL FAMILY UNITS 610 2,311 2,921

Students Rule 12 Rule 13 Statewide Totals

New

# Of Students 283 473 756

% Of Total Students 29% 9% 13%

Renewal

# Of Students 677 4,523 5,200

% Of Total Students 71% 91% 87%

TOTAL STUDENTS 960 4,996 5,956