Manatee County School Board hears updates to home education process after death of Janiya Thomas
BRADENTON -- The number of families and students choosing to leave physical schools and learn at home is growing in Manatee County.
About 1,000 families and 1,400 students -- out of about 48,000 students total -- opt to enroll in a home education program, according to updates given to the Manatee County School Board during a workshop Tuesday.
The presentation was requested by school board member Charlie Kennedy after the body of 11-year-old Janiya Thomas was discovered locked in a freezer last fall. Janiya was pulled out of Manatee Elementary School and enrolled in a home education program by her mother, Keishanna Thomas, before Janiya's death.
Keishanna Thomas has been charged with first-degree murder in Janiya's death.
After her death, board members and others in the community questioned how Janiya could have gone unseen by school district officials for so long. That discussion prompted the workshop.
Under district and state policies governing home education, parents must submit an annual evaluation for their children 12 months after the parent submits a letter of intent to the district.
"It doesn't run on the same schedule as the rest of the school times and dates," said Danny Lundeen, supervisor of student assignment. "The annual evaluation can be in three or four different formats."
Most home education students return to their base school to sit for state-mandated tests, said Superintendent Diana Greene. Passing the state-mandated tests is one format for the annual evaluation, but a portfolio of schoolwork, or satisfactory completion of work in the Florida Virtual School program can also count toward the annual evaluation.
Parents are required to keep a portfolio of student work handy, and must make it available for inspection with 10 days notice, Lundeen said. The district does not randomly request portfolio reviews, Lundeen said, but sometimes a neighbor may call and be concerned the children are not in school, which may prompt Lundeen's office to call and ask to review the portfolio, he said.
"I could take that on and ask for a review," Lundeen said.
In the case of Janiya, Keishanna Thomas ignored the district request for an annual evaluation. When a follow-up letter was sent by the district, Keishanna told district officials Janiya no longer lived in Florida, which closed the issue for the district.
Kennedy was interested in the Legislature adding some type of additional check on homeschool families who may have previously had cases with the Department of Children and Families. The additional check failed to be taken up in the Legislature in 2016, but Kennedy said he is hopeful a change could work its way through the next session.
"It is concerning that this student could be out of touch for a year but I think there is a middle ground. I think there is a solution out there," Kennedy said.
Although the number of Manatee County families and children choosing home education is increasing, Lundeen said it is not out of the norm with trends across the state.
"I think we're pretty average," Lundeen said.
Meghin Delaney, education reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7081. Follow her on Twitter @MeghinDelaney.
This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 11:24 PM with the headline "Manatee County School Board hears updates to home education process after death of Janiya Thomas ."