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Portfolio Review Evaluations
and Educational Consultations/Choice Navigation with Cheryl and Mark Trzasko |
Proudly serving the homeschooling community for 20 years! |
Florida law requires home education students to be evaluated once a calendar year (or within 30 days of ending homeschooling) to verify that the students have been educated.
A portfolio review is a type of evaluation that is a simple look at records (or a sampling) kept of the child's learning to verify that learning has occurred.
A portfolio review is a type of evaluation that is a simple look at records (or a sampling) kept of the child's learning to verify that learning has occurred.
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We offer three options
for virtual homeschool portfolio review evaluations. 1. Evaluation via our online form and/or email
with a brief follow-up phone call. This is the fastest option for those in a hurry and our most popular option. 
Click icon for more info.
2. Evaluation via
live video call 
Click icon for more info.
Click icon for more info.
An option for those who want to begin the evaluation months in advance and get extra support.
(Not available from May 15 until Sept. 1) Go to Evaluation with Extra Support for our form. 
Click icon to begin
We provide consultations
(i.e., Choice Navigation in the language of the new PEP program that takes effect July 1, 2023) for those who need more in-depth or personalized assistance in planning their homeschooling, choosing curricula, organizing records, proofing transcripts, etc. than provided here or on our Facebook pages FLHomeschoolEvaluations and HomeschoolingFloridaStyle 
Florida Dept. of Education's official Home Education FAQ gives official Home Education policy. There are two versions of the official Home Education FAQ: one directed at parents and another at school districts. Homeschool Vouchers?
In March 2023, Florida's Governor signed a school choice law that's being touted as vouchers. What does this mean for homeschooling? Florida has two scholarships. 1. The Family Empowerment Scholarship: Unique Abilities (i.e., the Gardiner) is for students with certain special needs. Students using this to homeschool will still follow home education laws. 2. The Florida Tax Credit Scholarship: was not previously available for homeschooling. It will be open in July 2023 for homeschooling using a new homeschool option called a Personalized Education Plan. This PEP program will be available to lower income families, require a plan upfront, and require testing. We can help families set up a Student Learning Plan or get started homeschooling under this plan. A consultation with us is reimbursable under the scholarship as Choice Navigator services. |
A portfolio review evaluation is NOT a test. 
If your child is regularly learning and you've kept records of that learning, passing the evaluation should not be a worry. 
Our online/email evaluation requires a follow-up phone call with the child. This is not a quiz or test, but rather a quick chat.
View video for more details. Late? Missed Your Evaluation Deadline? Use our email evaluation option to send some photos or scans of your records and get the evaluation done quickly. Sending an email to your school district letting them know you are getting it done may help buy you some time. Once you send in the evaluation, all should be well. Florida Empowerment Scholarship: Unique Abilities We are a direct pay provider through Step Up for Students using the Florida Empowerment Scholarship: Unique Abilities (previously known as the Gardiner Scholarship). Include a copy of your child's Gardiner ID card or Gardiner Student ID# OR ask for a receipt for reimbursement instead. School districts are prohibited from adding any additional requirements to FL Home Education law. Districts cannot set a deadline for all evaluations nor require district forms Keeping a Portfolio
Florida law requires the parent to keep records called a portfolio. This video shows the start of our child's portfolio with tips on options for keeping records that meet Florida legal standards. (See our Portfolio Examples page for more information.) 
Need Help Getting a School or School District to Comply with Florida Law?
Sandy Eggers, the Home Education Director for the Florida Dept. of Education, and her staff can help. Their office is tasked with, among other things, providing information, evaluating any proposed policies to ensure they won't add regulations to homeschoolers, and serving the interests of home education students and parents. They can be valuable if districts try to overstep their bounds. DOEHomeEducation@fldoe.org Missed (or about to miss) a deadline due to hurricane, flooding, illness (or other problem)?
If you can, email your home education contact (use button below) to let them know that you are aware of the evaluation deadline and are in contact with an evaluator and will get the paperwork to them once you are able. That should grant you extra time. Even if the district doesn't specifically grant extra time, once the evaluation is turned in, all should be well. Yes! We do evaluations year-round. |
Finished Homeschooling?
If your child has graduated or if you are ready to put your child in a school or you move out of state, a Letter of Termination should be sent to the no more than 30 days after finishing homeschooling. The Letter of Termination is sent to the district's home education contact and an evaluation should be sent either with the Letter of Termination or within 30 days. A school will likely want a grade report and/or transcript. If you are moving from one Florida district to another Florida school district and are continuing to homeschool, use the transfer request form so an extra evaluation is not required. The new district should keep the same evaluation deadline. FL Homeschool Evaluations has worked from our beginning to help homeschool parents by providing accurate, up-to-date information on homeschooling laws and policies, and practical help. We have answered thousands of questions online, including via our Facebook page, our huge Facebook group, our Instagram page, and our email, and posted lots of information to help homeschool families. We have successfully helped parents fight back when district officials have over-stepped their bounds. We have helped vet, correct, and improve the Florida Dept. of Education's official Home Education FAQ and other information. We consolidated a lot of this information here and add more as we can. Please browse the site to find more...
And some information about us and our services:
Cheryl Trzasko Homeschool mom and evaluator since 2003 Florida home educated students must be evaluated
once a year by the anniversary of their Letter of Intent (or within 30 days of ending homeschooling.) The evaluation might be a test. But it doesn't have to. Parents choose from 5 evaluation options. Some options involve testing but not all are tests. 1. Public school testing done during regular state assessment testing. 2. Nationally-normed achievement testing administered by a FL certified teacher. Some homeschool support groups offer testing sessions with a certified teacher--the cost is usually around $50-$80 a child. Scores above the 35th percentile are considered passing per the Craig Dickinson Act. 3. Psychologist evaluation which is likely testing. ---- 4. The portfolio review is an option which is NOT a test; instead a FL certified teacher reviews records of the child's learning to verify that the child has been educated.This is the type of evaluation we offer. 5. Any other type of evaluation the parent and district agree on. New to homeschooling? Start Homeschooling If you've just started homeschooling, an evaluation won't be needed for almost a year (or within 30 days of finishing homeschooling if you stop sooner than a year). We do have an Evaluation with Extra Support option for those who want to begin the evaluation process much sooner to help make sure they are on the right track. Go here for information on getting started. We have pages with information on curriculum and/or unschooling, high school and graduation requirements, special needs, and more. See the Homeschool Information tab for more information. 
Learning at home together in our house.
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