Bluefield Daily Telegraph
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A proposal by the Tazewell County School Board to allow students who are currently home schooled or attending a private school to take classes within the public school division seems logical.
Several parents who currently home school their children, and others who let their children attend private school, have asked the school system in recent weeks about the possibility of their children taking classes in the public system.
A first reading of the non-public student part-time admission policy was adopted by the county school board last week, and will be considered for a second reading in August. If adopted by the board next month, it would allow children who are currently home schooled, or those who attend private school, to also take class offerings within the public school division on a limited basis.
Specifically, the proposed policy would allow students to select a course of their choosing and then the policy would require them to take one additional class to be eligible to participate in the class of their choice, according to School Superintendent Dr. Brenda Lawson.
If the child then chooses to participate in a club or school activity, they would be required to take an additional class.
According to Lawson, more than 100 children in Tazewell County are currently home schooled by their parents, and several other students in the county are currently enrolled in private schools as opposed to the public school division.
If the policy is adopted by the board in August, it would only be open to students who live or reside in Tazewell County. The board would not be charging a tuition to students who choose to participate under the proposed policy. Parents would be responsible for transporting their children to school.
Lawson said all schools in the county will participate in the proposed policy if it is adopted by the school board. The part-time students would be required to comply with all policies of the school system, including the student standard for conduct.
If students not currently enrolled in the school system participate in the policy, they would be considered a part of the school system’s enrollment. As a result, the additional students could help in terms of overall enrollment numbers for the school system.
However, if the admission of a student or multiple students would require a change of staffing at an individual school, then the school board has the opportunity to deny admission, according to the proposed policy.
The proposed policy sounds reasonable. If there is no widespread objection to it by parents and community leaders, we would then encourage board members to give it ample consideration.
