Let’s just say that if you’re concerned about all the schools in Quebec teaching in French, this simply isn’t the case. There are lots of English schools in the province, especially in the Montreal area. The issue, however, is whether you get to send your kids to one of them. One of the measures implemented in the language law was to require that anyone enrolling a child in an English school produce a certificate of eligibility to access English-language education. That little piece of paper is so precious, I know of at least one family who have framed the certificate and hung it on the wall!

If you are new to Quebec and you are coming from outside of Canada, in all likelihood you are not eligible to send your kids to school in English. If your family has lived in Quebec for generations, but no one has ever been educated in English, chances are you will have to send them to school in French. There are some exceptions, but basically it’s not easy to get that little paper for your kids unless you were educated in English somewhere in Canada.

It is important to note that the language law applies to public institutions, and as such, does not apply to homeschooling. If you are a homeschooler moving into Quebec, or if you are withdrawing your child from a French school, you may have been told that you are not permitted to educate your child at home in English. Rest assured, this is simply not true. You may educate your child at home in the language or languages of your choice.

Here is the official statement of the ministry of education (the MELS):

[L]’enfant non admissible à recevoir l’enseignement en anglais, en vertu des dispositions de la Chartre de la langue française, peut recevoir, en anglais, son enseignement à la maison puisque ces dispositions sont inapplicables dans ce cas.

My translation:
The child who, due to the provisions of the French Language Charter, is not eligible to attend an English language school, may nevertheless receive instruction at home in English; the provisions of the Charter do not apply to homeschooling.

~ La Scolarisation à Domicile, Orientations, Projet; MELS, Mai 2005

The document continues by saying that parents can register for homeschooling with either the English or French school board in their region, according to the language of instruction. (This registration is, however, a hot issue. Many feel this is not required by law.)

We are also told that, as is now the case with private education since the legal loopholes have been closed, homeschooling in English cannot be used to establish eligibility for public education later.

Folks who may benefit from this option:

• Anglophones and allophones entering Quebec from outside Canada, who would ordinarily have to send their kids to French school, and who are concerned their children will not be able to keep up with their classmates;
• Francophones without eligibility certificates, who would like their children to benefit from earlier exposure to English instruction or from a bilingual or English immersion format that is not available through the local public French-language school;
• Anyone with a child who seems to struggle a great deal with the French language, but who has no specific diagnosis of learning difficulty or other disability that may grant him eligibility, and who would therefore be required to send this child to school in French.

If you choose this option, do keep in mind that if you ever need to return your kids to public school they will have to attend a French school. It is wise to provide some French instruction!

The bottom line: If you are not ordinarily eligible to send your children to English school you have a legal right to give them an English education by opting to homeschool.

This work was created by Ruby of Freehold 2, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License.

Excerpts copyright quoted authors. Please visit their sites to read more, and respect the terms of their copyrights. Thanks!

The content of this blog is offered in the spirit of sharing information and ideas, and all factual information is accurate to the best of my knowledge at the time of writing. Please be aware that laws change and new requirements may be imposed on homeschooling parents. I am not an expert. You should consult legal counsel for the best advice on homeschool legalities and your rights as a home educator.

If you’re thinking about homeschooling - or if you’re moving from one jurisdiction to another - and you want to be sure you will be fulfilling your legal obligations, this really is a valid question.

In the broadest of strokes and to the best of my knowledge, homeschooling is at this moment legal in every Canadian province and territory. It is also legal in all 50 US states. (Yes, there’s been some controversy in California recently, but I believe the most current news from that state has been that it’s still quite legal. If you’re in California I suggest you get your information from a trusted association like HSLDA, NHELD or CHELD.)

Knowing your legal obligations in a given jurisdiction is the more complicated part, especially if the law is rather vague. The Quebec Education Act says that a child aged 6-16 must attend public school. There is an exception for home education, and to be eligible for the exemption the parents must meet their obligations under this section of the law. Here it is (in its official English translation - in cases where the translation varies from the original, it is the French that will be accepted as the final authority):

15.  The following students are exempt from compulsory school attendance:…..

…. 4) a student who receives home schooling and benefits from an educational experience which, according to an evaluation made by or for the school board, are equivalent to what is provided at school.

~ (R.S.Q., chapter I-13.3: Education Act, Section 15(4). Updated to 1 August 2008)

OK, so what constitutes an equivalent educational experience? What do I need to teach my kids in order to meet my obligations under the Education Act? A document issued by the ministry of education to school boards in 2005 discusses this equivalence:

La notion d’équivalence peut être interprétée dans le sens que l’enseignement dispensé et l’expérience éducative vécue doivent permettre à l’enfant d’avoir les connaissances et les compétences suffisantes pour qu’il puisse, s’il le souhaite, intégrer ou réintégrer le système scolaire public ou privé.

(My translation:
The notion of equivalence in this sense can be interpreted as the teaching given and the educational experience lived by the student, that permit him to have sufficient knowledge and competencies* so he may enter or return to the public or private school system if he so wishes.)
* The ministry of education uses the term “competency” in discussions of subject-specific and cross-curricular learning objectives. These are very specific competencies as outlined in the Quebec Education Program, and not skills in general.

~ La Scolarisation à Domicile, Orientations, Projet; MELS, Mai 2005
(I got my copy through one of the forums at AQED before they switched to their new web site. I don’t know whether they still have it available, but it’s been exceedingly difficult to find elsewhere.)

So if you are a home educator in Quebec, to be meeting your legal obligations under the Education Act you need to be sure your kids could enter or return to school with no great need for adaptations. In other words, Johnny should be able to read the textbooks the school is using and to do whatever other reading is assigned. He should be ready to understand the math, French, social studies or science concepts the teachers will be presenting. He may not have read the exact books or studied the exact same subjects in history, but the knowledge he has gained should give him a solid foundation for learning alongside his classmates without the teach having to give him too many special assignments or individual tutoring sessions.

Furthermore, he should have a set of competencies that will be useful to him in his learning process. These are different for each cycle of school, but may include things like having some coping strategies that he can use when he encounters an unfamiliar word, or understanding the concept of place value. Other competencies are being open to others’ opinions & experiences, and learning to share some of his own. There is also trying to express himself in French, and using a variety of types of literature. As I said, these vary to some extent. Consult the Quebec Education Program to know what is expected for your child’s grade level.

Check this post on starting out for links to the various parts of the Quebec Education Program. I’ve included a good number of other links that may help you as you begin to formulate your education plan, too. You should be off to a good start!

Next in this series of posts:
Evaluation of Equivalence - looking at several published opinions on what should be evaluated and how

*****

This work was created by Ruby of Freehold 2, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License.

Excerpts copyright quoted authors. Please visit their sites to read more, and respect the terms of their copyrights. Thanks!

The content of this blog is offered in the spirit of sharing information and ideas, and all factual information is accurate to the best of my knowledge at the time of writing. Please be aware that laws change and new requirements may be imposed on homeschooling parents. I am not an expert. You should consult legal counsel for the best advice on homeschool legalities and your rights as a home educator.

Also on the same page, check out a link to one of the old Addams Family episodes. In this one, the children are being homeschooled & the local school sends their truancy officer to the house to check up on the family. Follow the link and watch the episode in its entirety!

This work was created by Ruby of Freehold 2, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License.

Excerpts copyright quoted authors. Please visit their sites to read more, and respect the terms of their copyrights. Thanks!

The Elementary Life Science course, also 36 weeks for the same aged kids, is still available free for download PLUS Mr. Q has added extra resources. The full text of the new earth science course, if you decide to buy it, is $50 for the complete material (parent & student texts.)

This work was created by Ruby of Freehold 2, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License.

Excerpts copyright quoted authors. Please visit their sites to read more, and respect the terms of their copyrights. Thanks!

I got a simple scissor work booklet earlier this summer, which my son & his youngest sister have been enjoying these last few weeks. If you are looking for scissor work for your preschooler or special needs child, it’s still available free at CurrClick: Simple Scissor Practice by Middaysnack.com.

Today’s freebie from Homeschool Freebie Of The Day, though, was a neat surprise. It was unscheduled, as the expected download was temporarily unavailable. The replacement, When Mother Lets Us Cut Out Pictures, has lots of really cool outlines for kids to choose from. It’s an early 20th century book that’s been scanned, and all the “patterns” are negatives so kids can colour the plain white interior of their shapes, once they’ve cut off the black exterior. These are more complex than the easy scissor practice, and the book also provides written instructions on how to cut a variety of shapes and objects. This is a good book for older children. It might lead to an interest in papercutting as a craft.

If you want a free copy from the abovementioned site, you must go before the end of today. If you miss it, you can also download it free from the Internet Archive.

Do check out Homeschool Freebie Of The Day, regardless. They offer a new freebie each weekday, and usually one extra freebie per week for their subscribers. (You don’t have to subscribe, but only subscribers get the link to the extra weekly freebie.) I find that I pick up a few neat things every week or so from their site. It’s fun for the bargain hunters and lovers of freebies.

This work was created by Ruby of Freehold 2, and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License.

Excerpts copyright quoted authors. Please visit their sites to read more, and respect the terms of their copyrights. Thanks!