Homeschool benefits: Boone Community School District
Boone Home School Assistance Program (BHSAP) pairs your family with a licensed supervising teacher, lends from its own homeschool library, and lets you suggest up to $300 of non-consumable materials per student each year. Families who live in Boone Community School District or open enroll into the program can join while you stay your child's primary teacher.
Who qualifies
Local or open-enrolled family
The program serves local families and families open enrolled into it. Out-of-district families file open enrollment forms, and the school board approves or denies them each year based on district goals and resources.
Files Form A for each child
Competent private instruction under the program starts with a Form A for each child, filed with proof of immunization or a religious or medical waiver.
Keeps teacher visits
Your supervising teacher must make at least four contacts each quarter, and half must be face to face with your child present. Three unexcused missed visits lead to a registered letter, and a fourth ends enrollment.
Shows progress toward goals
You set goals with the supervising teacher, and at least 25% of the year's coursework must be under your direct supervision. Full-time enrollment at another school cancels BHSAP enrollment.
What the program gives you
The limits come from the BHSAP student handbook linked from the program page, which is labeled for the 2024-2025 school year.
- Materials you can suggest per student
- Up to $300 a year
- Library items other than textbooks
- 4-week loan
- District textbooks
- Semester or summer loan
- Edgenuity online courses
- 2 at a time, 90 days each
- Copies made by staff
- 10 a month per student
- Curriculum field trip admission
- Paid for enrolled students
The Director reviews every material suggestion, so ask which items qualify before you count on them, and ask whether the 2024-2025 handbook rules still apply this year.
From enrolling to keeping it
- Before registration
Open enroll if you live outside Boone
File open enrollment forms with Boone Community School District. Open enrollment can affect varsity eligibility for the first 90 school days.
- Mid-August
Register and file Form A
Registration Day is usually in mid-August. Call the BHSAP office for the date and bring immunization proof or a waiver.
- By Sept. 15
Choose dual enrollment
Tell the district by September 15 if your child will take public school classes, sports, testing, or Edgenuity courses. New or recently withdrawn families have 14 days.
- Each quarter
Meet your supervising teacher
The first visit sets goals and covers record keeping and curriculum, middle visits check progress, and the last visit reviews the year.
- March 15-April 15
Request next year's materials
Send textbook and library material requests in this window. A second window runs October 15-November 15 for second semester.
What it includes
Included
- Supervising-teacher support
- BHSAP library loans
- Approved non-consumable materials
- Enrichment classes at the BHSAP office
- Student admission on curriculum field trips
Not included
- Cash payments to families
- Religious materials
- Teacher manuals and tests
- Most consumables
- Transportation
Families buy their own consumables, except workbooks that go with the approved curriculum for one year, and you pay for any library item lost or damaged.
Good to know
Families outside Boone can open enroll
Out-of-district families can join through open enrollment by filing forms with the district, and the board approves or denies each request based on district goals and available resources.
There are no reimbursements
BHSAP does not make payments to families. You can suggest up to $300 of non-consumable materials per student each year, and the Director decides what the program buys and lends.
You choose the curriculum
Parents make the final choice and keep primary responsibility, but materials the district pays for need district approval.
Who to contact about the program
The BHSAP office at 215 West 8th Street in Boone handles registration, teacher assignments, and library requests.
bbiersner@boone.k12.ia.us 515-432-1550 Program page
Homeschool rules and statewide help in Iowa
You do not have to file a homeschool notice for independent private instruction.
Iowa sets these rules:
- Subjects: IPI must cover mathematics, reading and language arts, science, and social studies at all grade levels. CPI must provide at least 148 days of instruction annually, with attendance on at least 37 days each school quarter; its other rules depend on the option.
- Testing: No standardized testing required for independent option.
- Records: IPI must provide specified instructor, location, authority, and student information on written request; CPI reporting and record rules depend on the option.
- Teachers: Iowa does not require a teaching certificate or degree to homeschool your own child.
Read the Iowa homeschooling guide See statewide programs in Iowa
Questions parents ask
- When is the office open?
- The office and library are open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., or by appointment. Supervising teachers work part time, from August registration through May 31.
- Is testing required?
- No. Testing is optional for grades 3-12. BHSAP gives the Iowa Assessment for grades 3-8 at its own sites, and dual-enrolled students can test at Boone schools.
- What happens on snow days?
- BHSAP follows Boone Community School District. A full closure cancels all BHSAP events, a two-hour delay cancels morning classes, and an early dismissal cancels afternoon classes.
Turn support into your child’s next lesson
Local classes cover the subjects they offer. We teach the remaining subjects, so a local class can stay part of the year without becoming the whole curriculum.
$149/month per child after the trial.
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