Section 8-12-18 - Testing and progress reports of home-schooled children(a) Test scores shall be required for grades identified in the Statewide Testing Program, grades three, five, eight, and ten. A child is eligible to participate in the Statewide Testing Program at the local public school. The parent is responsible for securing necessary details from the principal of the local public school. The parent may elect to arrange for private testing at the parent's own expense. The tests used shall be comparable to the appropriate criterion or norm-referenced tests used by the department in the grades concerned. The parent may request and the principal may approve other means of evaluation to meet the Statewide Testing Program requirements.(b) The parent shall submit to the principal an annual report of a child's progress. One of the following methods shall be used to demonstrate satisfactory progress: (1) A score on a nationally-normed standardized achievement test which demonstrates grade level achievement appropriate to a child's age;(2) Progress on a nationally-normed standardized achievement test that is equivalent to one grade level per calendar year, even if the overall achievement falls short of grade level standards;(3) A written evaluation by a person certified to teach in the State of Hawaii that a child demonstrates appropriate grade level achievement or significant annual advancement commensurate with a child's abilities; or(4) A written evaluation by the parent which shall include: (A) A description of the child's progress in each subject area included in the child's curriculum;(B) Representative samples of the child's work; and(C) Representative tests and assignments including grades for courses if grades are given.(c) When tests are administered under the Statewide Testing Program for grades three, five, eight, and ten, the parent may choose to have the child participate in the school's testing program and have the results serve as a means of assessing annual progress for that year.(d) The principal shall review the adequacy of a child's progress. If progress is not adequate, the principal shall meet with the parent to discuss the problems and help establish a plan for improvement. In this case, the principal may request and the parents shall share their record of the child's planned curriculum. When standardized test scores are used, adequate progress shall be considered to be score/stanines in the upper two thirds of the score/stanines. Unless progress is inadequate for two consecutive semesters, based on a child's scores on a norm-referenced test for that grade level or the written evaluation by a person certified to teach in the State of Hawaii, recommendations to enroll the child in a public or private school or to take legal action for educational neglect shall be prohibited. No recommendations shall be made for a child before the third grade.[Eff. 11/7/91; am and comp 5/13/00] (Auth: HRS §§ 302A-1112, 302A-1132) (Imp: HRS § 302A-1132)