Adopted: April 1999
Revised: April 2021
1. Student Eligibility
1.1 Students who attend approved home schools full-time and are in compliance with the Minnesota Compulsory Instruction Law may apply for limited shared time enrollment privileges in District 196 middle schools and four-year comprehensive high schools.
1.2 These shared time privileges are limited to students in grades 6-12.
1.3 Students requesting shared time enrollment privileges must remain enrolled at their home school for the majority of their usual school day. Shared time enrollment is limited to two courses per trimester or quarter, unless an exception is made by the director of secondary education.
1.4 Shared time students do not qualify for a District 196 high school diploma, participation in honor rolls, class rank and other recognition available to full-time public school students.
1.5 In order to be approved for a specific course, a student must have completed all prerequisite course requirements and may be required to demonstrate appropriate skill and/or knowledge levels.
1.6 When participating in a shared time course, shared time home school students will be subject to all the same school and district policies, regulations and rules which apply to public school students, including student rights and responsibilities, grading, and attendance and performance expectations.
1.7 Nothing in these guidelines is intended to exclude students with disabilities from receiving special education services, or to exclude nonpublic school students from participating in band instruction in grade 5, as outlined in Policy 640 and Administrative Regulation 640AR, Shared Time and Other Services Available to Nonpublic Schools.
2. Program Availability
2.1 Shared time enrollment privileges are limited to courses difficult to offer in the home school setting.
2.1.1 No more than one science laboratory course may be enrolled in per trimester or quarter.
2.1.2 Shared time course will be limited to courses that generate shared time foundation aid from the state.
2.2 Shared time enrollment will be provided only as space is available in the program, class, grade level and/or school building, as determined by the middle school or high school principal in consultation with the director of secondary education.
2.2.1 Course sections will not be added to provide additional seats.
2.2.2 The principal and director of secondary education will hold seats open in courses, as needed, to accommodate future public student enrollment growth.
2.2.3 Shared time enrollment will be provided only in courses offered at regular times within the normal schedule of classes.
2.2.4 Class hours will not be altered to provide for shared time students.
2.3 School computer and science laboratories, and libraries/media centers are not available for home school student use except as part of a public school course taken by a shared time student or as part of a time the laboratory or library/media center has been made available for use by the general public.
2.4 Shared time students enrolled for two courses not offered consecutively must leave school property when not in class or may attend a supervised study hall (if available) in between the two courses. (A study hall does not count as one of the two courses a home school student may take each trimester or quarter.)
2.5 If the school lunch period falls between the two courses, the shared time student may purchase a school lunch and eat in the student eating area. Shared time students whose families fall within the income guidelines for free or reduced-price school meals may quality for a free or reduced-price lunch. Inquiries should be directed to the Food and Nutrition Services Department.
2.6 Home school shared time students may take state assessments and nationally norm-referenced tests at the public school, as arranged with the principal.
2.6.1 The home school will be charged for the cost of the test and the scoring.
2.6.2 Home school student test results will be reported separately from public school student tests.
3. Application Process
3.1 Students accepted for shared time enrollment will be counted as enrolled in the district for the purpose of calculating state aid, and must complete all application and enrollment information accordingly.
3.2 All inquiries for shared time enrollment shall be directed to the director of community education. Inquiries received in schools and other district offices will be referred to the director of community education.
3.3 Inquiring home school students should review this regulation and complete District Procedure 640.2.2P, Application for Shared Time Enrollment of Home School Students in Middle School or High School Curricular Courses.
3.4 Each completed application must be returned to the director of community education no less than one month prior to the first day of the courses(s) in order for the student to be considered for shared time enrollment.
3.5 After the director of community education confirms the home school status of a resident-student or after the director of secondary education confirms the home school status of a nonresident student, the application will be forwarded to the appropriate principal of the middle school or high school.
3.6 The principal shall review the application, review class scheduling issues and forward the application to the director of secondary education with a recommendation for approval or disapproval.
3.7 No less than two weeks prior to the first day of the course(s) the director of secondary will give preliminary approval or disapproval to the application and notify the home school, the principal and the director of community education of his or her decision.
3.8 The home school will receive final confirmation of acceptance from the director of secondary education, based on space available, no later than one week before the first day of the course(s).
3.9 The director of secondary education will notify the student information supervisor of home school students who will be participating in a shared time course.
3.10 Specific communications about class scheduling shall take place between the shared time applicant and the middle school or high school principal.
3.11 Principals of schools which shared time students attend are responsible for calculating the proportion of classroom time in the district’s system of pupil unit accounting. Additional state aid funds generated by the attendance of the shared time students will be added to the budget of the schools attended by the students.
4. Transportation
4.1 Students accepted for shared time enrollment are eligible for district transportation from home to school if they are at an existing bus stop at the regularly scheduled bus stop time, if space is available on the bus and if they meet district policy guidelines for distance from school.
4.2 Students accepted for shared time enrollment are eligible for district transportation from school to home if they are at the school bus departure location at the end of the school day, if there is room on the bus, if they get off the bus at a regularly scheduled bus stop and if they meet district policy guidelines for distance from school.
4.3 Students must be eligible for state transportation aid.
4.4 Transportation arrangements will be made by the Transportation Department, at the request of the home school.
5. Attendance Area – Shared time students must attend the middle school or high school in their attendance area, except as noted below.
5.1 If a course a resident home school student wants to take is only offered or only has space available at a different middle school or high school than the one in his or her attendance area, the director of secondary education may allow the student to attend a public middle school or high school outside of the student’s attendance area or district of residence.
5.2 If a resident shared time student wants to take courses at a middle school or high school other than the middle school or high school in his or her attendance area, the student may complete an intradistrict transfer in the same manner as District 196 students. (Refer to Policy 502, Student Transfers, for more information.)
5.3 If a nonresident student wants to take courses at a middle school or high school in District 196, the director of secondary education will contact the student’s resident district to verify the student’s eligibility and to request the shared time funding and will determine the availability of the course to the nonresident student.
References: - Minnesota Statute 126C.19, Shared Time Aid