Can my K-12 kid take a ‘gap year’ and skip school this year? - NJ.com

Mandatory masks. Crowded cafeterias. Classrooms full of unvaccinated elementary school students. Rising Delta variant cases.

And no option for remote learning.

For many New Jersey parents, the upcoming start of the third school year impacted by the coronavirus pandemic is proving to be the most stressful. Gov. Phil Murphy has said he expects all student to be back in class for full days of in-person public school classes, even as some families say they are not ready.

So, is it possible for students to just skip this school year? No home-schooling. No remote learning. Just put the fourth grade on hold — then return for the 2022-2023 school year to start the fourth grade when the virus has hopefully waned?

Laws vary from state to state, but in New Jersey state officials said most K-12 students can't legally take a "gap year."

"If a parent withheld their child from attending public school without an excused absence, the child would be truant," said Michael Yaple, a spokesman for the state Department of Education.

New Jersey's state law says every child between ages 6 and 16 must regularly attend public or private school or "receive equivalent instruction elsewhere than at school."

Parents and guardians could face a disorderly person charge and face fines of $25 for the first offense and up to $100 for each subsequent offense if their kids are found to be skipping out on education entirely without a valid medical excuse.

Those rules still apply, even in the uncertainty of the coronavirus pandemic, state officials said. Your 9-year-old can't just spend the whole school year going to the park and watching Netflix until the infection rates fall.

"There is nothing in state regulations that we're aware of that allows parents to skip entire years of their child's education," Yaple said.

There are exceptions. The law only applies to students ages 6 to 16, so 4 or 5 year olds eligible to start kindergarten this fall could legally delay a year in New Jersey and start school next year instead. That practice — already popular among some parents who postpone kindergarten for academic or social development reasons — is called "redshirting" after the term used in college sports for athletes who sit out a year to lengthen their years of eligibility.

High school students can also withdraw from school as soon as they pass their 16th birthday, with or without their parents' permission, under the New Jersey law. So, older students could, in theory, take a gap year in high school or take the GED test to finish their schooling early.

Under the law, if students drop out at age 16, they would be able to re-enroll a year later. But school officials say students skipping a year of high school and returning was rare before the pandemic and most districts don't have well-established procedures to handle those cases.

There are several alternatives to dropping out of school for a year due to coronavirus fears, educators say. The easiest choice is to withdraw the student from public school for home-schooling.

Under the state law, families can come up with their own learning plan for home-schooled students. They can purchase a pre-written curriculum or create their own curriculum, which does not have to be approved by local education officials. The state will not test home-schoolers to assess what they are learning.

However, if parents say they are home-schooling, but the education officials believe the family does not really have any education plan in place, the local school board can intervene.

"The board may wish to consult with its attorney regarding possible charges against the parent/guardian for failure to have the child educated," according to state Department of Education rules.

Parents can also look into enrolling their kids in private schools, charter schools or tuition-based online options, including the New Jersey Virtual School. There are also "micro-schools," a new trend in which families are hiring tutors or rotating parents to teach small groups of children at home.

If and when home-schooled students return to public school, it will be up to local education officials to determine what grade they should be in, state regulations say.

"Placement should be based on an objective assessment that is given to all students for that subject or grade," according to the state education guidance.

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Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com.

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