Association of Florida Evaluators
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is a professional organization of
teachers, psychologists, and school psychologists
who are qualified to administer Florida home education evaluations, and who have joined together to exchange information on
education laws and policies to help set standards of professionalism that parents and others can trust.
Our members have proven, at the time that they join, that they have current professional level Florida teacher certification OR a current Florida license as a psychologist or school psychologist as required by law to do home education evaluations. Our members agree to follow Florida laws and FLDOE policies in regard to evaluations.
What Our Members Offer Homeschool Parents:
Association of Florida Evaluators
Members
AFE members are qualified to do Florida home education evaluations; they have either Florida professional-level teacher certification at the elementary or secondary levels OR current Florida licenses as psychologists or school pyschologists.
AFE members have access to information, forms, training, and discussion on Florida home education evaluations, and opportunities to network with colleagues.
Becoming an Evaluator
Frequently Asked Questions...
Q: Qualifications: Who can be an evaluator?
A: Evaluators are either:
1. Florida certified teachers with current, regular (i.e. professional level) certification to teach academic subjects at the elementary or secondary level; these can do
(1) portfolio review evaluations or
(2) administer nationally-normed achievement test evaluations, or
(3) administer public-school evaluations (if working for a public school).
Teachers with out-of-state certification should look at reciprocity rules to see how they can get Florida professional level certification.
Others can read how to get Florida professional level certification here.
OR
2. Florida licensed psychologists or school psychologists. These are eligible to do evaluations as psychologists if their FL license is current.
See these links for requirements to earn a Florida license as a psychologist or school psychologist.
Q: What training is required to be an evaluator?
A: None.
Any Florida certified teacher with current professional-level certification to teach academic subjects at the elementary or secondary levels can do evaluations without additional training with the school district or state.
Similarly, anyone with current Florida license as a psychologist or school psychologist can be an evaluator. Anyone with those credentials can do evaluations.
But can someone without any training be a good evaluator?
Nothing in Florida law requires professionals to even read Florida's home education laws; most teachers and psychologists are unfamiliar with Florida's home education laws and policies. Someone who doesn't know the law is unlikely to follow it and do evaluations in accordance with Florida law.
The Association of Florida Evaluators was created by a group of evaluators who saw a need for a public list of evaluators who had training and familiarity with Florida laws and policies on home education in order to better serve the homeschool community.
Q: Can an evaluator evaluate children of a neighbor, friend, relative, or him- or herself?
A: Florida home education law does not restrict evaluators from doing evaluations for their own children, or those of family, friends, or neighbors.
For decades, many evaluators evaluated their own children without issues. The only issues in doing this that AFE is aware of were in relation to families that were investigated (such as by DCF) and had not kept portfolio records as required by Florida law.
In the summer of 2021, a Florida school district rejected an evaluation done by a parent. However, the district did change their decision after the FL Dept of Education's Home Education Director, Sandra Eggers, contacted the district.
Note that per Brenda Dickinson of FLHEF.org, Florida home education law as originally written in the 1980s, exempted Florida certified teachers from home education law; they did not have to send in Letters of Intent, keep portfolios, nor do evaluations for their own children if they homeschooled them. It was assumed that teachers knew how to educate. The law was later changed simply to give the state a more accurate count of the number of home education students in Florida.
AFE strongly encourages evaluators who evaluate their own to carefully document their children's learning for their own protection.
Q: How can an evaluator get started?
A: A qualified person can simply call himself or herself an evaluator and open up for business.
However, someone who wants to be a good evaluator can start with reading information on our site and taking a class in our training section. Then join our group to learn from colleagues and further training.
Membership Qualifications
Want to join Florida's only professional group for homeschool evaluators, the Association of Florida Evaluators?
Membership is open to both
Teachers with current professional-level Florida teacher certification at the elementary or secondary level
OR
Psychologists with current Florida license as either a psychologist or a school psychologist
who provide proof of credentials and
knowledge of evaluation requirements (through a simple online course)
agree to abide by evaluation requirements as stated in Florida law and FL Dept. of Education policy, and
pay our annual membership dues.
We offer two levels of membership:
Basic and Professional levels
Current dues are $20 and $50 per year, respectively
Check the options to see which is best for you
AFE Evaluators
Qualified. Taking New Clients.
Become a member to be added to our list.
Check list here. Available soon. April 2023.