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Private Tutoring Requirements

 In order to be compliant, the required documents must be submitted to the District prior to the commencement of a private tutoring program.  

The law allows for a student to be privately tutored and the school district's approval is not required (22 Pa. Code §11.31(b)(1); however, the student must be reported by the tutor as participating in a private tutoring program (24 P.S. § 13-1332) in fulfillment of compulsory attendance laws (24 P.S. § 13-1327). A private tutoring program is not homeschooling.

A parent or guardian may act as a private tutor for their own children if they are a PA-certified teacher. Background checks and other regulations apply. (Home Education and Private Tutoring Guide, p. 3)

Private Tutor Responsibilities

As with all schools or institutions, the private tutor is to report to the school district of the student’s residence the list of the names and residences of all children between six (6) and eighteen (18) years of age that they are tutoring, report as soon as they cease to tutor these students, and notify the district of any such child who has been absent three (3) days, or their equivalent, during the term of compulsory attendance, without lawful excuse (24 P.S. § 13- 1332).

Tutoring must be for a single family at a time, not a quasi-school where students from different families gather for instruction. Private tutors provide the majority of the instruction to their students for which they receive a fee or other consideration for their instructional services (24 P.S. § 13-1327(a)).

(Home Education and Private Tutoring Guide, pp. 8-9, Revised May 2021)

Background Checks 

No person who would be disqualified from school employment by the provisions of 24 P.S. § 1- 111(e) may be a private tutor. The private tutor must file a copy of the required criminal history record with the superintendent of the student’s district of residence (24 P.S. § 13-1327 (a)). The law is the same for a private tutor as it is for any other teacher; the same laws cover all scenarios, including for parents who act as private tutors for their own children only. Here are the three clearances and how they are reported: 

  1. PA State Police (PSP) Request for Criminal Records Check (Act 34 of 1985 and Act 114 of 2006): go to the ePatch website and complete the Pennsylvania Access To Criminal History (PATCH) check (use the link “Submit a New Record Check (requires a credit card)”). As long as the check does not go into review, the results can be printed immediately. Multiple copies can be printed.
  2. Department of Human Services Child Abuse History Clearance (Act 151 of 1994): select the accompanying link, complete the form electronically, and then print and mail it to the indicated address. The results will be sent to the teacher (or private tutor) and the original results must be presented to the school district. The school district will make a copy for their files. The teacher (or private tutor) is not allowed to make copies.
  3. Federal Criminal History Record Information (CHRI) (Act 24 of 2011): see the https://uenroll.identogo.com/ website to register using service code 1KG6XN on this fingerprint-based criminal history submitted through the PA State Police or its authorized agent (FBI). Fingerprinting cannot be completed online, and you must pre-register (online or call 1-844-321-2101). The teacher (or private tutor) submits the UEID https://uenroll.identogo.com/ to the school district and the district will check the results online. 

Teachers (or private tutors) must provide the school district administrator or designee with written notice, utilizing the Arrest/Conviction Report and Certification form (PDE-6004), for any arrest or conviction for an offense enumerated under 24 PS 1-111(e) provided for in clause 24 PS 1-111(j)(1) not later than seventy-two (72) hours after an arrest or conviction.

(Home Education and Private Tutoring Guide, pp. 10-11)

Parent/Guardian Responsibilities

Written Assurance Letter and Immunizations: Although the parent of a privately tutored student does not submit the yearly affidavit to begin a private tutoring program or the yearly written evaluation due by June 30 to the superintendent of schools that is required of a home education program, they instead provide written assurance to the superintendent that the instructional requirements listed in the regulation have been met (Pa. Code § 11.31 (b)(2)). This must be provided even in the case where the parent is the private tutor. 

Either the private tutor or the parent must keep portfolio-like documentation in case of an investigation initiated by the superintendent in response to a complaint regarding the private tutoring program (Pa. Code § 11.31 (b)(3)-(b)(5)). 

Parents must submit the immunization and health and medical services records for their children to the school district (24 P.S. §§ 13-1303, 14-1401, 1402). 

A Private Tutor Program may not begin until all enrollment documents have been received by the district of residence.      

Although not specifically required by law, a parent may verify with the school district that the private tutor has registered the children as privately tutored students. This may avoid truancy charges later if the tutor failed to register the students.