School FAQs

Community schools, often called charter schools in other states, are public nonprofit, nonsectarian schools that operate independently of any school district but under a contract with an authorized sponsoring entity that is established by statute or approved by the State Board of Education. Community schools are public schools of choice and are state and federally funded.

Any student who resides in Ohio is eligible to enroll in a public community school, space permitting.

To apply to kindergarten, students must be 5 years old on or before September 30 of the year they begin kindergarten.

Heart of Ohio Classical Academy is enrolling kindergarten through seventh grade for the 2025-2026 school year. In Fall 2026, we will be accepting enrollments for kindergarten through eighth grade. We will continue to add a grade each year until K-12 is served.

No. Once officially attending, all HOCA students have the opportunity to re-enroll for future years. Students who do NOT re-enroll by the deadline cannot be guaranteed a seat for the forthcoming school year.

Yes.

Political Affiliations or Ideologies

The School shall not solicit or require an employee or applicant for employment, or a student to affirmatively ascribe to or opine about specific beliefs, affiliations, ideals, or principles concerning political movements or ideologies. Additionally, the School shall not use statements of commitment to specific beliefs, affiliations, ideals, or principles concerning political movements or ideologies as part of the academic evaluation of students. 

Nothing in this policy shall be construed to prohibit, limit, or restrict any of the following: 

1. The School’s authority to require a student or employee to comply with federal or state law, including anti-discrimination laws, or to take action against a student or employee for violation of federal or state law; 
2. An educator’s academic freedom; 
3. An educator’s ability to research or write publications about specific beliefs, affiliations, ideals, or principles concerning political movements, ideology, or social action so long as those publications so not violate other laws or policies or constitute conduct unbecoming of the teaching profession;
4. The School’s authority to consider an applicant for employment’s scholarship, teaching, or subject matter expertise in the applicant’s given academic field; 
5. The School’s authority to offer an established character education program.
6. All policies, guidance, and training materials used for students, educators, and staff on all matters regarding specific beliefs, affiliations, ideals, or principles concerning political movements or ideologies shall be available to the public for review unless otherwise protected by law.

 Religion in the Schools

Religious belief and disbelief are matters of personal consideration rather than governmental authority and the students of this School are protected by the First Amendment from the establishment of religion in the schools. Accordingly, no devotional exercises or displays of a religious character will be permitted at the School in the conduct of any program or activity under the jurisdiction of the School, nor shall instructional activities be permitted to advance or inhibit any particular religion, or religion generally. However, a student may engage in religious expression before, during, and after school hours in the same manner and to the same extent that a student is permitted to engage in secular activities or expression before, during, and after school hours. The School shall also give the same access to school facilities to students who wish to conduct a meeting for the purpose of engaging in religious expression as is given to secular student groups, without regard to the content of a student’s or group’s expression. An understanding of religions and the contributions that religion has made to the advancement of civilization is essential to the thorough education of young people and to their appreciation of a pluralistic society. To that end, the curriculum shall be developed to include, as appropriate to the various ages and attainments of the students, instruction about the religions of the world.

The Board and School acknowledge the degree to which a religious consciousness has permeated  the arts, literature, music, and issues of morality. The instructional and resource materials approved for use frequently contain religious references or concern moral issues that have traditionally been the focus of religious concern. That such materials may be religious in nature shall not, by itself, bar their use by the School. The Board directs that teaching staff members employing such materials be neutral in their approach and avoid using them to advance or inhibit religion in any way.

Religious traditions vary in their perceptions and doctrines regarding the natural world and its processes. The curriculum is chosen for its place in the education of the students of the School, not for its conformity to religious principles. Students should receive unbiased instruction in the schools so that they may privately accept or reject the knowledge so gained in accordance with their own religious tenets. Accordingly, no Student shall be exempted from attendance in a required course on the grounds that the instruction therein interferes with the free exercise of his/her religion.

The School also shall not prohibit a student from engaging in religious expression in the completion of homework, artwork, or other written or oral assignments. Assignment grades and scores shall be calculated using ordinary academic standards of substance and relevance, including any legitimate pedagogical concerns, and shall not penalize or reward a student based on the religious content of a student’s work.

 This policy is not intended to restrict employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act. R.C. 3319.614.

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Heart of Ohio Classical Academy is incorporated as a non-profit entity in the State of Ohio. Pending approval by the IRS, donations are tax-deductible through Community Shares of Ohio