Quote From: julie1418If you want to give me a specific case to review, I will gladly look at it. I find legal cases extremely interesting. I have visited the HSDLA website. I know you won't like this, but to me, it comes off as the homeschoolers' version of the NEA. I'd rather not delve into one-sided rhetoric, but again, I will look at any specific cases you feel are relevant to our conversation.
Please understand that I was never under any illusion that I was responsible for any homeschooling laws or enforcement of those laws. I was simply the testing coordinator, and responsible for a task. I believe the letters were sent to me first so I would know what to expect and what accommodations I needed to make for homeschoolers taking the test. Of the five students on my list, I only knew one of them. When I returned the testing materials to the district, I asked about the unused tests and I was told simply to document that the students did not take the test. If they had taken the test at another district school, I would have been asked to send the testing booklets to that school.
I inquired about the one student I knew because this was ABSOLUTELY a case of a student being home but not schooled. If you need specifics, Mom was simply avoiding the truancy laws, and the child was staying home with his teenage sister and her baby all day. I asked what would happen as a result of him not taking the test, and I was told most likely nothing. That the state would probably catch up to him eventually, but it would take a long time.
You asked before, "I am assuming you, and most good homeschooling parents, would want to avoid a misunderstanding or a bureaucratic mess. Am I wrong?". This is the perfect example of how not being knowledgeable of the state laws will cause a problem.
I guess we simply think differently. The reason the letter had the school information on it was because that child's test was at the school. I don't think I could have caused a bureaucratic mess, but I would think the parent would want to respond - if not out of a sense of accountability, perhaps out of a sense of courtesy. I have had banks and other institutions make mistakes or even simply send me information that I didn't think applied to me, I would call to question. Quite frankly, I was a bit surprised that not one parent bothered to say. "Hey, do not worry about making any accommodations for our testing, we are doing something else."
I do realize that knowledge is crucial, but I also realize that it is impossible to be completely knowledgeable about everything, even within a given job. I am more than happy to have a few specialized people take care of knowing all the laws pertaining to homeschooling or any other issue. When I was a school administrator, I knew how to get in touch with the people who specialized in certain areas. Notice that I didn't call the homeschoolers, report them to authorities, or bang on their doors. I simply turned over the information and asked what else was expected of me.
I get the sense that some homeschoolers are so militant about their beliefs that they don't understand that it simply isn't the center of everyone else's universe. My son took swimming lessons with a boy whose mother was homeschooling her children. She told me that she and other homeschooling parents in her network were pressuring the YMCA to offer a special swim class for homeschooling students; they were even considering a lawsuit. She reasoned that it was discrimination that the Y offered swimming lessons at times convenient for public school kids, therefore, it should offer lessons at time convenient for the homeschoolers. I find that incredibly self-involved.
If you want to give me a specific case to review, I will gladly look at it. I find legal cases extremely interesting. I have visited the HSDLA website.
This case is an excellent example of the situation we were just discussing. The local school district was not knowledgeable of the state laws and as such imposed illegal demands.
School District Perpetuates False Homeschool Deadlines
A Florida member family alerted the Home School Legal Defense Association of a notice they found on the Orange County Public Schools website on April 20, 2006. The notice was to "Home Education Families."
Besides listing the various requirements for homeschoolers operating under the home education statute in Florida, the notice also stated that, "results of annual evaluations/test scores may be submitted to the Office of Home Education during the period of May 17-June 30, 2006." The notice further says that if homeschoolers "cannot meet this deadline, PLEASE NOTIFY THIS OFFICE IN WRITING."
This particular requirement is incorrect. According to state law, there is no specific deadline for submitting evaluations/test scores to the district.
HSLDA sent a letter to the author of this notice explaining that the Florida homeschool law does not impose any other deadline for submitting the evaluation to the county. Therefore, the county has no authority to impose additional requirements or deadlines for when the evaluations must be submitted.
Consequently, home education families may disregard the deadline requirement for evaluations currently posted on the Home Education Notice in the Orange County Website.
This type of situation is not unusual. Other counties in Florida routinely set false deadlines for the annual evaluation. All Florida homeschoolers, regardless of the county they live in, need to be aware that such deadlines are not required. The only actual requirement in the statute is "annual."
Therefore, homeschoolers operating under the Florida homeschool law may submit test scores or evaluations any time within the one-year period after they began home schooling and every year thereafter.
Parents want the best for their children, but what’s the best way to educate them? Dr. Phil’s guests face off in a debate about whether to school, homeschool or unschool. Dana and her husband, Joe, call themselves radical unschoolers. They say education happens as a side effect of life, and they don’t believe in tests, curriculums or grades. Are their three kids learning what they need to know? Then, RaeAnn says public schools are death traps and wants to homeschool her children. Her husband, Steve, says their kids are safer at school than they are at home. Can this couple reach a compromise? Plus, Nicole feels like an outcast at 26. She says she hated being homeschooled, and couldn’t relate to other kids. Share your thoughts here.
