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Alternative Education Programs |
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Kathleen McCurdy |
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There is a relatively new movement taking shape in several states across the country. Public school districts are laying down their battle weapons so to speak, and taking up diplomacy in their dealings with the homeschooling community.
A prime example of this new stance is in Washington State where for several years now and often with little or no regulatory authority, local school districts have launched programs specifically targeting the homeschool student. Sometimes called Cyberschool or Parent Partnered Program, the title may include the words Homeschool or Home Education. The advertising is pitched to the homeschooling community and usually only students who have been listed as homeschoolers for at least ninety days may participate. But some homeschoolers are taking a dim view of these programs. They warn that it is a thinly veiled effort to woo them back into the public schools and that it is a poor use of taxpayers' money.
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Alternative Learning Programs and Home Schooling |
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This article was prepared for North Central Educational Service District's newsletter, Educational Connections in April 2001. It was written in response to coverage of a "Homeschooling Program Workshop" in the January Connections newsletter. It discusses the difference between Alternative Learning Programs and home schooling in the state of Washington. |
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Battling for the Heart and Soul of Home-Schoolers |
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Helen Cordes |
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A look at the battle for the homeschooling movement and the demographics of homeschooling families that challenges the notion that all homeschoolers are conservative fundamentalists. This article is a critical look at the HSLDA. |
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Declaration of Intent |
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Mia Anderson |
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RCW 28A.200 is the chapter of the law that addresses homeschooling, or home-based instruction specifically. The first section of this chapter, RCW 28A.200.010, is titled, "Duties of Parents." It delineates, as you may have guessed, the responsibility of the homeschooling parent not already outlined in the mandatory attendance law. This article deals with the first duty listed, the declaration of intent.
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Government Homeschool Programs Just Another Alternative? - The Third Great Lie |
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Chris Cardiff |
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We're from the government and we want to help you. This is one of the great lies of our society. It is assuming greater significance as homeschooling continues its astonishing growth. Government schools have been forced to respond to this threat to their virtual monopoly on education by establishing their own homeschool programs. Some families are grateful for these programs and rush to take advantage of them. There is no doubt that the state has constructed some good programs with attractive benefits for participating families - books, curriculum guidance, excellent resource teachers, reimbursement for materials, educational counseling, classes. And it's all free! Why not take advantage of it? Chris Cardiff discusses some of the pitfalls of these programs and the dangers they present to homeschooling freedoms.
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Homeschooling and the WASL |
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Washington Homeschool Organization (WHO) |
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Are my homeschooled kids required to take the WASL? This article answers all your questions regarding testing and homeschooling in the state of Washington. |
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Homeschooling Freedoms At Risk |
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This is a four part collection of articles that discuss the legal status of homeschooling and the constant attempt to degrade our homeschooling freedoms |
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Homeschooling Litigation: Preparing the Way |
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Zan Tyler |
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The greatest obstacle pioneering homeschoolers faced two decades ago was daunting: in most states home education wasn't legal. This article details five of the most significant cases that have become landmark decisions in the move towards homeschooling freedoms: the DeJonge case in Michigan, the Jeffery case in Pennsylvania, the Diegel case in Ohio, the Triple E case in South Carolina, and the Calabretta case in California.
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How Rulings in Homeschooling Custody Cases Affect Us All |
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Larry and Susan Kaseman |
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Homeschooling sometimes becomes an issue for a divorced homeschooling parent whose ex-spouse opposes it. Homeschoolers who turn such conflicts over to attorneys and the courts find that most attorneys and judges know little about homeschooling and many are biased against it. Judges often rule that parents can only homeschool if they agree to do more than is required by the state homeschooling law. This can be a serious blow to families. It also sets legal precedents that give the state greater control over homeschooling and undermine the homeschooling freedoms of all of us. Fortunately, homeschoolers involved in custody disputes and their supporters can work to prevent this from happening. We can minimize such precedents by working to ensure that court cases are decided on the basis of the law and not the biases and prejudices of attorneys and judges. |
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How to Suppress Homeschooling |
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Leon F. McGinnis |
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The education establishment has realized that the socialization issue will be seen for the red herring that it is, and has searched for other means to suppress homeschooling. Two new strategies have emerged, and these pose real threats to homeschooling. The first strategy is to argue that homeschooling needs some form of accreditation. A number of reasons have been offered: it eases the transition back to the public school for those homeschoolers who go back, it is the basis for awarding a recognized diploma, and it makes it easier to provide homeschoolers access to public school programs and facilities such as science classes, libraries, sports, etc. But accreditation is simply another word for conforming, and the desire to not conform is the fundamental reason for choosing to homeschool. Homeschoolers as a group will not be seduced nor will they be tricked by the false promises of accreditation.
The second strategy for suppressing homeschooling is one that is much more likely to be successful, and it is to drastically limit homeschoolers’ access to public higher education. In this, the education establishment has discovered its only effective weapon against homeschooling.
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Keeping Homeschooling Private |
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Isabel Lyman |
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Homeschoolers have been vigilant in protecting their rights, rising to the occasion when they discover threats to clamp down on their activities. Discusses some of the criticisms by opponents of homeschooling, along with the examples of some legal fights in Connecticut and Montana.
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Mandatory Attendance |
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Mia Anderson |
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The mandatory attendance laws are where homeschooling, or home-based instruction, is designated as an educational choice and criteria are set. |
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Nighttime Curfews or You Wanna Do What to my Kid? |
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Mary McCarthy |
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Did I read that right? My child would need to notify the police department if he was going to be out of his own home after 10 p.m.? Otherwise he will be locked away? Will the police department have the power to grant or withhold permission? I don't think so.
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On Jumping Through Hoops |
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Helen Hegener |
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Most books and articles on home education are quick to point out that homeschooling is legal--in one form or another-- in all fifty states. Parents might have to jump through more hoops in one state than in another, but, as long as they're willing to jump through those hoops, they are allowed to teach their own children at home. But are these hoops actually necessary?
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Parent Responsibilities, Rights and Other Laws Affecting Homeschoolers |
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Mia Anderson |
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The second section of this chapter, RCW 28A.200.020, is titled, "Home-based Instruction - Certain Decisions Responsibility of Parent Unless Otherwise Specified." This section of the law is our declaration of independence from the traditional educational philosophy of the "professional educator," and freedom from oversight of a private or public educational institutions. It is a broad description of the parent's rights which make homeschooling the independent, parent directed and controlled process that it is.
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Part-Time Enrollment |
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A look at the section of the statutes that regulate home education dealing with part-time enrollment of homeschooled children. |
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Record Keeping |
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Mia Anderson |
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Record keeping is often overlooked in conversations about the homeschool law because it is an easily met requirement, and seems to have no great impact. And yet, the very fact that we compile and maintain our children's records, and store them in our homes, is one of the strongest indicators of how truly independent homeschooling is from public or private education in Washington State.
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Responding to Current Legislative Challenges Promoted by National Organizations |
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Larry and Susan Kaseman |
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Two different kinds of legislation are undermining our rights and responsibilities as parents and our homeschooling freedoms. It would be serious enough if this legislation was coming from opponents of parents' rights and homeschooling. But the fact that the legislation is being promoted by national organizations that claim to support parental rights and homeschooling is very confusing and frustrating.
This column will discuss two different legislative initiatives. Topic 1 covers efforts being made by several national organizations to get parental rights legislation or constitutional amendments passed in many states, why this concerns homeschoolers, and what we can do. Topic 2 focuses on problems that accompany efforts to include homeschoolers in federal legislation designed to give parents tax breaks for educational expenses and what we can do about this.
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Social Security's New Home School Flow Chart |
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HSLDA |
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For some years, the Social Security Administration has permitted home schoolers to receive benefits in some cases. The agency used a fuzzy test involving several different factors. New documents from the Social Security Administration indicate that the agency has a much better defined policy in place now. |
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Stand for Freedom |
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Brenda Dickinson |
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Some veteran home educators seem to take a firm stand on principles that others don't even recognize as issues. Is it that they are just stubborn, rebellious, or cantankerous? Probably not. |
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Suggested Questions to Ask Candidates |
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Homeschool Alliance of North Carolina (HA-NC) |
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This list of ten questions touches on political issues that affect and are important to homeschoolers. It includes tips on how to frame questions and how to elicit a candidate's opinion on a variety of issues. |
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Taking Charge - Curfews and Homeschoolers |
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Larry and Susan Kaseman |
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It is especially important that we homeschoolers oppose curfews, perhaps assuming leadership roles. We understand more clearly than many people how government regulation can interfere with learning and family life, and we have experience working together to oppose harmful legislation.
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Testing and Compliance |
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Mia Anderson |
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Annual testing is never overlooked in conversations about the homeschool law, and is often the cause of heated discussion. Because testing is such a contentious issue, this article closely examines the law. |
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The Legal Side of Homeschooling: An Overview of the Legal Risks and their Solutions |
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Thomas R. Orr, Esq. |
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Families homeschooling for the first time inevitably have questions about legal challenges or threats that they might face from local or state education authorities. Those who do seek an answer to these questions are often faced with a confusing array of laws, policies, and regulations that not only vary from state to state, but also between school districts, and school officials within the same state or district. |
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The New Face of Homeschooling |
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As their ranks increase, homeschoolers are tapping public schools for curriculum, part-time classes, extracurricular services, and online learning. |
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The Politics of Survival: Home Schoolers and the Law |
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Scott W. Somerville, Esq. |
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Twenty years ago, home education was treated as a crime in almost every state. Today, it is legal all across America, despite strong and continued opposition from many within the educational establishment. How did this happen? This paper traces the legal and sociological history of the modern home school movement, and then suggests factors that led to this movement's remarkable success.
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The Seduction of Homeschooling Families |
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Chris Cardiff |
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Do the public school authorities feel threatened by homeschooling? Judging by their efforts to lure homeschooling families into dependence on local school districts, the answer is apparently yes.
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The Seduction of Homeschooling Families |
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Chris Cardiff |
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Do the public school authorities feel threatened by homeschooling? Judging by their efforts to lure homeschooling families into dependence on local school districts, the answer is apparently yes. For the last several years, homeschooling has been the fastest growing educational alternative in the country. The sheer number of homeschoolers represent a distinct threat to the hegemony of the government school monopoly. Qualitatively, the academic success of homeschoolers, measured by standardized test scores and recruitment by colleges, debunk the myth that parents need to hire credentialed experts to force children to learn.
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Together We Stand Free |
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The Home Education Foundation |
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Details the importance of support alternative educational choices, including private schools and vouchers, along with homeschooling. |
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Working for Homeschooling Freedoms: Chore or Opportunity? |
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Larry and Susan Kaseman |
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Working for homeschooling freedoms is an opportunity to share in the effort to improve the social and political environment for homeschoolers. If you are interested in becoming more involved, this article tells you why it is important and how to get started. |
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