State eyes reducing home-school filings

Washington Times ^ | 8/06/02 | Ellen Sorokin

[kattracks]

State lawmakers in Pennsylvania will soon decide whether to loosen the state's 14-year-old home-schooling law, which critics say requires "countless hours" of tallying at-home instruction.

One of the strictest in the country, the law requires that parents who home-educate their children provide at least four pieces of documentation, including a notarized affidavit that, among other things, states the parents' educational objectives, a daily log of student activity and progress, and year-end evaluations.

[Libertarianize the GOP]

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[TxBec]

ping

[Khepera]

ping

[Domestic Church]

This article doesn't even touch upon the multilevel institutional discrimination that is ongoing and the exponential increase in harassment since the bill entered the education committee. Every morning I read of at least two more cases of harassment against HSers here.

[EdReform]

I support homeschoolers bump!

[Aquinasfan]

The paperwork works well for us in Massachusetts. We have to file an outline of our curriculum at the beginning of the school year.

Seton homeschooling sends us a twenty-page outline at the beginning of the year (for our standardized curriculum) that we forward along with our computerized form letter to the superintendent of the public schools. It only takes us about five minutes, which is probably the amount of time that they spend opening the envelope and throwing it away.

[Khepera]

What kinds of harrassment have taken place?

[Domestic Church]

Usually it is something like being told either over the phone(the more common) or in a letter from the superintendent that the portfolio isn't good enough and that the children will have to be placed in the public system.

[madfly]

ping

[scripter]

Bump

[agrace]

Thanks for the ping. I have a great idea - if the parents are required to keep daily logs etc, then public school teachers should be required to do the same for EACH STUDENT and make them available for parental review, either upon request or submitted to parents as often as homeschoolers are required to submit theirs. Parents should also be able to review the teacher's educational objectives, lesson plans and year end evaluations. Fair's fair.

[maxwell]

Hear hear.

[scripter]

Most excellent idea.

[latina4dubya]

as a homeschooler in California, i don't have to turn in outlines or objectives (at this time)... however, i do them anyway--for me... it helps me... but some of these home educators in Pennsylvania sound like they think--"good thing they make us do this, because it really helps me." well, why couldn't they still do it for themselves even if the government doesn't require it? why do they think they need to be held accountable by the government? my husband and i hold ourselves accountable because we love our children and want the best education for them--and having objectives helps us give them that... not because someone is looking over our shoulders...

[The Grim Freeper]

I like your "screen" name!

[ladylib]

It would be nice if HSLDA could ask the congress to attach an amendment to Bush's "No Child Left Behind" Act. It could say something to the effect that if a superintendent or other school official of a public school district, knowingly or unknowingly(ignorance is no excuse) misinterprets the state home schooling law or harrasses home schoolers who are in compliance with the home schooling law, that district will lose federal aid for a period of time.

[Aric2000]

I see, so I don't have the right to teach my children? The public schools are the ONLY ones capable of teaching my children.

Excuse me, but I have a parental RIGHT to teach my children as I see fit, and if that means that they will be homeschooled, it's NONE of the States, nor the Local nor the federal governments business.

IT IS A RIGHT people, not a priviledge, and until we begin to tell these low lifes that they will not be allowed to infringe on our rights to teach our children as we see fit, then they will continue to abuse us.

Homeschooling is a RIGHT, not a priviledge!! Remember that!!

Rights cannot be given by the state nor the federal government, NOR can they be taken away, UNLESS we allow it!!

And boy have we allowed it, time to get our rights back!!

I have the right to homeschool, WITHOUT interference from the state or federal government!!

[Domestic Church]

Oh, Homeschoolers are exempted from that No child left behind already. I think this is the link on that:

http://www.ed.gov/legislation/ESEA02/pg111.html#sec9506

Some in the state education committee didn't seem to realize this during the June education hearing in Harrisburg.