Aug. 5, 2006 - Letter from board of education
Given my encounter at my local board of eduation I was not completely shocked when I received a letter. But boy, was I angry.
Here is a copy of the homeschool requirements for my state, Kentucky. (As per HSLDA)
Compulsory School Age
"has reached 6th birthday and has not passed 16th birthday"
|
Kentucky Legal Home Schooling Options: 1 | |
| Option: 1 | |
| Legal Option: |
Qualify a home school as a private school |
| Attendance: |
185 days |
| Subjects: |
Reading, writing, spelling, grammar, history, mathematics, and civics |
| Qualifications: |
None |
| Notice: |
Notify the local board of education of those students in attendance within two weeks of start of school year |
| Recordkeeping: |
Maintain an attendance register and scholarship reports |
| Testing: |
None |
Here is the required information for the notice. (As per Christian Home Educators Association)
Home schools are considered to be private schools in Kentucky, and the laws relating to private schools apply equally to home schools. Therefore, when you decide to educate your children at home, you must first establish a bonafide school for your children to attend. Furthermore, you are required to notify the local superintendent of schools by letter that you have established a school, and to report the names, ages, and place of residence of each pupil in attendance at the school, together with any facts that the superintendent may require to facilitate carrying out the laws relating to compulsory attendance and employment of children. (KRS 159.160) It is recommended that you keep a copy of any information that you provide to the local school district.
Now, I don't know why this superintendent feels he needs additional information. I filed last year in Hardin county and had no additional contact.
Meade county sent me a copy of their own version of the law.
NO, I'm not kidding.
They sent a letter which they claimed to be a copy of KRS 159.030
Their copy of this law also includes:
the date of birth of each child
that I notify them of the date that home school instruction will begin
social security number
current home phone number
Why in the world do they, complete strangers who have never even met my children, feel entitled to social security numbers?!
Also, why in the world would I provide them with my phone number?? I have NO desire to speak with them. I do not call their school. They should not call my school.
This is a district that enrolled 4,666 students last year. Don't they have enough students to look after already??
They have no authority over my children. I rebuke the "for the best interest of the child" ploy. They have never met the children. How could they know what is best?
They also make it very clear that the believe they have the right to enter my home to inspect.
Here is the Ky law:
KRS 158.040 requires that all private schools be open to inspection by directors of pupil personnel or officials of the Dept. of Education.
However, as per HSLDA, school officials, however, have no authority to enter home schools, since they are protected by the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The privacy of the home must be recognized and no visit inside the home may be conducted without the consent of an adult resident or a duly issued warrant.
You better believe I will NEVER give consent to enter my home.
Luckily, we are members of HSLDA. I have contacted them and left a message which should be returned soon. I have all faith in HSLDA. I believe I will never again be bothered by the local school board after the lawyers contact them.
I am diligent in following the state laws for homeschooling.
I thought that I was late turning in my letter of intent. However, I was actually early. I read the law wrong thinking it meant two weeks before the start of their school year. It actually means within two weeks after the beginning of the school year.
We are perfectly legal and always have been. This is our 4th year homeschooling and we will not be intimidated.
The local school board assumes we are not homeschooling. They believe they need proof. They assume guilt then look for the evidence of such.
This is America, we are innocent until proven guilty.
There will never be proof of our guilt in homeschooling.
For we are following the law, if only the school board would do the same.
Comments
Aug. 5, 2006 - Untitled Comment
Posted by JenIG
oh man, that would really anger me as well. i am glad you have HSLDA involved. keep us updated! and hang in there....
Aug. 5, 2006 - Hang in there!
Posted by Anonymous
I'm sure everything will be okay. You've got HSLDA on your side and they will help. Reading your post just makes me more and more happy that we live in Texas, a state that is so "understanding" of homeschoolers. I don't know how I would be if we lived somewhere else. I really don't like the government sticking their nose into my business, especially the education of my own children. I'll keep watching for any updates on your situation. Good luck with it all.
Terry
Aug. 5, 2006 - Untitled Comment
Posted by SmallWorld
It sounds like you are WELL informed and well spoken. Just stay calm and focused, knowing that you are in the right!
Aug. 5, 2006 - just to let you know
Posted by msack
You and your family will be on our thoughts and prayers. I feel like you are doing everything right and it will work our just fine!
Aug. 5, 2006 - Untitled Comment
Posted by cyndiegirl72
Keep fighting!! How dare they treat you so badly!! Homeschooling is a federal right, not a state right. for now. Sad, Sad for the day they take our rights away. I will post this on my blog as well for you. Keep me and DH very updated I will check in on you and see how you make out. Wow, That really stinks, but keep your chin up. You know you are making the right choice for your family.
Aug. 6, 2006 - oh my gosh!!
Posted by kateyz
Wow, I can't believe the hoops you have to jump through!! I feel for all of you who must have a plan of attack for this. Here in Canada, or at least BC, where I live, it's much simpler, even if they aren't making up their own rules!! We have three options. Enroll in a school at home program (they send you all the work, your child does it by the deadline and sends it in for marking), or enroll in a homeschool school (your child is counted as in public school - for $$$ purposes I suppose - but you get to choose all your own materials and as long as you cover the required curriculum, you're good, they also give you $1000/yr/child to purchase materials, pay for lessons etc, you can also go it alone ("real homeschooling"). All that's required for "real homeschooling" is to walk into your neighbourhood public school and tell them you are homeschooling. That's it. No trip to the school district office, no meeting with the superintendant to make sure you have the proper qualifications, no letter of intent. I'm so surprised that in a country like the US, it's not as easy as it is here. I'm sure the homeschooling movement has been going stronger and longer!!
Good luck to you, I certainly am thinking about you!!
Kathleen
Aug. 8, 2006 - What a pain, sorry
Posted by lovemyzoo
I can't believe you have to deal with this. Hopefully very quickly they leave you alone and go to worring abotu the students that are in their care mon-fri that need them to check up on them and know what is going on with them.
I have never thought of joining HSDL but it sounds as if you are very lucky that you did and it is helping you.
Thoughts and prayers for your issue to be over with soon.
Glad you like the books too
Sep. 7, 2006 - Hello Fellow Kentuckian!
Posted by Christy
Hi! I know I picked an old entry to leave my comment on but this one really caught my eye because we are also in KY. I'm sorry you had to deal with this. I'd love to hear exactly what became of all of this.
You asked on my blog who designed it. Well, I'm happy to say that *I* did! Like you, I taught myself (and am still learning) HTML. It's a doozy, I'll say that for sure!
I'm glad I've 'met' you! Hope to see you around more often!
