The Homeschooling Handbook_ From Preschool to High School - Mary Griffith [28]
Homeschoolers are also not the only people with an interest in homeschooling legislation. State education bureaucrats, teachers’ unions, school board associations, and other groups interested in education also have opinions about appropriate regulations for homeschoolers. Once a bill is introduced in the legislature, it is subject to amendment from all sides. Homeschoolers hoping for an improvement in their legal position can end up with regulations much more burdensome than what they started with and should approach legislative remedies with great caution.
One angle not often considered by legislators and other officials is the degree to which many homeschoolers are committed to their educational choice. Such officials are often surprised that strict regulation of homeschoolers can be counterproductive. In general, the more restrictive a homeschooling law is, the more likely it is that homeschoolers will simply choose to ignore the law. Even in states friendly to homeschooling, some homeschoolers will refuse to comply for political or philosophical reasons: They do not accept the government involving itself in any way with private education; they oppose the use of standardized tests for assessing learning; they consider the education of children purely a parental matter. A highly restrictive law is as likely to create many “underground” homeschoolers as it is to bring homeschoolers under closer state or local supervision, and some families who are uncomfortable with ignoring the law will simply move to another state where the homeschooling laws are easier to live with.
My children are younger than compulsory school age, so technically I don’t have to worry about state laws yet. I am leaning more and more toward the conviction that I have a very fundamental and inalienable right, as well as a responsibility, to raise and educate my children according to my sincerely held beliefs. Among other things, I believe in a family-centered lifestyle, in child-led learning, and in the necessity of my children’s education being an integral part of their lives. I believe that if I live according to my convictions, I will be better protected by them than by attempting to comply with regulations that I feel violate my rights.—Laura, Texas
The Bottom Line
To sum up, your legal situation as a homeschooler depends on what state you live in and how state and local officials enforce the laws concerning compulsory attendance, private education, and homeschooling. Which form the statutes take in your state—whether they require registration, a notice of intent, regular evaluation, or advance approval—can be less important than how they are enforced.
To keep your homeschooling legal worries to the minimal level they deserve:
Know what your state’s law says. Read the statutes that apply to you, talk to other homeschoolers, and join a state homeschooling organization that monitors the regulations affecting homeschoolers.
Learn what potential problems for homeschoolers exist in your state. Learn how other homeschoolers have dealt with them successfully, and plan how you’d respond if faced with them yourself. Don’t wait until after the fact to learn what your options could have been.
Don’t automatically assume that any explanation of homeschooling legal issues you hear or read is correct. Whether the opinion is that of a school official, a lawyer for a homeschool legal defense organization, a legislator, or another homeschooler, you need to check it out for yourself. Laws concerning homeschooling are usually complex; clear and definitive statements on legal issues usually leave out something important.
Don’t let worry about legal issues distract you from the everyday business of homeschooling. When homeschoolers object to rules that require them to document their children’s learning or to have their kids tested on a regular basis, it’s because such requirements often interfere with that learning. If you’re changing