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Like any other groups, homeschooling associations are occasionally wracked by internal wrangling and dissension. Such turmoil can be enormously upsetting, to both the work of the organization and the digestive tracts of the affected volunteers, but the essentially healthy groups eventually survive and thrive. In extreme cases, dissenters may split off to form a new organization, which only gives the state’s homeschoolers more options to choose from.

Here are a few suggestions to help you get the most from your state homeschooling association:

Remember that most are grassroots organizations operated by volunteers and barely make ends meet. Although most are happy to try to help you with questions and problems, don’t expect the people you contact to be able to drop everything to do so. They will likely view their role as helping you to help yourself.

If your state group has any projects that even remotely interest you, volunteer to help. Its effectiveness is completely dependent on its members, and the more who help, the more the group will have to offer.

Make a point of actually joining the organizations you find useful. Too often, homeschoolers will say they appreciate the legal and legislative work a group does and are glad it’s there, but they aren’t really that interested in the politics of homeschooling. If you want the support a state group provides, give it the support it needs from you.

National Organizations

National homeschooling organizations, so far, have not been terribly successful. Although several attempts have been made to found useful groups at the national level, organizers have often found that most homeschoolers do not see much need for support at that level. Part of the problem is figuring out what a national homeschooling organization would be for; education is regulated at the state level, so national groups have usually been little more than referral services to state and local organizations.

The National Homeschool Association (NHA) describes itself as existing “to advocate individual choice and freedom in education, to support those who choose to homeschool, and to inform the general public about home education.” Mainly, the NHA publishes a small quarterly newsletter and a homeschooling information packet, refers inquiries to state groups, and holds yearly national conferences, usually in Ohio, Kentucky, or other midwestern states. It also sponsors regional conferences, although not in every part of the country every year. NHA conferences are usually campout-style and are meant as opportunities for homeschoolers to talk to each other instead of listening to speakers or viewing vendor displays. If this type of gathering appeals to you, you’ll have plenty of opportunity for discussing homeschooling and other topics in depth: The typical NHA conference is attended by fewer than 100 people.

In 1995, Mark and Helen Hegener tried a new approach, with the founding of the American Homeschool Association (AHA). It was intended mainly as a trade association for businesses serving the homeschool market, although there were also membership categories for individuals and for homeschooling support groups at all levels. After its first year, the AHA changed its structure from a membership organization to a service organization focusing on information gathering and networking. Today it maintains a Web site, publishes an electronic newsletter, runs e-mail discussion lists, and offers a collection of resource files on a variety of homeschooling topics.

Of more interest to most individual homeschoolers are a variety of national special interest groups. Most at least publish a newsletter and provide resources for their specific topic; some also hold conferences, maintain lending libraries, or conduct online discussion groups. General state and national homeschooling groups usually maintain lists of such groups and can point you in the right direction if you have a specific interest.

These topical groups fall into several categories:

Religious groups, such as the Jewish Home Educators’ Network,