Equal Access: Participation of Homeschooled Students in Public School
Activities
What will homeschooling look like in the future? Many homeschool leaders
around the country are cautioning us to guard, carefully, our precious and
hard-won homeschool freedoms. Read what these leaders have to say at the
links below:
http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000000/00000049.asp
http://www.greenleafpress.com/articles/a_presupp.htm
http://www.loveathome.com/homeschool/seduction.htm
http://www.iche.org/articles/response_to_parents.htm
Charter Schools
Charter schools are a new phenomenon rapidly gaining popularity across the
country. HSLDA views charter schools as another vehicle for government
funded public education. Backing up HSLDA's perspective are many news
articles and education reports. It is HSLDA's view that the government's
involvement in charter schools will eventually lead to restriction on
parents who homeschool through a charter school. To read HSLDA's
perspective, and for a list of many news articles and education reports,
visit
http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/Issues/C/CharterSchools.asp
For additional articles on the topic, visit the following links:
http://www.mache.org/HologramHomeschooling.htm
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0504/p11s02-legn.html
http://westandforhomeschooling.org/res/index.php
http://www.grovepublishing.com/homeschoolnews/schofield%202%20charters.htm
http://www.homeedmag.com/HEM/176/ndtch.html
http://www.mahl.8m.net/Arc2002/Jan26.htm
http://www.adventisthomeducator.org/a-charter_schools.htm
Court of Appeals
Backs HSLDA
On November 18, 2004, the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans'
Affairs sided with HSLDA, denying the Veterans Administration's petition for
reconsideration in the Appeal of George R. Theiss. HSLDA has represented
decorated Vietnam veteran George Theiss in his claim for veterans benefits
for over five years. Under his military pension Mr. Theiss should receive
benefits to help care for his dependents as long as each child is a member
of his household and pursuing a course of instruction at an approved
educational institution. In March 1998, the general counsel for the Veterans
Administration issued an official opinion that homeschooling did not count
as an "approved educational institution," an opinion based on a faulty
interpretation of how the word, institution applies to homeschools. In 1999,
the Department informed Mr. Theiss that when his son turned 18, the
additional benefits would be cut off based on the general counsel's opinion,
even though Mr. Theiss was conducting a homeschool program in full
compliance with Wisconsin law. The general counsel maintained through
an administrative appeal by HSLDA that since homeschools are operated for
only one student, it is not an educational institution. HSLDA further
appealed the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans'
Affairs, whose subsequent ruling criticized the general counsel for its
"narrow" definition of educational institution and its failure to present a
"rational, comprehensive explanation" for not considering homeschooling an
educational institution. A three-judge panel of the court also held that the
Veterans Administration should have first publicized the regulation denying
homeschoolers additional benefits, allowing interested persons the
opportunity to comment before it was passed. After this July 27, 2004
ruling, the VA asked the full court of seven judges to reconsider the
panel's decision. The VA's petition was denied with overwhelming support for
HSLDA's position and for homeschoolers across America. The November 18 order
of the full court was unanimous in denying the request for review. One judge
even wrote that that the review should be granted, but not to rule in favor
of the VA. Rather, he wanted to address the issue more completely so that
there could be no doubt that homeschooling is an educational institution!
"This is a big win for homeschoolers across the board, not just for
homeschooling veterans," HSLDA attorney Jim Mason explained. "The precedent
will positively affect policy-making and litigation for homeschoolers within
other governmental agencies like the Social Security Administration, Social
Services, or state or county adoption agencies."
Response
to Akron Beacon Journal Homeschool Series
by J. Michael Smith - HSLDA President
A recent series of seven articles published in the Akron Beacon Journal
attempted to cast homeschooling in a negative light by implying that,
despite homeschooling's benefits, this form of education has flaws
warranting further government regulation.
Although Home School
Legal Defense Association is confident that homeschooling's success can
withstand intense scrutiny, we are concerned about the potential these
articles have to mislead readers who are unfamiliar with the movement.
It's always dangerous to attribute motives to actions, but one has to
question why the two authors of these articles would devote seven days in
the paper to homeschooling. A good guess is they want to see homeschooling
more regulated. Almost all of the stories concluded that there is some good
in homeschooling, but there is some bad and government oversight is needed
to correct the bad.
For instance, in an article appearing on November 15, 2004, the Beacon
Journal claimed that only 0.17 percent of college applicants are
homeschoolers and that this compares unfavorably to the 2 percent of the
student population that homeschools. What the article's authors failed to
take into account is that homeschooling has grown at a rate of 7–15 percent
for the past 10 years. This means that most homeschoolers are between 5 and
14 years of age—not even eligible for college! And a study by Brian D. Ray,
Ph.D., with over 5,000 homeschool graduates participating, indicates that
over 70 percent of homeschool graduates have taken college-level
courses—much higher than the national average.
So what's wrong with the
Beacon Journal's numbers? There are many reasons why homeschoolers might
appear to be underrepresented on college applications. For example, in
states that consider homeschools to be private schools (such as California
and Texas), the college applications of home educated students reflect that
they attended private school. And since many homeschoolers attend community
college, they actually bypass college admission tests altogether.
In contrast to the Beacon Journal's insinuation that homeschoolers receive
an inferior education, colleges recognize that the one-on-one, self-directed
nature of homeschooling perfectly suits students to the college environment.
This is borne out by the fact that 75 percent of colleges have either a
homeschool admissions policy or a homeschool admissions officer.
In the same article, the Beacon Journal took issue with a statement in which I said, "Home School Legal Defense Association is unaware of any serious critics who still argue that homeschoolers struggle academically." The best refutation of my statement that the Beacon Journal could come up with, after interviewing many homeschool critics, was the claim that the data on homeschool academics is inconclusive. Even Rob Reich, perhaps the highest-profile and most outspoken critic of homeschooling, doesn't venture to say that homeschoolers struggle academically.
HSLDA continues to stand behind the facts. As the homeschool research on our website shows, one-on-one instruction by dedicated parents produces children who outperform their peers academically.
As if challenging homeschoolers' academic achievements were not enough, in a disturbing article appearing on November 17, 2004, the Beacon Journal tried to make the case that homeschoolers should be subject to increased government regulation because they could be child abusers. Referring to the infamous Jackson case, in which four adopted children of an allegedly homeschooling family were severely malnourished, the Beacon Journal failed to mention that the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services had visited the Jackson family an astounding 38 times. In the majority of cases HSLDA is aware of involving violence and abuse in allegedly homeschooling families, government agencies have become involved in the situations despite the fact that the children did not attend public school. According to the National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information, a service of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 903,000 children in America were found to be victims of child maltreatment in 2001. Although we do not have statistics demonstrating how many of these abused children were educated at home, it's safe to assume that the overwhelming majority attended public school, since homeschoolers make up only 2–4 percent of the school population. Unfortunately, school attendance did not protect that overwhelming majority of children from abuse.
In fact, the Child
Maltreatment Report of 2002 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services shows that, out of 88,656 cases of confirmed sexual abuse, teachers
and daycare providers were responsible for 15,098—almost as many cases as
those for which parents were responsible (16,210). There is no
legitimate basis for government oversight of homeschool families to prevent
child abuse.
On November 19, 2004, the Beacon Journal also felt the need to put a
negative twist on homeschoolers' political involvement. It's true that
homeschoolers are politically active and regularly contact their elected
officials, but the Beacon Journal chose to leave the impression that
homeschoolers are "rude" and disrespectful. Regrettably, in any group, when
thousands of people make contact with their officials on issues they care
deeply about, there may be a few who do not act appropriately. To focus on a
few rude homeschoolers and not laud the overwhelming number of homeschoolers
respectfully participating in the civics lab of life demonstrates an agenda
on the author's part.
After a considerable investment of time and resources, the Akron Beacon Journal has rightly identified homeschooling as a significant educational movement with the potential to challenge the status quo. But the Beacon Journal was forced to use shabby arguments to try to discredit homeschooling. Research simply does not bear out the charge of poor academic achievement. And to blame homeschooling for child abuse is an insult to the huge majority of parents who choose to homeschool because they want the best for their children.
Homeschoolers excel academically, socially,
and in ways that bring lasting benefits to families and our nation. The
reason for this success can be traced to the individualized nature of home
education. If the government were given power to intervene even further
in the lives of homeschool families—as the Akron Beacon Journal calls for—then
the unique strengths of homeschooling would be lost to standardization.
That's not too different from what has happened in the public schools.
School bans history materials referring
to God
A California teacher has been barred by his school from giving students
documents from American history including Declaration of Independence, that
refer to God - including the Declaration of Independence.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6578096
Generation Joshua – Student Action Teams Make A Difference
The election data for individual counties show that the Generation Joshua
Student Action Teams made a significant impact on the election results.
Teams of students worked in each of the following counties. In Ohio,
President Bush lost Tuscarawas County in 2000, receiving only 43% of the
vote. In 2004, he won the county with 55% of the vote. In Pennsylvania,
President Bush lost Bucks County in 2004 but he received 32,000 more votes
in Bucks as compared to 2000. In Wisconsin, President Bush received
17, 803 votes and 49.8% of the vote from Wood County in 2000. In 2004, he
received 20, 592 and 51.4% of the vote. These numbers show that a concerted
effort among grassroots activists can move elections. In addition, Student
Action Teams participated in several House races. One of those races was the
Fourth Congressional District in Kentucky. Geoff Davis was in a tight race
with Nick Clooney the week before the election. This was a perfect race for
the Student Action Teams: a homeschool father vs. Hollywood money. Davis won
the race by 10 points. Davis credits the Student Action Team for 8 of those
points. Student Action Teams have proven their effectiveness. Generation
Joshua is looking forward to having a similar impact in future election
cycles.
Laptops for Maine
Students
At this time laptops are not available to homeschooled students. Here are
some points to ponder when considering whether or not laptops should be made
available in the future to homeschoolers in Maine:
1) ACCEPTING LAPTOPS INVITES GREATER STATE CONTROL
If homeschoolers accept laptops, it will create an atmosphere in which
homeschools are more likely to be viewed as an extension of the state. It
makes it look like a homeschool is a state program, rather than an extension
of the parents and the home. We all know the state has a right to control
its own programs. Therefore anything that makes homeschooling seem more
like a state program invites greater state control.
2) WHEN STATE CONTROL INCREASES, CHILDREN SUFFER
If state control increases, parent control decreases. If parent
control decreases, children will suffer. The state is a miserable failure as
a parent. Parents are the best parents, so they should control their
children's education. Accepting laptops will tend to undermine parent
control.
3) WE FEEL IN DEBT TO THOSE WHO GIVE US GIFTS
We all understand that accepting a gift creates a certain social
indebtedness. Accepting a gift affects our hearts and minds in very subtle
ways. It makes us feel we owe something back to the one who gave us the
gift. It tends to make us "like" the person and not want to oppose them.
Accepting a gift from the state may
predispose a parent to want to please the state. This creates an immediate
conflict of interest, however, since our ONLY motivation must be to teach
our children according to what is best for them. If part of a parent's
heart wants to do the best for his children, but part of his heart wants
to please the state, children will suffer.
It is often necessary to oppose the state in an effort to preserve
homeschool freedoms. Anything that makes a
parent feel in debt to the state may dampen his willingness to oppose the
state when it tries to assert greater control over our children.
4) IT'S HARD TO GIVE UP A BENEFIT
If the use of the laptops is initially
given "no strings attached", it is only a matter of time before conditions
and requirements are attached (don't put Christian software on it, don't use
it for Christian activities, etc.) Because it is hard to give up
something you are already enjoying, some parents may be tempted to
compromise what is best for their children to keep the laptop.
5) GOODBYE PRIVACY
The laptop will most likely remain the property of the state, so the
state will have the right to demand it back anytime, and can then analyze
the hard drive. When returned to them for maintenance or repair, the
state can analyze the hard drive. Every silly thing your children have ever
typed into the laptop (even if you THINK it was erased) could then be turned
over to a social worker. Goodbye privacy, hello DHS investigation.
6) YOU DON'T NEED IT
Homeschoolers are doing extremely well academically already. We don't need
laptops. Gaining a machine but losing parental control over education is
a poor trade.
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In your moment of need, whatever you turn
to for help, you will |
Maine
Homeschool Mom Becomes Maine Author
Susan Davis, Maine homeschool mom and support group leader, has published
her first novel! The Christian historical romance is now in print (published
by Barbour Publishing's Heartsong Presents line). "Protecting Amy" is set in
Wyoming, 1858, and is a suspenseful book both men and women enjoy reading.
The book can be ordered from www.heartsongpresents.com, or from Susan Page
Davis, 45 Bush Road, Clinton, ME 04927, tel. (207) 426-8851, or email:
spdavis@prexar.com.
Homeschoolers Excel In
ACT College Entrance Exam
ACT Inc., producer of the ACT college entrance exam, reports that homeschool
students scored an average of 22.6 for 2003. This compares with
20.9 for public school students for the same period. Over the years
there has been concern that homeschool students would not be able to compete
effectively for places in colleges. It was said that homeschool parents
simply couldn't educate their children to the college level. This is false.
Even if an individual family is unable to provide every aspect of a high
school education, the pooling of resources among homeschool families and the
availability of classes from private resource centers have enabled families
to continue homeschooling until high school graduation. There should be
no doubt that the homeschool movement is committed to excellence, from the
youngest to the oldest student.
