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Some good reasons why people homeschool 6

Make sense of your state’s home ed law 38

HSLDA®

THE HOME SCHOOL COURT REPORTSECOND QUARTER 2016 | VOL. 32, NO. 2

A bright future for home education

Advocates and researchers from around the globe gather in Rio

3HOME SCHOOL LEGAL DEFENSE ASSOCIATION | HSLDA.ORG

n FEATURES 8 | COVER STORY | A bright future for home education: Advocates and

researchers from around the globe gather in Rio + Excerpts from the Rio Principles [10] + Almost like being there [11] + Three GHEC family profiles [12] + 2016 GHEC research summary [15]

n COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS 4 | HSLDA STORE | High school transcript service + Classics guides

+ Student and teacher photo IDs + 2017 grad t-shirts

6 | FROM THE PRESIDENT | Some good reasons why people homeschool

18 | LITIGATION | Trampled parental rights deserve full trial (Pennsylvania—Ferris v. Hershey Medical Center, et al) + HSLDA keeps fighting for falsely accused mom (Virginia—Parker, et al v. Austin) [19] + Homeschool Freedom Fund [20]

21 | STATE HIGHLIGHTS | Alabama [21] + Arizona [22] + Arkansas [23] + California [24] + Illinois [25] + Indiana [26] + Kentucky [27] + Maryland [28] + Massachusetts [29] + Minnesota [31] + Missouri [32] + New York [33] + North Carolina [34] + Texas [35] + Virginia [36] + West Virginia [37]

38 | NOTES FOR MEMBERS | Homeschooling 101: Make sense of your state’s homeschool law

40 | HSLDA BLOG | Homeschooled siblings win TV’s Cupcake Wars + Reading lists for teens [40] + Guilt free apps for special needs + Small- space homeschooling: Part 1 [41]

42 | HIGH SCHOOL | Choosing curriculum: An action plan

45 | PATRICK HENRY COLLEGE | Nine Moot Court wins in 12 years: Why?

46 | HOME SCHOOL FOUNDATION | HSF ambassadors bridge the gap

n AND THE REST 7 | ADVERTISERS INDEX

20 | ACTIVE CASES

21 | HSLDA MEMBERS’ LEGAL INQUIRIES MAP

22 | A CONTRARIO SENSU

37 | GOVERNMENT CONTACT

39 | FROM OUR MEMBERS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Publisher HSLDAChairman Michael P. Farris, JD, LLMPresident J. Michael Smith, Esq.

Editor Suzanne StephensAssistant Editors Grace Matte, Peter Schellhase, Jonathan Bales, Ethan WeitzGraphic Designers Todd Metzgar, Keith Ludlow

HSLDA Attorneys Michael P. Farris, J. Michael Smith, Scott A. Woodruff, Darren A. Jones, James R. Mason III, Thomas J. Schmidt, Michael P. Donnelly, William A. Estrada, Peter K. Kamakawiwoole, Daniel T. Beasley

Address P.O. Box 3000, Purcellville, VA 20134Shipping Address One Patrick Henry Circle, Purcellville, VA 20132Phone 540-338-5600Fax 540-338-2733Website hslda.orgEmail [email protected]

Disclaimer The articles contained in this publication have been prepared for and are intended to provide information that may be useful to members of the Home School Legal Defense Association. The Association does not necessarily warrant this information. The reader must evalu-ate this information in light of the unique circumstances of any particular situation and must determine independently the applicability of this information thereto.

Copyright © 2016 by Home School Legal Defense Association.

The Home School Court Report (ISSN 1539-3747) (USPS 020294) is published quarterly by Home School Legal Defense Association, One Patrick Henry Circle, Purcellville, VA 20132-3197. Periodical postage paid at Purcellville, VA, and additional entries. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Home School Court Report, P.O. Box 3000, Purcellville, VA 20134-9000.

Scripture Version Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from the NKJV.

Columnists The views of guest columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of HSLDA.

Article Submissions See Court Report guidelines at hslda.org/articleguidelines.

Advertisers Call Advertising at 540- 338-8605, visit hslda.org/ads, or email [email protected].

HSLDA®

SECOND QUARTER 2016 | VOL. 32, NO. 2

ABOUT THE COVER

Rio de Janeiro’s vivid and pictur-esque landscape highlights our optimism about the future of home education around the world.

Thoughts on this issue of the Court Report? Email courtreport @hslda.org.

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4 THE HOME SCHOOL COURT REPORT | 2ND QUARTER 2016

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At my high school prom, during the first dance, I accidentally stepped on my date’s hoop dress and it tore loose at the waist. Her mother happened to be

a chaperone. She accused me of being reckless and took her daughter home. I left shortly thereafter. And that was my prom experience!

Not everyone has such a wonderful high school expe-rience as mine.

In the last issue of the Court Report, I shared the story of how Elizabeth and I became interested in homeschooling. For us, the biggest issue was that rushing our young children into formal schooling was creating bad results. Read it here: hslda.org/Q216besttime .

You may have had a similar experience. Many families find themselves homeschooling to solve problems their children are experiencing in public school. In our 33 years of experience at Home School Legal Defense Associa-tion, three of the most common factors (besides religious instruction) that motivate parents to turn to homeschool-ing are: flexibility, academic issues, and concerns over children’s safety or well-being in the school environment.

n FlexibilityHomeschooling doesn’t offer all of the benefits of

public schooling. Homeschooled students don’t get to take advantage of the highly structured program where the bus comes at 7:30 a.m., school begins at 8:30 a.m.,

school finishes at 3:30 p.m., and the bus takes them home by 4:30 p.m. They miss repeating this same routine day after day, year after year. They don’t experience long hours of classroom interaction with

bored, unmotivated fellow students. Nor are they able to benefit from state-mandated one-size-fits-all curriculum. And then there’s the prom, the highlight of the school social year—they miss

that wonderful experience, too.The dynamics of managing a classroom of 20–30

students mandates a highly-structured environment. Ring-ing bells march all children inexorably through the day—regardless of their individual needs. “Put away the math book. Open up the spelling book—even if the child had finally just started to understand the math fact he’d been

struggling with for the past hour. Keep up with the class!” Moving the herd through the curriculum at the same

pace ends up leaving struggling children behind—and gifted children bored. And too often, bureaucrats in the educational system don’t seem to care. Recently, a North Carolina public school was shocked to discover how well a 7-year-old with special needs was thriving in the per-sonalized flexibility his homeschool program provided.*

For most students, the unconventional, individualized, tutorial approach of homeschooling is ideal. Its flexibility and freedom gives students an opportunity to develop their true potential by focusing on the things they’re in-terested in—while still building a solid base of knowledge and skills.

n Academic issuesPersonally, I did experience all the “benefits” of public

school I just listed above. But when I went to college, I had

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Some good reasons why people homeschool

by J. MICHAEL SMITH

HSLDA President

* Watch the Kuppers’

story: hslda.org/Q216NC

7

to take remedial English and switch majors to avoid taking math. I still couldn’t do algebra after having completed Algebra I and II and plane geometry in high school.

Various government studies indicate that at least 14–18 percent of high school graduates remain functionally illiterate.

Despite the best efforts of dedicated public school teachers, many parents are finding that unmotivated fellow students and understaffed classrooms erode a student’s love of learning in public school.

And parents, teachers, and social workers are reporting that the unproven, experimental methodology of the Common Core State Standards Initiative places out- rageous pressure on young children, leading to frustra-tion, anxiety, and even depression.1

But homeschooling focuses on enabling individual stu-dents to learn rather than on prepping groups of students to meet bureaucratic benchmarks. The result? Home-schooled students continue to do significantly better than their public school counterparts on standardized tests,2 despite all the benefits public school students receive in their classroom programs. The unconventional homeschool program produces students who develop a thirst for learning—rather than losing interest as they progress.

Homeschooled students also tend to score higher on college entrance exams than their public school counterparts, and research indicates that homeschooled students do better in college.3

n Environment: Seeking healthy socialization and safety

A prosecutor in North Dakota said many years ago in a brief filed before the state supreme court, “A child cannot be properly socialized unless they’ve expe-rienced a punch in the nose in the play-

ground.” According to him, being bullied is apparently just part of the process of growing up in the public school. However, adults who were bullied as students disagree: There’s nothing positive about being bullied and it can have long-term negative effects.

HSLDA is seeing more and more families choosing to homeschool to protect their children from bullies and violence at school. Homeschooling enables parents to provide a safe, nurturing educational environment for their children and to channel their student’s social and emotion-al growth in healthy, developmentally appropriate ways.

Adulthood is the true test of socialization. It’s interesting that we adults are rarely in a setting where we spend inor-dinate amounts of time with people our own age. Eight hours a day in a public school classroom with kids your own age is simply not an accurate representation of reality. Homeschooled students spend more time with people of every age—a reality which helps prepare them to be successful wherever they go and whomever they meet.

With all these benefits of homeschooling, it’s no surprise that more and more parents are choosing this option for the sake of their kids. And it’s no surprise that some of the most independent, confident people I’ve ever met are homeschool graduates. n

ADVERTISERS INDEX

HOME SCHOOL LEGAL DEFENSE ASSOCIATION | HSLDA.ORG

Advertising with usCONTACT | Call Advertising at 540-338-8605, visit hslda.org/ads , or email [email protected].

DISCLAIMER | The appearance of advertisements in the Court Report does not imply recommendation or endorsement by Home School Legal Defense Association, and the opinions expressed by advertisers do not necessarily reflect the views of HSLDA. Use of any information, product, or service herein advertised is voluntary, and reliance upon it should only be undertaken after independent review.

Advertisers in this issueApologia Educational Ministries ................................................................48BJU Press ..................................................................................................... 41Evangelical Christian Credit Union ..............................................................5 HSLDA’s Generation Joshua .......................................................................38HSLDA Homeschool Freedom Fund .......................................................... 16HSLDA’s Homeschool Heartbeat ..............................................................30HSLDA Online Academy ............................................................................. 25HSLDA Resources ....................................................................... 16, 17, 30, 40Liberty University School of Law ............................................................... 18Well Planned Gal .......................................................................................... 2

NOTES

1 Building the Machine: A film about the Common Core, Disc 2: The parent interviews. Home School Legal Defense Associ-ation, 2014. Ian Reid, director.

2 Brian Ray, Ph.D.: “Homeschool SAT Scores for 2014 Higher Than National Aver-age,” June 7, 2016 (nheri.org )

3 Christopher Klicka, “Home-schooled Students Excel in College,” hslda.org , Sep-tember 20, 2006.

Homeschooling focuses on enabling individual students to learn rather than on prepping groups of students to meet bureaucratic benchmarks.

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COVER STORY

A bright future for home education

Advocates and researchers from around the globe gather in Rio

Highlights of the 2016 conference

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O n March 8, 2016, 214 homeschool leaders, researchers, par-ents, and interested

policymakers from around the world gathered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to address threats to homeschool free-dom and to chart a path forward for the worldwide homeschooling move-ment. Building on the success of the 2012 Global Home Education Conference in Berlin, GHEC 2016 featured presentations and workshops from world-renowned speakers and homeschool advocates aiming to equip the homeschool community.

The choice of Brazil as the 2016 conference location was strategic and timely. A decision from the Supreme Court of Brazil on the constitutionality of home education—an educational option which has hitherto gone undefined in Brazilian law—is pending, even as new homeschool groups and associations are popping up across the country at an unprecedented rate.

n Home education: It’s a right!Although homeschooling in the United States has

enjoyed a steady growth of freedom, homeschool-ing families around the globe aren’t all so fortunate. High-profile cases in Germany, Norway, Sweden, and other nations show that parents’ right to direct their children’s education is not a universally held value, even in countries that generally respect freedom and human rights.

In response to the uncertain status of educational freedom in Brazil and around the world, GHEC 2016 organizers crafted “The Rio Principles,” a declaration that champions educational choice as a fundamental human right (see pp. 10–11). This assertion of home education as a parental right provided the framework for the five-day event.

“It is a privilege for HSLDA to continue to be in-volved supporting home educators around the world,” HSLDA Chairman Michael Farris said. “Increasing attacks on the rights of homeschooling families show the need for all supporters of freedom to stand together now more than ever.”

n By the numbers25 Countries. The conference

attracted home education leaders, parents, members of the media, pol-icymakers, and researchers from 25 countries to learn from one another and strategize for the future.

48 Speakers. An unparalleled lineup of speakers from six continents

offered their experience and encouragement. Keynote speakers included education innovator and 2013 TED Prize winner Dr. Sugata Mitra, family and human rights advocate and titular Duke of Bragança Dom Duarte Pio, and Dr. Jan de Groof, who holds the UNESCO Chair for the Right to Education. They were joined by representatives of homeschooling organizations and curriculum publishers, homeschool graduates, parents persecuted for homeschooling, academic researchers, policymakers and government ad-visors, attorneys, and the leaders of support groups and other special-ized groups.

Several other noteworthy speakers contributed to the legal perspective, including Dr. Ingo Richter, a law professor at the University of Tubingen and Paris–Nanterre, and HSLDA Chairman Michael Farris and Director for Global Outreach Michael Donnelly. To discuss homeschooling in Latin America, the confer-ence featured Erwin Fabián García López of Colombia, Franco Iacomella of Argentina, and others. Dorinha Seabra and Lincoln Portela from the Brazilian Congress expressed their support for the right to homeschool in Brazil.

17 Researchers. The conference’s research track featured 17 unique research studies on home education by academics from Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Spain, and the United States, in-cluding policy papers, empirical studies, and national perspectives on home education. Visit ghec2016.org/researchers to read the papers.

42 Sessions. The conference featured five plenary sessions, 20 workshops, and two days of preconference

by BRITTANY PAIST

Global Outreach Coordinator for HSLDA

COUNTRIES REPRESENTED INCLUDED

Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Philippines, Poland, Russian Federa-tion, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States

“Attending GHEC has changed my life and given me hope and strength to deal with difficulties that may arise on the way in my home education journey.”


sessions focused on leadership and organizational devel-opment as well as issues specific to the homeschooling community in Brazil. All of these sessions are now avail-able online at ghec2016.org .

18 Sponsors and 48 Endorsing Associations. GHEC 2016 was truly a global effort, funded entirely through donations and drawing on the support of the worldwide homeschool community.

10 Principles. At the heart of GHEC 2016 were The Rio Principles, a manifesto built on GHEC 2012’s Berlin

Excerpts from The Rio PrinciplesA DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recog-nizing the right to education proclaims it should be directed “to the full development of the human personal-ity and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms” (Article 26, 2). Through the person, education affects families, neighborhoods, villages, cities, states, cultures, nations and the whole world. . . . The following principles of international human rights law relating to the family’s role in education are essential to the promise of freedom and human rights which only civil society can realize. . . . The application of these principles can help the world realize the prom-ise of freedom and human flourishing.

1. Human dignity. All human beings are endowed with inherent dignity and inalienable rights, which entitles them to freedom and to be treated equally under the law.

2. Best interest of the child. The primary consid-eration of actions concerning children is their best interest. It is presumed that a child’s parents act in accordance with those best interests until the opposite is justly proven before a competent tribunal.

3. Protection of the family. The family is the funda-mental unit of society and is entitled to protection by

the state. . . . It has a unique role and special authority in relation to education of children.

4. The impartial state. The State must be impartial and not enforce any particular view on the question of the good life recognizing that families are free to define for themselves their own philosophical, moral and religious conceptions of the good life.

5. Respect for difference. All individuals and groups have the right to their own ethnic, cultural and reli-gious identity. The state should respect this legitimate diversity.

6. Freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. “Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include . . . either individually or in community with others and in public or private to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching” (ICCPR, Art. 18, 1).

7. Cultural rights. “Everyone, alone or in community with others, has the right to have one’s own culture respected” (Declaration of Fribourg, Art. 3).

8. Parental rights. Parental rights are fundamental rights derived from the mere fact of being a parent. “Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of educa-

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Declaration. The Rio Principles provide a succinct list of essential conditions for educational freedom, in the “hope that all cultures, peoples, nations and states will . . . realize the promise of freedom and human flourishing.”

2018. The GHEC board is now making plans for a third Global Home Education Conference in 2018! Access materials and video from the Rio conference, and subscribe to GHEC email updates at ghec2016.org to be the first to know when the 2018 date and location are announced. n

Excerpts from The Rio Principlestion that shall be given to their children” (UDHR, Art. 26.3).The state shall respect and protect the fundamen-tal rights of the parents and their primacy seeing it as a necessary prerequisite of the common good and genuine development of the person and the society.

9. The right to education. “Everyone has the right to education” (UDHR, Art. 26, 1). Respect for freedom of education requires that the state may not prefer a particular educational method or approach, including compulsory attendance at a government-operated institution.

10. The right to home education. The right to home education is the fundamental right of families, children and parents clearly derived from all the above-mentioned rights and implied by them, espe-cially by the freedom of thought, conscience and religion, cultural rights and parental rights. Therefore the duty of the states to respect and ensure this right is a necessary part of their obligations according to universal human rights standards.

Read the complete declaration at therioprinciples.org .

Declared in Rio de Janeiro

March 2016

SEE FOR YOURSELF

Almost like being there Full-length video recordings of all the conference sessions, plus photos, documents, and more are avail-able at ghec2016.org ! Hear from world-class homeschool experts, seasoned homeschooling parents, and researchers from around the world—all from the comfort of your home. Highlighted below are just a few of the many presentations:

• Home education around the world. Ten homeschool leaders share news and answer questions about the global homeschool movement.

• Is home education a human right? A panel of international jurists and legal experts examines the connection between interna-tional human rights law and homeschooling.

• The power of relationships: Home educa-tion and family. Four veteran homeschool-ing parents share their personal stories.

• Using social media to build your support group. Blogs, Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms can be a great help in con-necting with homeschool families.

• What does the research say about home-schooling? Dr. Debra Bell and Andrew Pudewa review research on the benefits of homeschooling.

HSLDA’s Director of Global Outreach Mike Donnelly presented a semi-nar on the need for national and state organizations.

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Maguio and Glaucia Mizuki and their 5-year-old son Samuel live in Florianópolis, in the southern tip of Brazil. Glaucia attended the 2016 Global Home Education Confer-ence and spoke during the preconference sessions. In Brazil, families currently homeschool in a legal vacuum since the practice is undefined in Brazilian legisla-tion. Nonetheless, homeschooling is getting a lot of attention in South America’s largest country, with more and more families wanting individualized options for their children. There is currently a case before the Brazilian Supreme Court to determine the constitutionality of homeschooling. Despite the uncertain legal climate, homeschooling is flourishing in Brazil, and the country will hold

its first national homeschool conference later

this year.

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How did you learn about homeschooling?

We first heard about home education in social networking groups several years ago. Since that time, I have created a website where I share what I do at home with my son (dicashomeschooling.com ). I also share on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. I act as an educa-tional consultant for other parents who are interested in starting to homeschool, and I work to help homeschool-ing families across Brazil connect and share experiences.

Why did you decide to homeschool?

Our first concern was for the health of our son. When he was very small, he was hospitalized with bron-chitis due to contact with many children in the nursery. We decided it would be better for me to stay home with him, so I left my job and I started researching homeschooling. From that point on, Sam developed in a way that encouraged us to proceed with homeschooling.

Why did you want to come to GHEC 2016?

I wanted to meet and get to know families from around the world who have homeschooled for many years. I wanted to learn from the experience of all who attended. I hoped that this event would provide the opportunity that our country needed to encourage and unite families—and it did. Participating in GHEC 2016 was a truly unique opportunity.

How will GHEC 2016 have an impact on homeschooling in Brazil?

GHEC 2016 is already having a tangible impact in my country. Since the conference, families have begun to speak more openly about home education and have created much more awareness about this choice. New blogs have been created, with many posts on homeschooling. There are new associations and support groups springing up across the country, as well as arrangements for the creation and translation of new homeschool materials. We are feeling more courageous to unite and fight. GHEC 2016 was essential in encour-aging us to arrive at this moment. Thank you!

Three GHEC family profiles


Patrice and Liz Gitonga homeschool their children, Gloria (19), Josiah (14), and Joy (10), in Nairobi, Kenya. During the conference, Liz represented Kenya on the GHEC 2016 Organizing Committee and spoke in several sessions about the African homeschooling journey. In Kenya, homeschooling has grown over the past two decades without much interference from the government. The national homeschool association, East Africa Community of Homeschoolers, is working to engage with officials and develop a clear definition of home education in the law. Annual homeschool conferences, initially organized by missionary families, are now run by Kenyans and provide encouragement to families while raising awareness for homeschooling.

How did you get involved with homeschooling?

Seventeen years ago, we heard about homeschool-ing through an American missionary couple who were visiting us during the time that my husband and I were thinking about the education of our first child. We became one of the pioneer Kenyan homeschool families. Our oldest has now graduated and is in university.

I co-founded one of the first homeschool co-ops for Kenyans, and I founded two other co-ops that continue to grow strong. I am privileged to serve as a steering committee member for the East Africa Community of Homeschoolers (EACH), an organization that connects homeschoolers in our region. Along with homeschool-ing my youngest two children, I am an education consul-tant, providing training and guidance to homeschooling parents and other educators.


I am very passionate about education, and our homeschooling journey has been pivotal in shaping my

views on education. The conference offerings of GHEC 2016 were of great interest to me. I knew I would learn much to help our national homeschool organization. I looked forward to networking with homeschoolers from other parts of the world. And visiting a beautiful location like Rio was a great bonus!

How will GHEC 2016 have an impact on homeschooling in Kenya?

GHEC 2016 was a great inspiration to me as a homeschooling parent in a global community. I gathered very relevant information on what role our national orga-nization can play in building up the homeschool commu-nity in Kenya, and how the organization can engage with both private and government agencies. As a result, we are now registering our national home educators association. In addition, we are equipping the organization to be a source of information on home education in Kenya, and we are seeking to provide advocacy services for home edu-cators in Kenya. GHEC 2016 was a bountiful feast of great minds and wonderful ideas! On behalf of EACH, I would like to thank the organizers for a remarkable conference.

“A bountiful feast of great minds and wonderful ideas”

Three GHEC family profiles


Sebastian and Kathleen Engelhardt, along with their children Elias (10), Sarah (8), Johanna (5), Benedikt (3), and baby due in July, are a German family living in France. In Germany, the country’s highest courts have repeatedly upheld a ban on homeschooling. Many dedicated people and organizations are working to effect positive change for home-schooling in Germany. A handful of homeschooling families remain in Germany. They undergo court battles, threats to the custody of their children, and hefty fines. However, many families have, like the Engelhardts, left their homeland to live and homeschool freely while continuing to work toward making homeschooling in Germany legal in the future.

How did you learn about homeschooling?

At the age of 16, I [Sebastian] spent one year as an exchange student in Long Prairie, Minnesota. There I be-came a Christian and got to know the local youth pastor, Dave Arevalo, as a friend and mentor. I was impressed by his family’s faith and relationships. I soon recognized that learning at home was an essential part of that.

Why did you decide to homeschool?

We started out homeschooling because we felt that was what God was calling us to. That was a leap of faith because it involved leaving our country and family behind. Today we see how happy our kids are not having to sit in a chair all day. We see them developing a coherent, biblical worldview. We enjoy being able to help them develop the talents God gave each of them. Homeschooling has become an exciting lifestyle—and we wouldn’t want to miss it.


As a board member of the German homeschool organization Netzwerk Bildungsfreiheit, my goal is to work toward the legalization of homeschooling in Germany. GHEC offered the unique opportunity to connect with and learn from other organizational leaders worldwide. I was also very interested in the pre-sentation of various research projects and lectures on international educational law.

How will GHEC 2016 have an impact on homeschooling on Germany?

We have learned a lot that we could not have learned anywhere else! Being at the con-ference and seeing how other organizations have

successfully accomplished a greater degree of educational freedom in their countries has led us to adjust our approach to societal and political change as well. GHEC was also a great encourage-ment for me personally to work hard for homeschooling in Germany. n

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N“Homeschooling—an exciting lifestyle”


• The 2016 Global Home Education Conference hosted the largest gathering of scholars ever convened to discuss the homeschool movement. Sixteen researchers from Brazil, France, Spain, Colombia, China, Germany, and the United States presented original empirical research and policy papers. Sessions were often standing room only and were characterized by a lively exchange of ideas between scholars and attendees. While it is unusual for researchers to present their scholarly work at a conference primarily attended by members of the population they study, many com-mented on the surprising benefits they saw in home-schooling. Dr. Philippe Bongrand, lead investigator of a team documenting the emerging homeschool movement in France, reported, “[GHEC] was really a unique experience! For me it was fieldwork as well as participation in a scientific conference. It was extremely fruitful to meet scholars and home educators from around the world.” Maria Bellmunt, a homeschool advocate in Spain and a doctoral student at the Universitat de Girona, found the conference very encouraging. “It was amaz-ing to share the same goals with other researchers from all different countries. I especially liked the debate on the importance of the family. No matter what education system you choose—homeschooling, school, flexischool—education should belong to the parents [not the state].” Dr. Aaron Saiger, professor of law at Fordham University, argued in his policy paper that barriers to homeschooling will continue to fall as the historic demarcation between public and private education erode, primarily because of the rise of virtual solutions. Dr. Ingo Richter, professor of law at University of

Tubingen and Paris-Nanterre, presented an argument supporting freedom to homeschool based upon his analysis of the theory of “the best interest of the child” as it relates to the influential UN documents coming from the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Albert Cheng, a doctoral candidate at the University of Arkansas, analyzed the U. S. National Center for Edu-cational Statistics’ large data set of parents with children who have special needs. Parents who were homeschool-ing or using a variety of private school options reported higher satisfaction with their child’s educational pro-gram than parents who used public school services. Lauren Bailes, a doctoral candidate at the Ohio State University and a homeschool graduate, reported on the measure of political efficacy she is developing to better understand “the remarkable success homeschool parents have had in bringing their policy priorities to fruition.” Bailes plans to compare her findings to the political efficacy of other groups who historically have not been as effective in bringing about the educational policies they sought. Dr. Debra Bell reported on her investigation of the teaching practices of a large sample of highly commit-ted, highly experienced homeschool parents. She found that when parents employed instructional strategies which gave students opportunity for autonomy, compe-tence, and relatedness, students tended to have greater academic motivation. Qualitative studies ranged from the emergence of homeschooling in China as a reaction to the demanding public school schedule, to homeschooling as a response to school closings in war-torn Colombia, to “unschool-ing” parents in Europe who reject state-mandated curricula. Overall, the diversity of the research track at GHEC 2016 reflected the growing interest in homeschooling as a scholarly topic of investigation, which is spreading concurrently with the rise of homeschooling worldwide. The Journal of School Choice will publish a special edi-tion of the best papers presented at GHEC 2016 in their September issue. n

by DR. DEBRA BELL

Debra Bell, Ph.D., is an educational researcher, author, and speaker serving the homeschool community. She is the author of the Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling series, and her articles have been featured in a variety of publications. Debra and her husband home-schooled their four children, who are all now college grad-uates with families of their own.

Research summaryOVERVIEW OF GHEC 2016


Invest in the future of homeschooling.Your homeschool legacy can continue beyond your lifetime through a planned gift in the form of a bequest.

Setting up an advised bequest is easy and provides an effective and lasting statement of your commitment to homeschooling and educational freedom.

Use the following statement to include HSLDA’s Homeschool Freedom Fund in your will:

I bequeath to the Homeschool Freedom Fund, in support of the Home School Legal Defense Association, a non-profit organization in Virginia (currently located at P.O. Box 1152, Purcellville, VA 20134), the sum of { ____ dollars or ____ percent of my residual estate}.

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I n June 2010, hospital doctors and a social worker removed Scott and Jodi Ferris’s newborn daughter from her parents’ custody. Six years later, the doctors and social worker are still

trying to whitewash their blatant violation of parental rights—but Home School Legal Defense Association won’t have it.

When their daughter was born prematurely at Hershey Medical Center, Scott and Jodi grew concerned about the treatment the hospital staff was demanding for their daughter. The parents’ questions led to a visit from social worker Angelica Lopez-Heagy and the child’s removal into state custody. The very next day, a judge ordered the baby to be returned to her parents.

In March 2012, HSLDA filed a complaint in federal court against the doctors and social worker for violating Scott and Jodi’s Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The defendants asked the court to dismiss the case,

but in December 2012 the judge ruled that the case could proceed. Since that time, both sides have been gathering information and taking testimony from witnesses in preparation for a trial. HSLDA litigation attorney Darren Jones recently took sworn testimony from the doctors’ expert witness in February.

The defendants have now filed summary judgment motions with the court. A summary judgment motion

by DARREN A. JONES

Trampled parental rights deserve full trial

LITIGATION

COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE

• #1 in July Virginia Bar passage*• A top 20 school for public defenders and prosecutors**• Ranked 9th in the nation in Moot Court program• Honor Roll award — Best school for practical training***

*Virginia first-time test takers as defined by the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners**Winter 2016 preLaw magazine ***February 2016 The National Jurist

[email protected] | (434) 592-5300 | LIBERTY.EDU/LAW/HOMESCHOOL

Liberty’s pre-law program equips students with a solid foundation in subjects such as writing, logic, and public speaking to help them succeed in law school.

Law students receive unparalleled skills training and graduate practice-ready.

PENNSYLVANIA

Case: Ferris v. Hershey Medical Center, et alFiled: March 9, 2012


asks the court to find that both sides agree on the facts of the case, and to make a

ruling based on those facts without going to trial. HSLDA

submitted a brief in opposition, where we explained that the two sides do not agree on some crucial facts. We pointed out that the timeline the defendants relied on was not backed by other testimony. We also argued that although the defendants downplayed their role in

seizing the newborn child, the social worker and doctors were clearly involved.

Scott and Jodi’s parental rights were violated the day they lost custody of their daughter. HSLDA hopes this lawsuit will bring justice to the Ferris family and lead to more government officials protecting parental rights rather than trampling them. n

by PETER K. KAMAKAWIWOOLE

HSLDA keeps fighting for falsely accused mom

Home School Legal Defense Association filed a brief in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on behalf of HSLDA members Lane Funkhouser and

his wife, Susan Parker. In July 2012, the couple’s children were taken from their home based on false and under-investigated allegations and then detained in foster care for more than 30 days.

In 2011, Lane and Susan withdrew their two children from public school to homeschool them, due to several diagnosed medical condi-tions that plagued the family for more than a year. While the couple was seeking medical care for their children, a Clarke County social services investigator came to believe that the family was not actually ill, but that Susan was suffering from a complicated mental disorder called Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSbP), in which the sufferer fakes medical symptoms or intentionally inflicts an illness on another for the purpose of gaining outside attention and sympathy.

Unfortunately for Susan and the family, the social ser-vices investigator reached this decision without review-

ing the family’s voluminous medical records, discussing his conclusions with a mental health expert, or even interviewing Susan and her children. Instead, he took his unsupported theory to the Department of Social Services in Shenandoah County, where the family lived.

On July 25, 2012, Shenando-ah social services investigators came to the family’s home and removed the two children, based on the allegations of Munchau-sen. They did not have a court order, nor had they attempted to obtain one. The children were taken to an emergency room, where the hospital diagnosed them with a parasitic infection and prescribed medication. This diagnosis refuted any suspicion that Susan had manufactured her children’s illnesses, and left no reason to believe that Susan had done anything other than attempt to obtain medical care for her children.

When the children were discharged from the hospi-tal, however, the social services investigators refused to

VIRGINIA

Case: Parker, et al v. AustinFiled: July 24, 2014

Once the truth came out, the judge promptly ordered the children to be returned to their parents.

© B

IGST

OCK

LEGAL TERMS

et al | Abbrevia-tion for the Latin phrase “et alia,” meaning “and others.” Used to shorten the name of a case by listing only one plaintiff or defendant (Excerpted from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary)


return them to Susan and Lane, placing them instead in foster care. The children remained there for two weekdays while the investigators delayed in preparing a petition to keep the children in foster care. When this petition was finally brought before a juvenile court judge, the inves-tigators insisted that the children would be in danger if returned to their parents, but they failed to report the results of the medical testing done at the investigators’ re-quest. It took more than 30 days before the juvenile court was fully appraised of the facts of the case. Once the truth came out, the judge promptly ordered the children to be returned to their parents—over the strong objection of the social services investigators, who refused to acknowl-edge that they had made a mistake.

In July 2014, HSLDA filed a civil suit in federal court on behalf of Susan and her family. In April 2015, the district court judge dismissed the case, arguing that the investiga-tors acted “reasonably” because the initial allegations came from “mandated reporters.” To reach this conclusion, how-ever, the court had to overlook the fact that these same investigators discovered shortly thereafter that their alle-gations were patently false, and that they failed to follow Virginia’s own law on emergency removals, which requires a stringent showing of imminent danger before authorities can remove a child without prior judicial approval.

Despite the setback, HSLDA remains committed to this family’s cause. HSLDA’s opening brief to the Fourth Circuit challenges the district court’s opinion on

many grounds, including the court’s unprecedented “mandated reporters” argument. Parents have a sacred responsibility to care for and safeguard their children. When they act to fulfill that responsibility

by seeking needed medical care for their children, the last thing they expect to find is resistance from their own government, especially when that resistance springs from irresponsible and unsupportable allegations. n

ALASKA | D Family v. Social Security Administration | J Family v. Social Security Administration

ARKANSAS | R Family v. Department of Veterans Affairs

CALIFORNIA | Wilson, et al. v. Russo et al.

CONNECTICUT | C Family v. Social Security Administration

GEORGIA | C Family v. Social Security Administration | D Family v. Social Security Administration | K Family v. Social Security Administration

IOWA | A Family v. Social Security Administration

ILLINOIS | In re: H Family

MICHIGAN | D Family v. Social Security Administration | F Family v. Social Security Administration | S Family v. Social Security Administration

MONTANA | A Family v. Social Security Administration

MONTANA | A Family v. Social Security Administration

NEW YORK | Batt v. Buccilli | In re: V Family

OHIO | B Family v. Social Security Administration | State of Ohio v. B Family

PENNSYLVANIA | Ferris v. Hershey Medical Center

SOUTH CAROLINA | C Family v. River Bluff High School | S Family v. Social Security Administration

TENNESSEE | P Family v. Social Security Administration | In re: Y Family

TEXAS | W Family v. Social Security Administration

VIRGINIA | B Family v. Social Security Administration | D Family v. Social Security Administration | In re: F Family | Parker v. Austin, et al. | R Family v. Social Security Administration

WASHINGTON | In re: S Family

WISCONSIN | In re: K Family

ACTIVE CASES

Home- school

Freedom Fund!

• Government workers who steamroll parents and children need a sharp reminder that families have rights. When you renew your HSLDA membership, give the gift of mem-bership to someone you love, or make a tax-deductible donation to our litigation work through the Homeschool Freedom Fund, you make it possible for us to advance the cause of liberty in real, tangible ways by defending people like Scott, Jodi, Lane, Susan, and their families.

Give a friend the gift of HSLDA membership: hslda.org/Q216gift

Donate to the Homeschool Freedom Fund: hslda.org/ Q216freedom

© ISTOCKPHOTO


Rumor of HSLDA letter stops discrimination“The city found out Home School Legal Defense As-

sociation was working on a letter and dropped its request for accreditation,” Kyle Lawrence triumphantly reported to HSLDA. He had applied for a job as a utility worker with a city in southeastern Alabama, but had been turned down when officials found out his home-school diploma was “not accredited.”

Legally, however, no accreditation is necessary. In Alabama, homeschool parents are allowed to issue diplomas to students who have completed high school in a homeschool program that complies with state law.

HSLDA regularly explains this fact to employers, colleges, vocational and technical schools, and other institutions. We work to help them reform antiquated policies that require high school graduates to hold an

“accredited” high school diploma. Many of those policies are based on the faulty assumption that homeschoolers can receive an official diploma from the state or have their parent-issued diplomas certified by the local public school district.

Kyle encountered that same assumption when the city rejected his homeschool diploma. He had provided a copy of his transcript and verification of compliance with state law, but the city insisted on receiving something from the school district verifying that he had finished high school.

Since Kyle’s family were HSLDA members, they contacted our legal department. We quickly agreed to write to the city on Kyle’s behalf—but we had barely finished our first draft when he called us back with good news. The city’s reluctance to accept his

STATE HIGHLIGHTS

public school contacts + social service contacts + discrimination + general legal questions

Jan.–Mar. 2016 members’ legal inquiries to HSLDANATIONWIDE

Jan.–Mar. 2016 members’ legal inquiries to HSLDA

public school contacts

social service contacts

discrimination

general legal questions

» continue reading on page 22

by DANIEL T. BEASLEY

KEY

Government contacts

Discrimination

General legal questions


Police jobs now open to homeschooled applicants

The board that oversees standards for police training in Arizona has adopted changes that will make it

easier for homeschool graduates to pursue positions in law enforcement.

The new policy conforms to the recommendations of Home School Legal Defense Association and Arizona Families for Home Education (AFHE). It allows parents to self-certify their homeschooled students’ completion

of high school with minimal verification of compliance with state law.

This represents a vast improvement over previous practices, when homeschool graduates were asked to present “accredited” diplomas or obtain a GED in order to apply for jobs as peace officers or correctional officers in Arizona. Reform efforts began after several Arizona homeschool graduates contacted both HSLDA and AFHE to report that their homeschool diplomas and transcripts had been questioned when they applied for jobs as police officers or sheriff ’s deputies.

HSLDA and AFHE then contacted the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board (AZ POST),

which is tasked with establishing and maintaining minimum education standards necessary to become a peace officer or correctional officer in the state.HSLDA Staff Attorney Tj Schmidt and AFHE

advocate Tom Lewis worked with AZ POST to address the fact that homeschool graduates who had complied with state law in their homeschool program were facing roadblocks in their desire to become police officers. Most of these homeschool graduates had provided a homeschool diploma and transcripts to demonstrate that they had completed high school. While Arizona does not require a homeschooled student to complete specific high school credits in order to graduate, a homeschooled student applying to be a peace officer or seeking admis-sion into college should follow the same credit guide-lines necessary to graduate from a public school.

Some at AZ POST wanted the Arizona Department of Education to certify each homeschooled student’s com-

homeschool diploma had vanished when Kyle explained that HSLDA was drafting a letter to address the city’s concerns.

Kyle starts working for the city next month.HSLDA is committed to advancing homeschool free-

dom by advocating for homeschool graduates who are

forced to deal with the burden of discriminatory policies that stand in the way of employment, college admission, and military or law enforcement service. Your member-ship with HSLDA means you stand alongside us, and fellow homeschoolers like Kyle, in ending this kind of discrimination. Thank you!

Send us your story about why homeschooling is the best!

We are always looking for warm anecdotes and true stories to illustrate homeschooling’s humorous or poignant moments. All material printed in the Court Report will be credited, and the contributor will receive a $10 coupon for the HSLDA Store. Submissions may be edited for space. Please be aware that we cannot return photographs.

Mail submissions to:

Stories, HSLDA P.O. Box 3000 Purcellville, VA 20134

Or email us (include “Stories” in the subject line) at:

[email protected]

A CONTRARIO SENSU{on the other hand}

» continue reading from page 22



social service contact

discrimination


by THOMAS J. SCHMIDT


pletion of high school or have homeschooled students take a GED if they didn’t have an “accredited” diploma. HSLDA and AFHE objected to these proposals.

We pointed out that state law does not require home-school diplomas to be certified by state education officials and provides no procedure by which this could occur. Instead, Schmidt argued that homeschooling parents should be able to provide their students’ homeschool diplomas and transcripts along with verification of their compliance with state law (i.e. a copy of the home educa-tion affidavit they filed with their local county).

In December 2015, AZ POST amended rule R13-4-105 to state that an applicant for police training must have “a diploma from a high school recognized by the department of education of the jurisdiction in which the diploma was issued, have successfully completed a General Education Development (G.E.D.) examination, or have a degree from an institution of higher education accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Depart-ment of Education.” The amended rule will go into effect on August 6, 2016, but we expect AZ POST to begin processing homeschool graduates immediately.

In April 2016, AZ POST published an interoffice memo from assistant attorney general Michael Salt stat-ing that a homeschool graduate will meet the minimum education standards when he or she complies with state law and provides documentation indicating he or she has completed the equivalent of a high school education.

Specifically, AZ POST will look for the following when a homeschool graduate applies for a job as a peace officer or corrections officer:

▶ A copy of an affidavit from the applicant’s county of residence, confirming that the applicant was registered for homeschooling in accordance with ARS § 15-802, including the date of registration if the student was between the ages of 8 and 16 when withdrawn from public school.

▶ Educational transcripts, signed by the student’s parent or guardian.

▶ A diploma, letter and/or affidavit indicating that the student has successfully completed a high school equivalent education. A parent could also provide a copy of any document which they might have submitted to notify the county super-intendent the student had completed the homeschool program (not legally required but occa-sionally done when the child graduates early).

While individual agencies across the state who are looking to hire new peace officers or corrections officers may implement additional requirements, we believe homeschool graduates will be able to pursue a position in law enforcement with greater ease due to the new AZ POST rule and policy. We will continue to follow the progress of several graduates who are seeking to join local police departments.

Shooting down discrimination

A lthough homeschooling is widely accepted as an excellent alternative to public school education,

discriminatory policies still prevent some homeschool students from pursuing their dreams. Home School Legal Defense Association recently helped resolve such a case involving a member family in Arkansas,

who faced one of these discriminatory policies and its bureaucratic interpretation.

Eleven-year-old Ivalynn Branum was told she could not compete in an Arkansas shooting competition because she was too young, despite the fact that 11-year-old public school students were free to participate. This discriminatory policy frustrated her father, who placed several calls to try to fix the situation, but to no avail. He was told that his daughter must be 12 before she could




discrimination




compete. Confused by this response and determined to keep fighting for his daughter, he asked HSLDA for assistance.

HSLDA Staff Attorney Dan Beasley emailed a letter to the program’s state coordinator, explaining how the policy unfairly discriminated against homeschool stu-dents such as Ivalynn. The state coordinator agreed with Beasley’s rationale and swiftly decided to allow Ivalynn to participate. He also agreed to consider revising the policy for the benefit of other homeschool students who

may want to participate in the future.Beasley commended the coordinator for his prompt

action. “His timely response to HSLDA’s letter was critical to a positive resolution for the Branums, since the registration deadline was just days away.”

It is unfortunate that this family had to rely on a letter from an attorney to receive fair treatment, but that is often the case when dealing with bureaucratic policies. HSLDA is committed to advocating on behalf of home-school students and families facing discrimination.

Merced City demands minutes-per-day report

How many minutes per day do you homeschool your children? Merced City School District wants

to know.The district recently contacted a Home School

Legal Defense Association member family who had filed the private school affidavit, requesting “accurate daily attendance data that shows the number of in-struction minutes per day,” to be provided to the Pupil Services Department at the end of the 2015–2016 school year.

The family immediately reached out to J. Michael Smith, HSLDA’s contact attorney for California, who informed the school district that their request exceeded their authority and went beyond what the law requires of private schools in California. Homeschools in California operate as private schools and must main-tain an attendance register—but they are not required to record the number of minutes, hours, or days the pupil was instructed. Private schools are not subject to a required minimum number of days or hours of instruction. School districts’ legal authority regarding private schools relates only to truancy, not the evalua-

tion of the quality or quantity of the education offered. Districts simply verify that the private school affidavit has been filed if a specific student’s truancy is at issue.

In 2008, a California Appellate Court stated in the case of In re: Jonathan L: “The [public school] district is granted no authority . . . to confirm that the private school is in compliance with the other requirements of the private school exemption.” The other requirements being referred to are regula-tions, approval, and/or evaluation of private schools by public schools.

It’s important for families who homeschool in California to understand that they are not required to do any more or any less that any other private school in the state. The legislature has already granted private schools freedom from undue regulation by public school officials. It’s up to all of us to make sure that freedom is not eroded.




discrimination


by J. MICHAEL SMITH

It’s up to all of us to make sure that freedom is not eroded.


Marine Corps reservist enters Florida Tech with HSLDA assistance

An Illinois homeschool graduate and U.S. Marine Corps reservist recently applied to enter Florida

Technical Institute (FTI). Having scored in the 96th percentile on the science section of the ACT college admission test, he was a prime candidate for technical school.

But an FTI representative refused to acknowledge his high school diploma. She told the graduate that

without a GED or 24 college credit hours, “We are not able to welcome you.”

At the graduate’s request, Home School Legal Defense Association’s legal department had several conversations with school staff. After HSLDA Senior Counsel Scott A. Woodruff sent a letter explaining the legal status of homeschooling in Illinois, the school did an about-face.

The graduate is now fully enrolled and taking classes.




discrimination


by SCOTT A. WOODRUFF

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Districts forcing troubled students to homeschool

Home School Legal Defense Association recently aligned with another group of activists to denounce

a practice that threatens to get homeschooling labeled as unregulated and unjust.

Thanks to an alert by the Indiana Association of Home Educators (IAHE), HSLDA was able to take part in a discussion of the problem often called the “school-to-prison pipeline.” Though this problem generally con-cerns students who struggle within the public school system, in Indiana it has broadened to include home education because some public schools have made a

habit of forcing troubled or underperforming students out of public school into “homeschooling.” This allows the school corporations to treat these students as trans-fers instead of dropouts or expulsions, which artificially improves the schools’ graduation rates and lowers their dropout rates.

But this practice hurts the students, their families, and homeschooling. Both HSLDA and IAHE are concerned that if the desire to homeschool doesn’t start with the parents, they won’t consider the cost or take full respon-sibility for educating their children at home.

Some critics of homeschooling have used this situation to claim that to better serve these troubled students, homeschooling needs increased government oversight. Not surprisingly, when homeschooling was discussed

during a meeting of the Indiana Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, members heard a very inaccurate description of parents’

responsibilities for educating a child in Indiana. The advisory committee was discussing policies

and practices that push public schoolchildren out of classrooms and into the courts and on to prison. Those concerned about this “pipeline” typically identify two different types of students as being most vulnerable: 1) students whose lack of interest in school heads them towards becoming dropouts or being expelled because of bad behavior, and 2) low-performing students who are pushed out in a perverse attempt by some officials to boost their school’s overall test scores.

Usually, neither of these situations have any direct connection to homeschooling. True, we at HSLDA do regularly talk to and help plenty of fed-up parents who are trying to get their children out of a troubled situation in the public school. Many other parents we talk to are frustrated by the apparent inability of local school offi-cials to address the specific needs of their children who struggle academically and make only minimal progress each year.

But testimony before the civil rights board referred




discrimination



Still believe the earth revolves around state education?

Since my youngest daughter has completed our family’s home educa-tion program, I have begun substitute teaching occasionally. I was recently subbing in an elementary classroom in a private school of some reputa-tion. The second grade teacher from the class next door came in to ask me a question, be she prefaced it with, “Now did you always homeschool, or did you teach in a real school before that?” “Before I had children I used to teach in a conven-tional school,” I replied. “OK, I can ask you this question then. Does the sun go around the earth? Or does the earth go around the sun?” Surprised, I said, “Well, the earth goes around the sun.” The teacher still needed clarification: “Does the earth go all the way around the sun in just one day?” “No, no. It takes 365 days for the earth to go around the sun.” This answer only puzzled her the more, and so I had to explain that we have night and day because the earth is rotating on its axis. This was a 25-year-old, state-certified teacher. So when people tell you that your children are missing out, don’t worry about it.

Linda S. | Scottsdale, AZ


CLASSICSBest of ’97!


to the status of homeschooling in Indiana as the “Wild West” and implied that homeschooled students were destined to be lost without any chance of being educated.

We acted to counter these criticisms and correct the record.

After being alerted to this gross mischaracteriza-tion of homeschooling, I submitted written testimony explaining that Indiana law treats homeschool parents the same as it treats most nonpublic schools in the state. In fact, over 100 years ago the Indiana Appellate Court specifically acknowledged that “the number of persons, whether one or many, [do not] make a place where instruction is imparted any less or any more a school.” (State v. Peterman, 32 Ind. App. 665, 70 N.E. 550 [1904]). Since that time, any parent educating his or her child in Indiana has been deemed to be operating a nonpublic school.

In my testimony, I informed the committee that state

law requires parents operating a nonpublic (home)school program to provide “instruction equivalent to that given in the public schools” (Indiana Code § 20-33-2-28). Homeschooling parents must also keep attendance records which can be requested by the state superintendent or local superintendent (IC § 20-33-2-20). The state superintendent can also require that the parent furnish information about the number of students in their school and the grade level they are in (IC § 20-33-2-21).

During a follow-up meeting, IAHE was able to testify over the phone to the committee about homeschooling in Indiana. Unfortunately, time ran out and I wasn’t able to speak directly to the committee members in the follow-up meeting. However, I submitted additional comments in writing at the request of the committee. We will be monitoring the committee’s report, which will likely come out this summer.

Counties demand homeschool record reviews

Two Home School Legal Defense Association member families in separate counties were recently

summoned by local public school officials who wanted to meet and review their private homeschool records.

In Paducah County, a family had recently withdrawn their special needs son from public school and provided a notice of attendance to the appropriate official, known as a director of pupil personnel (DPP). Shortly before Thanksgiving, the DPP told the family that his office would be contacting them soon “to verify the establish-ment of [their] home school.”

In the beginning of December, the DPP followed up with the family, demanding that they “provide infor-mation to verify their home school as a bona fide home school.”

The DPP wanted a copy of their school calendar, a daily schedule of their homeschool, and evidence that the family’s children were receiving instruction in “core subjects.” However, according to state law the only documentation that a public school official may request is attendance records and scholarship reports. Never-theless, the DPP stated that his office would contact the family to set up a time and location to “view” the family’s records.

Meanwhile, a family in Owsley County also received a letter from their local DPP in early December, indicating that he wanted to review their homeschool records “to ensure that the requirements of compulsory attendance [were] being met.” He asked the family to contact him and set up a time to meet, so that the educational records could be reviewed.

In making these requests, the officials exceeded their authority in two ways: they asked for more documents




discrimination




than state law requires from homeschool families, and they ignored record-viewing guidelines established by their own colleagues.

Many years ago, the Kentucky Directors of Pupil Per-sonnel and the statewide homeschool organizations at the time developed the Best Practice Document to address several legal issues and concerns about private home-school programs. These guidelines presume that parents who report their intent to teach their children at home within two weeks of the beginning of school are oper-ating a bona-fide school and are in fact teaching their

children at home. The Best Practice Document approach is intended to prevent public school officials from demand-ing the submission of attendance and scholarship reports from homeschool families unless there is evidence that a bona-fide homeschool program does not exist.

After being contacted by both families regarding their situations, HSLDA Staff Attorney Tj Schmidt contacted the offices of both directors of pupil personnel to clarify Kentucky law and the Best Practice Document regarding private homeschooling programs. HSLDA resolved both situations favorably.

Keep kids home during portfolio review!

What should you do if a local portfolio reviewer asks you to bring your child with you to an an-

nual homeschool portfolio review? The best answer for almost everyone is, “No, thank you.”

We have been aware of a number of incidents in which young children have been insulted, criticized, and belit-tled by reviewers. Even when this doesn’t happen, port-folio reviews can be a major cause of worry and stress for children, who may feel that their parents are being judged or that the security of their homeschool depends on how well they perform.

The homeschool regulation COMAR 13A.10.01.01.E, which says a parent “shall agree to permit” a portfolio reviewer to “observe instruction,” is unconstitutional. The Fourth Amendment prohibits government agents from coming into your home without a warrant. A port-folio reviewer who might seek to come into your home (where instruction normally occurs) would have no warrant, nor would he or she have grounds for a war-rant. Forcing you to allow a government agent into your home to observe instruction is a violation of your Fourth Amendment rights.

And it’s just as unconstitutional for the portfolio reviewer to force you to bring your child to the school office so she can watch you instruct your child. Here’s why.

▶ First, when the law says you must provide “regu-lar, thorough instruction,” it is talking about what is normal instruction for your family. It is not talking about you putting on a show and doing ‘make believe’ teaching in a place your child never learns and you never teach. It is widely recognized that if you want to assess teaching validly, you must do it at the place where instruction usually occurs. It’s not rational, and therefore not consti-tutional, for a reviewer to watch a parent perform for five minutes in a place where real instruction never occurs, and then use that performance to judge whether the parent provides regular, thor-ough instruction at home.

▶ Second, in the phrase “regular, thorough instruc-tion,” the word “regular” refers to having some type of routine or teaching schedule. The word “thorough” means covering the subjects ade-quately. A five-minute performance at the school office provides no evidence on whether instruc-tion at home is regular or thorough. It’s not ra-




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tional, and therefore not constitutional, for a re-viewer to watch a parent perform and then use that performance to judge whether the parent provides regular, thorough instruction at home.

▶ Third, the “observe instruction” mandate is un-constitutional because there are no objective standards. It is so vague that it is impossible for a citizen to know if he is obeying it, and impossible for a government agent to know if he is correctly implementing it. The result is that enforcement is totally subjective. And that’s unconstitutional.

If you want to protect your right to object to “observing instruction,” use Home School Legal Defense Association’s “Sample Annual Verification

Letter—Portfolio Review Option” when it is due at the beginning of the school year (if you use the portfolio option). This makes it clear that you do not consent to allow someone to “observe instruction.” If you are just getting started and need to file a Notice of Consent form, use the one on HSLDA’s website.

If you encounter a demand to bring your child to a portfolio review and a simple “no, thank you” does not take care of it, or if you think there is a reason for you to consent to observing instruction, please call and allow us to discuss it with you. HSLDA has had perfect success in protecting families’ right not to bring their child to a portfolio review.

Homeschoolers targeted for extra scrutiny?

Home School Legal Defense Association believes there may be official policies prompting the Mas-

sachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) to impose more intrusive investigations on homeschooling families based on the erroneous assumption that homeschooled children are more at risk of undetected abuse than children attending public school.

HSLDA has encountered this troubling and recurring development in several recent DCF investigations of member families. Some of these cases involved alle-gations (sometimes anonymous) that children who had recently been withdrawn from public school to be homeschooled were “not in school.” (Massachusetts school districts have a bad habit of filing allegations of educational neglect with DCF when students are absent from school, instead of sending a truant officer.) Other cases arose in the context of family disagreements over the parents’ educational choices.

Although a number of these cases should have been closed immediately when the families offered proof of compliance with Massachusetts’ homeschool law, the investigators sought more intrusive and longer-lasting investigations. When HSLDA Staff Attorney Mike

Rewriting history

One hot Fourth of July, as we were watching the fireworks explode over a local lake, I overheard two public high school seniors having a discussion regarding the meaning of the holiday. (Their names have been changed to protect the “innocent,” and/or “ignorant.”) Brad: “You know, they don’t celebrate the Fourth of July down South. They are still mad because they lost the war.” Dave: “The Fourth of July isn’t about the Civil War, dummy. It’s about World War I.”

Marica W. | Chariton, IA





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by MICHAEL P. DONNELLY



Donnelly pressed these investigators for explanations, they replied that homeschooled children need additional scrutiny because they are “not visible in their communi-ty,” i.e., not as accessible to caseworkers and mandatory reporters as children in public school are.

Although these cases involved social workers from different geographic areas, the investigators all expressed the same biased attitude toward homeschooling families. They also considered the families’ compliance with homeschool laws to be irrelevant to whether they contin-ued their investigations.

Like many states, Massachusetts gives DCF investiga-tors access to interview and inspect children in public schools without parents’ knowledge or consent. DCF does not have this latitude with homeschooling families, whose children are educated in their own homes and thus protected from unreasonable searches and seizures by the Fourth Amendment. But it does not follow from this that homeschooled children are any more likely to suffer undetected abuse or neglect than their traditional-ly schooled peers.

Just like other children, homeschooled students participate in community events, sports, and extra- curricular activities. They attend church, go to the library, take music lessons, and hold part-time jobs.

The idea that traditional school is the most likely place for abuse and neglect to be detected reflects a common assumption—but not the actual data. In 2014, legal and law enforcement personnel made 18.1% of all abuse and neglect reports, and nonprofessional sources (such as parents, relatives, and neighbors) made 18.6%. Education person-nel made 17.7%. Social services personnel made 11.0% of reports, and medical personnel 9.2%.

It is inaccurate to assume that the abuse of a homeschooled child is likely to go undetected simply because he or she does not regularly encounter education professionals. And to pre-sume that children are implicitly at higher risk of abuse or neglect just because they are homeschooled is nonsense.

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They also considered the families’ compliance with homeschool laws to be irrelevant to whether they continued their investigations.

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Over the past five years, the annual number of chil-dren involved in child abuse investigations nationally has increased from approximately 3.0 million to 3.2 million, while the number of children determined to be abused or neglected has averaged 690,000. HSLDA acknowledges there is an appropriate role for govern-ment intervention when children are abused, and we encourage adults in the homeschooling community to be informed about preventing and responding to child abuse. However, we categorically reject the idea that

homeschooling families, as a class, should be treated with suspicion merely because they choose to educate their children at home.

If you are a member of HSLDA and are contacted by a child abuse investigator, we encourage you to imme-diately call us in order to receive specific advice for your situation.* The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution applies to child abuse and neglect investiga-tions and protects you, your home, and your family from unwarranted government intrusion.

Wayzata apologizes after bullying homeschooling family“You have two days to give us the information we

want or we are filing truancy charges.”This unlawful threat was made by the Wayzata

Public Schools enrollment secretary to a Home School Legal Defense Association member family who, following state law, did not file a notice of intent to con-tinue homeschooling their 17-year-old son.

Upon receiving the district’s initial demand in January, the family contacted HSLDA. We assured them that they were in compliance with state law and were under no obligation to file any paperwork for their 17-year-old.

Minnesota law explicitly states that a letter of intent to continue homeschooling is not required for a child over 16 as long as the family has notified school officials in previous years. Because this family had notified officials of their intent to homeschool their son in the years leading up to his 17th birthday, no further notice was required.

However, Wayzata’s enrollment secretary continued to pressure the family with letters and voice messages in an attempt to obtain the information she erroneously thought the district was entitled to. After receiving the two-day ultimatum, the family decided to com-

ply rather than risk continued harassment or criminal charges. When he learned of the family’s action, Mike Donnelly—HSLDA’s contact attorney for Minnesota—determined that a formal reprimand was required.


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* See “HSLDA social worker contact policy,” on page 37.



Staying in the lines

We began homeschooling in 1992 and were living in Florida at the time. Shortly thereafter, my stepfather, Bob, was involved in a civic project with one of my former high school teachers. In the years since my graduation, the teacher had moved up through the system and was now a middle school principal. He remembered me well. During one of their many conversations, Bob was inevita-bly asked, “What’s Diane doing these days?” He casually replied that I was teaching my children at home. Need-less to say, he was quickly bombarded with the usual questions about socialization, my qualifications, etc. Bob is very supportive of our homeschooling efforts and easily answered these questions. His answers must have caught the “educrat” off guard, because the man stewed for a moment, then fired back, “Well, where are they going to learn to stand in line?” Without missing a beat, Bob grinned and gave a suitable Mickey Mouse answer to this Mickey Mouse question. “Disney World,” he replied.“Where else?”

Diane L. | Shelton, CT



“This school official intimidated our member family based on a faulty understanding of the law,” Donnelly said. “I can understand why the family would give in—who wants to deal with that kind of pressure and intim-idation when a simple postcard can make it go away? However, this school official’s coercion was over the top and needed to be reprimanded.”

Donnelly wrote to the district’s superintendent:

The district’s use of pressure and intimidation on this family in light of the unlawful nature of your request bordered on bullying and was inap-propriate at best. The family deserves an apology, and I would ask that you revise your policies to properly reflect the law so that this doesn’t hap-pen to others in your district.

To the district’s credit, an apology was forthcoming.

The official admitted that she did not understand the law as it applied to 17-year-olds whose families had previous-ly notified the school district. She also apologized for her style of communication.

Unfortunately, this sort of unsettling and stressful interaction with school officials is all too common for homeschooling families. However, HSLDA members can contact our legal team at any time. HSLDA’s attor-neys and legal assistants—all homeschooling parents or graduates—are ready to respond on our members’ behalf.

If you or someone you know experiences this kind of aggressive communication from any government official regarding a homeschooling situation, please contact HSLDA immediately. The earlier our attorneys address a situation, the more likely it is to be resolved without court action.

School’s privacy violation puts kids at risk

A Home School Legal Defense Association member happened to be in Stoutland Elementary School re-

cently when she noticed that the names, addresses, ages, phone numbers, and grades of homeschooled students from Stoutland, Richland, and Lebanon—including two of her own children—were publicly posted on a wall in the office. Troubled by this disclosure of private information, she asked a school representative about it. The representative replied, “That’s just the way it’s always been done.”

The member contacted HSLDA for help.Next morning, HSLDA Senior Counsel Scott Wood-

ruff called the school office. The representative told Woodruff that the school board had discussed the issue at their meeting the previous night, and the list had been taken down. Woodruff asked the representative to assure

him that a list of homeschooled students would not be posted again, and she did.

We thank the school for promptly addressing this violation of homeschool-ing families’ privacy. That said, this episode is a good reminder that the wisest path under most circumstances is to give the public schools only such information as is absolutely necessary—usually, nothing.

The school’s actions are also a win for child safety. Privacy advocates encourage parents to protect their children’s information in all venues—even in what are considered secure environments, such as social networking websites.




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We thank the school for promptly addressing this violation of homeschooling families’ privacy.


District loses homeschool papers, threatens kids with public school

In early January, a Home School Legal Defense Associa-tion member family in the Berne-Knox-Westerlo Cen-

tral School District was surprised to receive a letter from their school district that contained an ominous warning. Dr. Timothy Mundell, the district superintendent, wrote: “I have the right to request that your children return to [public] school immediately.”

The reason for this threat? Missing paperwork.The superintendent claimed that after the district sent

the family a copy of the homeschool regulations and an individualized home instruction plan (IHIP) form in Sep-tember, they never received the required paperwork for the family’s two children. However, our member family had actually submitted their IHIP for both children back in Au-gust. They had also submitted all of the required quarterly reports as they had indicated they would in their IHIP.

Under New York law, parents can submit their IHIP by August 15 or within four weeks from the receipt of the packet from the school district, whichever comes later. In this situation our member took the initiative and submit-ted the IHIP even before they had received the packet.

When a parent submits the IHIP, the district has 10 business days to respond. In practice, however, it is not un-common for New York school districts to write back only when they believe an IHIP is not in compliance.

As a result, many homeschool parents have adopted the attitude that “no news is good news.” If two weeks pass after a parent submits his or her IHIP and there is no response from the local school district, this silence is reasonably assumed to mean the family’s paperwork was considered satisfactory.

After not hearing from their school district for over four months, our member family naturally concluded that the IHIPs for their children were in compliance. However, after receiving the letter from the superintendent, they re-

alized that the district had actually lost or misplaced their original IHIPs. The family immediately resubmitted them.

The superintendent wrote back a week later. He stated that the IHIPs were “deficient and must be revised” because they failed to provide “a list of syllabi, detailed curriculum materials, textbooks, and plans of instruction.” His letter gave the family 15 days to submit revisions.

While the family had listed their curriculum materials, which were primarily grade-appropriate Alpha & Omega LIFEPACs in various subjects, the family decided also to provide the scope and sequence for these materials.

Yet just a week later, the superintendent sent a third let-ter demanding that they turn over the LIFEPACs for both children so he could “see that the curriculum, syllabi, text-books, and plans for instruction meet the requirements.”

Recognizing that they had already provided more than was necessary under state regulations, the family contact-ed HSLDA for help.

Staff Attorney Tj Schmidt immediately sent a letter to the superintendent explaining that the family was in com-pliance with New York law.

Schmidt also pointed out that the superintendent had misstated state law several times. Homeschooling parents are not required to list “detailed curriculum materials,” just curriculum materials. More troubling was the fact that the superintendent substituted the word “and” instead of “or” into the regulations in his last two letters. This implied that a parent must submit all of this information instead of being able to choose between one of four options (syllabi, curriculum materials, textbooks, or a plan of instruction) for each subject.

Finally, Schmidt informed the superintendent that the district was actually in violation of the law, since the family had submitted their IHIP back in August. The first letter they received about their IHIP was well past the 10 busi-ness days the district has to object to an IHIP.

There is no excuse for a district to misplace or lose doc-uments that a parent submits. But it does occasionally hap-pen. That’s why we always recommend that a parent keep records of when and what required documents they submit to school officials. Some parents even send their documents




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via delivery confirmation or certified return receipt.We expect that our member family will have no further

difficulties—especially since there is no legal justification

for the superintendent’s demand in his last letter to review their curriculum. The family has since received confirma-tion that everything is in compliance.

Your son is sick? See you in court!

A boy’s prolonged illness began affecting his regular attendance at public school. Despite doctors’ notes

and notices from the boy’s mother verifying that he wasn’t playing hooky, the school attendance officer was skeptical and threatened the mother with truancy court.

That’s when the family decided homeschooling would be the best option for their son. It would allow them to

craft a custom-tailored education plan for him and lessen the negative effects of his illness. After some quick research online, the family joined Home School Legal Defense Association and received all the legal forms and informa-tion they needed to begin their homeschool journey—or so they thought.

The assistant principal was not satisfied with the family’s formal withdrawal notice and told the family they could not withdraw their son from school until they completed addi-tional requirements not authorized by North Carolina law.

The family immediately turned to HSLDA for help, and Daniel Beasley (HSLDA’s contact attorney for North

Carolina) wrote to the principal on their behalf. He explained that the family was in full compliance with North Carolina homeschool law and their son should

not be treated as absent.After receiving HSLDA’s correspondence, the principal

immediately allowed the family to begin homeschooling.The mother reports that that the transition has gone

smoothly and there have been no further problems.HSLDA routinely deals with overzealous school officials

who attempt to force their own flawed interpretation of state homeschool laws upon law-abiding families. We commend school officials like those in Union County, who change their approach when we inform them of the law.

Inflexible school shocked that homeschooled child is thriving

Mr. and Mrs. Kupper disagreed with public school officials over the best form of education for their son

with severe special needs. After a semester in the public




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Self-esteem spelling strikes again

Dear editor: This is the elementary school which my children would attend if they were not homeschooled.

Maria K. | Covina, CA




Send in your “A Contrario Sensu” for next issue! See page 22 for details.


school system, the Kuppers saw firsthand an increase in their son’s anxiety caused by public school attendance and the disruption to their son’s regular appointments with his counselor. The school was demanding that he skip certain appointments scheduled during school hours, which was damaging according to his professional therapist and the Kuppers’ observation.

Thus, the Kuppers decided to educate their son at home. They were already homeschooling two older children who were doing quite well, and they thought the flexibility of homeschooling would help their son excel.

School officials did not like the Kuppers’ decision to homeschool their son. They believed this 9-year-old would be better served in public school. And so they contacted the Department of Health and Human Services and argued that the Kuppers could not provide at home the same quality of education as the public school. What’s more, this report was made just days after the boy was withdrawn from public school, so they had no valid evidence to make this assertion.

Mr. and Mrs. Kupper promptly received a visit from a social worker who came into the home, talked with the children, and requested all kinds of detailed information about the Kuppers’ homeschool curriculum, schedule, and methodology. The Kuppers called the North Carolina Department of Nonpublic Education, confirmed their nonpublic school status, and were told that they met the legal requirements to homeschool. Armed with this infor-mation, they contacted the social worker’s supervisor.

“This is where we have a disagreement with the DNPE,” the supervisor said. “We feel we can request

additional information to verify the quality of your home education.”

A friend told the Kuppers about Home School Legal Defense Association, and they quickly applied for membership.

When the social worker showed up at the family’s residence a second time, HSLDA Staff Attorney Dan Beasley told the social worker over the phone that par-ents—not school officials—have the right to choose the best form of education for their children. He also explained that homeschooling allows parents to custom-tailor in-struction to meet each child’s individual needs, and studies show that homeschoolers generally excel academically.

The Kuppers were the wrong family to pick on. Their two older children, who were already being homeschooled, had recently achieved scores in the 99th and 96th percen-tile on a nationally norm-referenced standardized achieve-ment test—which Beasley announced to the social worker.

The social worker, to her credit, agreed that the family was within their legal rights. She indicated over the phone that she would respect the Kuppers’ right to choose to homeschool their son.

“These children appear to be thriving,” she said, and told Beasley that she planned to close the investigation.

HSLDA acknowledges that social workers serve an im-portant role in protecting innocent children from abuse and neglect. But we are passionately committed to defending the right of parents to choose the best form of education of their children. Time spent on cases like this would be better spent investigating credible allegations of abuse or neglect.

CPS wanted a do-over investi-gation; HSLDA stands firm

Child protective services wanted to re-investigate a homeschooling family because of an office mishap

regarding their case records. Our response? “Nice try.”

Our Texas member family had fully cooperated with the CPS investigation conducted after one of their children fell off a horse and broke his arm. The parents allowed the caseworker to see all their children and ver-ify that their environment was safe by walking through the house. The caseworker assured the parents that the report would be closed as unfounded.




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by DARREN A. JONES

Watch the Kuppers’ story: hslda.

org/Q216NC


Three weeks later, the family received a phone message from the local CPS office. The CPS official claimed that because the caseworker no longer worked for them and had left without leaving any notes regarding our mem-ber’s case, they would have to conduct the investigation again from the beginning. Our member offered to show CPS the video he took of the former caseworker walking through his house, but CPS refused and insisted that they would have to interview all the children and do another home inspection.

When the family called us the next day, Home School Legal Defense Association Staff Attorney Darren Jones immediately contacted the local CPS office. He recount-

ed the extensive cooperation that our member had al-ready exhibited, pointed out that it wasn’t our member’s fault that their caseworker had not finalized the paper-work for the case, and told CPS that the case should be immediately closed as unfounded.

Within days, the family received an official notification from CPS that the case had been determined “unfound-ed.” CPS said that no more interviews were necessary and that no further action would be taken.

“When I wrote CPS, they had already done their job of making sure that the child and his home environment were safe,” Jones said. “After they took a look at the facts, they realized that the case should be closed.”

Health, early education among top issues at 2016 legislature

With the deadline for a gubernatorial veto now passed (except for budget items), here’s a quick

wrap-up of homeschool issues in the General Assembly that just ended:

▶ H.B. 1342, which would have repealed the reli-gious exemption for vaccinations as well as the exemption based on the advice of one’s person-al physician, was soundly defeated. We want to thank the many families who responded to our requests for calls to oppose the bill.

▶ S.B. 432, which would have allowed teens to be placed in mental health facilities without parental consent, never made it out of committee. We op-posed this bill because it would have undermined the parent-child relationship.

▶ Two bills (H.B. 131 and S.B. 612), which would have given school boards the option of allowing homeschoolers to participate in public school sports and other interscholastic programs, were vetoed by the governor after they passed both

houses. The legislature failed to override the vetoes. We did not take a position on these bills.

▶ H.B. 259, which would have prevented the state bureaucracy from miring Virginia in the Com-mon Core morass without specific legislative approval, passed both houses strongly. The gov-ernor vetoed the bill, however, and a vote to over-ride the veto fell just two votes short.

Virginia was one of the handful of sensible states that did not join the rush to Common Core back when it was a big fad. Hopefully this bill will come back and be enacted when we have a gov-ernor who understands that it’s the legislature’s job to place boundaries on the bureaucrats. We supported this bill.

▶ H.B. 46, a bill to set up a committee to look for ways to expand the state’s footprint into the lives of families with toddlers, was enacted despite many families calling in response to our alerts asking them to urge its defeat. The committee will now exist.

Home School Legal Defense Association is con-cerned about this committee because of its very broad mandate. We will fight vigorously against any bills this committee churns out that would




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insert more government into the lives of families. Hopefully they will go down just like S.B. 540 this year—a bill which HSLDA opposed and which would have required school boards to make public education available to all 4- and 5-year-olds.

HSLDA opposes expanding public education to ever younger children for a number of reasons. It is expensive, hence the need for expanded fund-ing. It is also not educationally effective, and may even harm children in their academic and psycho-logical development. We also believe, based on our observation of how these laws develop, that expanding public education encourages lowering the age of compulsory attendance, which affects

privately schooled and homeschooled students.▶ The enactment of S.B. 780 allows parents to waive

the right to educational privacy. This privacy right was inserted into the law last year to protect home-schooling families. School boards, however, occa-sionally argue that hearings on religious exemp-tion requests should be held in secret. S.B. 780 will give families the power to waive their right to pri-vacy if they want their religious exemption process to be transparent before the community at large.

Your membership enables us to keep a close eye on the state legislature and work with other concerned homeschoolers to protect and advance homeschooling rights. Thank you for standing with us for freedom!

Homeschool law meets 21st century

On March 3, 2016, West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin signed into law the Homeschool Mod-

ernization Act (House Bill 4175). This bill passed both houses of the legislature with overwhelming support.

The law became effective May 23, well in advance of the June 30 date for submitting homeschool assessments to the local school district. With the changes made to the law, homeschooling families will only need to submit academic assessments for those students who are in 3rd, 5th, 8th, and 11th grades.

Delegate Brian Kurcaba and Senator Robert Karnes, both homeschooling parents, were the primary legis-lators who worked very hard over the past two years to move this legislation forward. CHEWV’s legislative liaison John Carey, the CHEWV board, and supporters from WVHEA also were involved to advance this legisla-tion. Enacting legislation of this magnitude is a signifi-cant undertaking that required the input of many people and Home School Legal Defense Association is pleased

to have been a part of this important project. Thank you for your diligent action throughout this legislative process. Together we will continue fighting to improve homeschool freedom in West Virginia! n



social service contact

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HSLDA social worker contact policy• We desire to advise our members in every contact with a social worker and/or police officer in investigations resulting from allegations of abuse or neglect. If homeschooling is an issue, we will represent our member families until the issue is resolved. On 4th Amendment unreasonable search and seizure issues, HSLDA will advise our members whenever the privacy of their home is violated by forced or coerced entry for the purpose of an unsubstantiated investigation. HSLDA membership benefits do not extend to court actions resulting from nonhomeschooling matters. However, in circumstances where there is a clear violation of the 4th Amend-ment, HSLDA may choose, as we have done in the past, to take the case in an effort to establish legal precedent.

GOVERNMENT CONTACT


Imagine, for a moment, that you have to move to New Jersey unexpectedly. You’ve been homeschooling comfortably and successfully with your current state’s laws,

and suddenly—in the midst of packing up every little thing you own and explaining this big change to your children—you realize you have no idea what homeschooling is going to be like in New Jersey. You rush over to hslda.org to pull up our legal analysis and are greeted by the words “Home School Statute: None.”

What? What does that even mean? After poring over two pages of information about court cases, rulings and required subjects, you still have no clear under-standing of what you need to do when you get to New Jersey. Thankfully, you’re an HSLDA member, so you call up our legal team and find out that you don’t need to tell anyone anything in order to homeschool

in New Jersey. You simply have to provide your chil-dren with an education at least as good as they would receive in the public school. You’re relieved, and return to packing.

A couple of years ago, our legal team got to thinking, “Wouldn’t it be better for our members, and for people considering homeschooling, if our online analyses of state homeschool laws were just easier to understand?” And so the Homeschooling 101 project was born.

We set to work revamping the legal analyses for all 50 states so that anyone visiting our website could easily understand what they had to do to start home-schooling their children. Today, if you look up your state’s laws at hslda.org/hs101 , you’ll be greeted by a cheerful header and the assurance that you’ll be walked through exactly what you need to do. Each state’s page also includes general information about how to

NOTES FOR MEMBERS

by ABBY RYAN

HSLDA Member-ship Coordinator

Homeschooling 101: Make sense of your state’s homeschool law

The future of America!

MAKE A DIFFERENCE WITH GENJ STUDENT ACTION TEAMS!This fall, HSLDA’s Generation Joshua will deploy hundreds of homeschooled teens to support pro-life, pro-homeschooling candidates across the country. If you want to be a part of this incredible volunteer opportunity, join GenJ and sign up for the Student Action Teams! generationjoshua.org/sat

39

withdraw from public school, and about recommended record keeping. And if you happen to want the more detailed information with statute numbers and case

law, don’t worry—our full legal analysis is still available to members in the sidebar.

So whether you’re moving to New Jersey or starting to homeschool

in New Mexico, we’ve got you covered. Don’t let confusing homeschool cases and statutes stop your kids from moving for-ward in their educational journey. Head on over to hslda.org/hs101 for a clear and easy-to- follow explanation of your state’s homeschool laws. n

My husband and I want to give our deep, heartfelt thanks to everyone at HSLDA who helped our son with his situation and for the letter you sent to the city on his behalf. In all the years that we were members of HSLDA while homeschooling our three children, we never had to contact you with any problems. Now, years later, God has used you to be a huge blessing to our son, and a huge encouragement to his dad and me.

Rose L.

Please don’t hesitate to contact HSLDA by calling 540- 338-5600 or emailing [email protected].

Hear about the growth of homeschool freedom and discover which states are best

and worst for homeschooling. Listen now at homeschool heartbeat.org/Q216states .

HSLDA revamped the legal analyses for each U.S. state and territory

50+

FROM OUR MEMBERS

Krisa Winn, I just wanted to thank you for spend-ing time and explaining various options for my son. After our conversation I felt a renewed strength. I appreciate all of the information that you have sent and recommended. Many blessings to you.

Estelle M.

HOME SCHOOL LEGAL DEFENSE ASSOCIATION | HSLDA.ORG

Carol Becker, you're a treasure of information. Thank you for being such an available resource.

Barbara M. Dear Tj Schmidt, Joel Fischer, and all the HSLDA staff: I have such gratitude for all of you. When I called for help to address the issues I was having, I was treated with respect and dignity, from the receptionist who answered my first call to my last conversation with Joel. All my questions were thoroughly answered and everything was handled in a way that gave me confidence that our rights as a family would be protected. We need you! Don’t stop what you’re doing. I am making sure to spread the word about who you are and what you do.

Rhonda D.

I just wanted to say thank you for your efforts on behalf of families. Our family was a member of HSLDA for 19 years. Knowing you were just a phone call away allowed us to relax and educate our five children, who have all graduated from college with honors. Thanks to all the HSLDA staff for caring and for their work to protect the rights of parents who want to homeschool.

Tracy B.

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HSLDA BLOG

by DAVE DENTEL

he competition was daunting. One young competitor had designed recipes used at the White

House. Another had already appeared on television with celebrity chef Rachael Ray. Yet another was the child of a Los Angeles actress. Claire said her initial thought was: “We’re up against some serious people here. They had a lot of experience we didn’t have.” But anxiety soon gave way to simply enjoying the moment. As Joshua puts it, “Most of the time I enjoyed making friends.” In between all the baking, that is. . . .

• Read more at: hslda.org/Q216cupcake

by DIANE KUMMER

ooking for book suggestions to keep your teen reading? Whether you have a teen who is a voracious reader or

one who is reluctant to pick up a book, you may be looking for book suggestions to keep your teen reading, especially during the summer months. These reading lists provide selections that introduce your teens to interesting ideas, characters, and plots. An added benefit of reading is that it helps students to become better writers. Your teens may enjoy chatting about the book, so consider reading some of the book selections along with them . . .

• Read more at: hslda.org/Q216teenreads

T L

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• Date: August 6, 2016• Cost: $40• Members: $30

• Juggling Life and Lesson Plans• Curriculum Options• Homeschooling for Special Needs Students• Exploring High School at Home• Exploring Preschool at Home

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For more than a quarter of a century, we have been putting our hearts into helping

you make your homeschool a place of wisdom, knowledge, and joy.

Check out materials homeschoolers like you have helped us provide. Come see

how we too treasure the blessings of godly learning at bjupresshomeschool.com.

by KRISTY HORNER

‘m going to admit that we have more than one of these devices per person in our house. . . . If your kids love

technology like mine and most of my friends, keep reading. This really could change the way you look at screen time! Earlier this year I discovered the Lego StoryStarter and StoryVisualizer and that was a massive hit. We incorporated Legos and technology into our Language Arts and never looked back. . . . I’ve found some apps that are beyond useful, affordable, and best of all, will keep you from feeling guilty on those extra hot or ultra-rainy days when you hand over that oh-so-desired device! You know the saying “all things in moderation,” right? . . .

• Read more at: hslda.org/Q216guiltfreeapps

by CAROLYN BALES

mall-space living changes how you homeschool. It’s a limitation—but, to my surprise, it’s also a catalyst for

creative education. Yes, you can teach in an apartment! I make educational choices based on how much specialized stuff it requires. We need some workbooks and paper goods, obviously, and a certain amount of tape, glue, and creative whatnot—but less than you might suppose. Here’s my delightful dozen tricks for teaching in a small apartment . . .

• Read more at: hslda.org/Q216smallspace

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A s you browse the internet, attend state conferences, or scan homeschool cata-logs, it can seem like every curriculum is amazing, and the plethora of choices

can be daunting. How can you find the best curriculum options for your high schooler?

When parents ask our opinions on the best curric-ulum, we tell them that some choices work better for certain learning styles, and other options better suit teens with different aptitudes. To find suitable curriculum for your student, we recommend that you first step back and look at the big picture of your teen’s high school plan. Before you choose your high school curriculum, invest some time determining what your teen’s post-graduation goals are, seeking career guidance to align your teen’s coursework to job-related skills, and evaluating your teen’s academic and study skills. Then use this overall plan to search for curriculum that meets your criteria.

n Planning your high school course of study

In many states, parents determine what courses and number of credits their teens should complete prior to receiving a homeschool diploma. Some parents use their state’s public high school graduation requirements as a helpful frame of reference when they develop their teens’ high school plans. As the homeschooling parent who will award your teen’s diploma, you determine the gradu-ation requirements for your student (in most states). We recommend that you start by investigating the following fundamentals:

▶ Understand the required subjects and hours of instruction listed in your state’s homeschool law.

▶ Develop a four-year plan for your teen.▶ Read up on common diploma questions.

HSLDA members can contact our education consul-tants or legal assistants by phone or email with specific questions.

n Career guidance Before you choose your teen’s high school curriculum,

it helps to have some idea of the career and job skills your

teen may need. Help your teen understand that the skills acquired in high school have a direct connection to his or her work after high school. Some occupations require col-lege degrees. Others require community college certifica-tion or specialized vocational training. With so many ca-reer options, we recommend using career aptitude testing to match your teen’s skills, interests, and personality traits with appropriate career paths. The information gained from a career interest test can help you and your student identify what high school courses are beneficial. Grades 9 and 10 are a good time for students to test the waters. When your teen reaches 11th grade, you will have a far clearer picture of his post-graduation plans and can make course adjustments as necessary.

n Consider your student’s interests and circumstances

Take time to figure out and work with your teen’s preferred style of learning and studying. One of the benefits of managing your teen’s lesson plans is that you can change them creatively to better suit your teen’s learning style. Look for curriculum that suits your teen’s strengths and doesn’t overly stress his learning challenges. Take time to develop your student’s ability to read, study, and master new

HIGH SCHOOL

Choosing curriculum: An action plan

by CAROL BECKER & DIANE KUMMER

HSLDA high school consultants

HOMESCHOOLING A HIGH SCHOOLER?

We can help! Member families may contact our high school consultants, Carol Becker and Diane Kummer, for advice on teaching teens. Call 540-338-5600 or visit hslda.org/contactstaff .

• Don’t forget to check out hslda.org/highschool for more helpful information—including articles and a blog!

• Visit hslda.org/hs101 for an easy-to-understand summary of your state’s law.

• For more guidance on developing your teen’s four-year plan, visit hslda.org/Q216plan .

• For a list of frequently asked questions about high school diplomas, visit hslda.org/Q216diploma .

WE’RE HERE FOR

YOU!


information, because this is an essential life skill.If your teen doesn’t see a connection between school

and life after graduation, then consider electives that build on your teen’s interests and abilities. These electives draw from the skills that parents, families, or friends can offer teens. Life-skill electives often don’t use formal curricu-lum, so there are no textbook assignments, tests, or quiz-zes. Instead, parents assign projects for teens to practice and demonstrate acquired skills. For example, entrepre-neurs need bookkeeping skills, budgeting skills, and lead-ership skills to make their vision successful. High school is a prime time to develop these important life skills.

Before you start selecting curriculum, you should also consider your reasons for homeschooling your teen. If you are helping your teen recover from a bad public

school experi-ence, consider

a curriculum that has a very differ-ent feel and structure

from his old

school;

this can give him a clean break with that bad experi-ence and let him rediscover his love of learning. If your student has a strong vision for specialized training after graduation, choose a curriculum that nurtures his aspi-rations. Not all curriculum providers cover a particular subject with the same level of rigor. Homeschooling allows you to match your curriculum choices to your teen’s goals and abilities.

n Finding curriculumEach year the number of publishers and companies

who offer homeschool curriculum grows, and the over-whelming options can create stress for families—espe-cially those who are new to homeschooling. As HSLDA’s educational consultants for high school, we talk to many parents who give us feedback on the pros and cons of various curriculum choices, and we use this information to help parents make more informed choices. We also research vendors to find new courses and materials that will serve the homeschool community.

HSLDA’s website lists a cross-section sampling of good curriculum options for parents as a place to start exploring:

▶ Complete homeschool curriculum providers: These publishers offer curriculum in a wide spec-trum of subject areas. You can purchase DVDs, lesson plans, textbooks, workbooks, reading material, tests, and answer keys. Using these mate-rials, you can teach concepts, assign coursework, and grade student’s efforts. You can choose cur-riculum from several providers or use the same provider for all subject areas.

▶ Individual subject curriculum suggestions in 42 subject areas, including core academic and elective courses.

To further narrow down curriculum choices, you can ask other parents for their recommendations. Be sure to ask pertinent questions such as:

▶ What do you specifically like or not like about the curriculum? Think about how the curriculum matches up with your objectives.▶ How much teacher preparation time does the curriculum require? Your responsibilities, fami-ly situation, and other time commitments may be different, so factor these into the equation.

▶ What are your teen’s academic strengths? Do the strengths of the curriculum match up with

How can you help your teen create a dynam-ic résumé? To learn about one crucial strate-

gy, listen now at homeschool heartbeat.org/Q216resumes .

HOMESCHOOLING A HIGH SCHOOLER?

We can help! Member families may contact our high school consultants, Carol Becker and Diane Kummer, for advice on teaching teens. Call 540-338-5600 or visit hslda.org/contactstaff .

• Don’t forget to check out hslda.org/highschool for more helpful information—including articles and a blog!

• Visit hslda.org/hs101 for an easy-to-understand summary of your state’s law.

• For more guidance on developing your teen’s four-year plan, visit hslda.org/Q216plan .

• For a list of frequently asked questions about high school diplomas, visit hslda.org/Q216diploma .

CAREER GUIDANCESee a list of aptitude test providers at hslda.org/Q216career .

STUDY SKILLSLearn more about developing study skills: hslda.org/Q216studyskills .

LIFE SKILLS Learn more about life skill elec-tives: hslda.org/Q216beyond academics .

WE’RE HERE FOR

YOU!

© ISTOCKPHOTO


your teen’s strengths? For example, a teen who has a high math aptitude and is headed towards an engineering degree would have different math curriculum requirements than a teen who plans to pursue cosmetology school after graduation.

▶ How much does the curriculum cost to use? A parent actually using the curriculum should be at-tuned to additional costs for science kits, supple-mental books, math manipulatives, calculators, or other tools that the curriculum may require.

n Outsourcing curriculum decisionsMany parents opt to use co-ops, online course provid-

ers, or community colleges to supplement parent-taught courses in high school. If you use these options, remem-ber that you may not be the one choosing the curricu-lum—that’s up to the course instructor. However, it is a good idea to investigate the curriculum chosen and become familiar with the course content. If an online course includes reading and analyzing 10 novels during the year and your teen is not an avid reader, you may want to choose a different option. If the online course has limited teacher interaction and your teen enjoys the give and take of discussions, consider another more engaging alternative.

For those courses you would rather not teach yourself, check out these options:

▶ Correspondence school providers: These schools offer a full set of high school courses. A correspondence teacher assigns lessons to stu-dents, who must return all completed assignments for grading. For an additional fee, the school will keep official transcript records and issue a diplo-ma when a student completes the school’s grad-uation requirements. To maintain the integrity

of an accredited diploma, students can only take courses that the school offers. Some families like the accountability of this type of homeschool program, while others chafe at the cost and lack of flexibility to design a custom high school plan.

▶ Online course providers: There are two main types of online courses. Real-time courses have actual class dates, times, and deadlines. Self-paced courses feature recorded lectures and allow students preset deadlines to complete all course-

work. Families must have the necessary technolo-gy: internet speed, data bandwidth, headphones, computer software, etc. to take advantage of online courses. Before registering for an online course, ask what tutoring resources are included (or are available for an extra fee) in case your teen needs that option.

Most homeschoolers use a cross section of curriculum

from the sources listed above. Take advantage of used curriculum sales or online used textbook websites to mitigate curriculum costs.

n Closing thoughtsAlthough internet chat groups offer much advice

relating to curriculum options, the cacophony of differing opinions can make your head spin. We suggest talking over your curriculum options with a spouse or close friend who knows you and your situation well and can make wise suggestions. Another option is to check out what curriculum experts are saying. Cathy Duffy is a well-respected reviewer of homeschool curric-ulum, and her online reviews (cathyduffyreviews.com ) as well as her book, 102 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum, provide valuable insight on many curricula. Finally, you can attend your state’s homeschool confer-ence to speak with vendors and sit in on vendor workshops to ask questions and receive tips for using curriculum more effectively.

Remember to base your curriculum choices on your teen’s needs and future plans as well as your time and cost limitations. And at the end of the day, choose the curriculum that works best for you and your teen. Enjoy the journey together! n

CURRICULUMSee HSLDA’s high school

curriculum list at hslda.org/

Q216curriculum .

Free high school curriculum

resources: hslda.org/Q216free .

subject areas of suggested curriculum are provided on HSLDA’s website.

42© BIGSTOCK


This January, Patrick Henry College, where I serve as Chancellor, won its ninth national Moot Court championship in 12 years. No other college has ever won more than one.

With this success comes the question: Why does PHC continue to do so well?

The answer lies in our holistic approach to education.

▶ Commitment as a teaching college Many of the faculty at famous universities are hired

and promoted on the basis of their publications and research, not on how well they engage and mentor their students through teaching. Real education is maximized when professors and students engage in active learn-ing. The way this impacts Moot Court is pretty easy to explain. The Duke and Virginia teams, for instance, are student-led, without a faculty coach. PHC—and all of our top competitors—have coaches.

▶ A comprehensive, 63-credit core curriculumTo promote academic rigor, we have a broad and truly

integrated core curriculum that immerses students in the finest traditions of the classical liberal arts. It allows our students to understand the meaning of freedom, the na-ture of man, and the rich history of Western Civilization. With this background, PHC students can enter any con-versation with boldness, confidence, and winsomeness.

▶ Attracting the nation’s top academic performersThe students who come to PHC also shape the school.

There is no doubt that the major reason we can not only win championships but also have four of the top eight teams in the nation is that PHC attracts really smart kids. When you practice with the best, iron sharpens iron.

▶ Practical learning through a unique apprenticeship program

Another factor to consider is PHC’s apprenticeship program. Our students gain real-world experi-ence in positions related to their course of study. These apprenticeships are a mandatory part of the PHC program, and more often than not, they lead directly to jobs.

▶ Striving to do all with excellence for ChristHowever, there is another factor I want to

mention that is best illustrated by a conversation I had with a competitor from another college during our Moot Court tournament. The young man said that he had heard that PHC was the team to beat, and he found that to be true. He had also heard that we comported ourselves like champions—but not in the haughty way he expected. He said that we simply demand excellence from ourselves, while treating everyone with kindness and respect.

That young man’s very gracious comments were more important to me than being handed the national champi-onship trophy.

Why did PHC students win this competitor’s respect? The answer comes from the fact that PHC is a place where everything we do is done for the glory of God. The faculty, staff, trustees, and students strive to love God with all their heart, soul, and mind. That formula, I believe, is the secret to our success. Coaching, faculty engagement, rigorous aca-demics, smart kids, a deliberate apprenticeship program—and all of it done for the glory of God!

You may find another college out there with one or more of these elements, but I truly believe that Patrick Henry College is the only place where you’ll find them all. n

PATRICK HENRY COLLEGE

Nine Moot Court wins in 12 years: Why?

by MICHAEL FARRIS

HSLDA Chairman and Patrick Henry College Chancellor Emeritus

This article was adapted from a Facebook post.

2016 Moot Court champions, freshmen Chris Baldacci and Caleb Engle.

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W ith nine children ranging from 1 to 20 and having homeschooled for over 13 years, Tracy and Rob Ayers of Wittman, Arizona, always had

more on their plate than the average family. However, the Ayers family received an unexpected blow

last fall when their youngest daughter, Willamena, was diagnosed with leukemia at 14 months of age. When they received the news, Rob was in the process of obtaining a new job opportunity, and the family had started selling household items in order to move. Deciding instead to stay in their current home, the family prepared for several years of clinic appointments, chemo infusions, and blood products that their little girl needed to get the leukemia into remission and complete her maintenance course of treatment.

And then tragedy struck again. Rob Ayers suffered a mas-sive heart attack in early December of 2015 and died just weeks after the family received Willa’s cancer diagnosis.

Overwhelmed and devastated, Tracy and her family now faced a future without the strength and leadership of their kind, loving husband and father. And amidst the emotional turmoil, Tracy also had to cope with the reality that their single-income family now had no income at all.

The Ayerses had no extended family in the area,

but many of their local friends stepped up and aided them in a variety of ways. “Without the prayers and support of other people,” Tracy shared in an interview with a local news station, “we would not be getting through this time.”

While they appreciated the local assistance that started to trickle in from friends and anonymous donors, their biggest obstacle was their lack of transportation. They had only one seven-passenger van and were down to one driv-er since their oldest child is not able to drive for medical reasons. As time passed, the Ayerses could not keep up with their loan payments on the van and it was repos-sessed. How would they now run essential errands, attend church, participate in co-op activities, or get Willa to her crucial, life-saving treatments? Tracy was overwhelmed, distraught, and without resources.

n Bridging the crisis gap It was about this time that the Home School Foundation

(HSF) entered the Ayerses’ life. Will Estrada, Director of Federal Relations for Home School Legal Defense Associa-tion, heard about the Ayerses’ troubles and sent a note to HSF Ambassador Program Coordinator Ricci Black.

“Our attorneys are always looking out for homeschooling families and taking a personal interest in their lives. The Ayers family came to HSF’s attention because

HSF ambassadors bridge the gap

HOME SCHOOL FOUNDATION


HSF Ambassador

ProgramThe HSF Ambassador program helped Tracy Ayers purchase needed transportation after the loss of her husband and her youngest daughter’s diagnosis of leukemia (upper right).

COURTESY OF THE FAMILY

by CAROL GARY

HSF State Ambassador

for Arizona


of Will’s caring, proac-tive action,” Black says. “When I learned of Tracy’s situation, I knew that Carol Gary, our Arizona State Ambassador, and her volunteer ambassador team would know just how to help this family—up-close and personal. Carol quickly reached out to Tracy, invested the time to thoroughly understand the Ayerses’ situation, and figured out their most pressing need.”

Carol learned that while a compassionate family at a local church had allowed her to temporarily borrow a 12-pas-senger van that they had for sale, Tracy needed to quickly figure out how she could manage to purchase it. Doing so would wipe out the family’s savings, and Social Security benefits would not be kicking in for a number of months.

“In such an extraordinary situation as this,” Carol says, “we seek to move swiftly at the local level to address an immediate need that can bridge the family through their time of crisis.”

Arizona has an amazing team of ambassadors that Carol coordinates. Due to the fundraising success of the annual curriculum sale that funds their local work all year long, the team was able to provide assistance almost immediately to help the Ayers family with transportation. The check was the largest State Ambassador Fund award ever given, and it helped to cover nearly 70 percent of the van’s cost.

Carol continues, “While we can never fill the void in Tracy’s heart over the loss of her dear husband or take her little one’s cancer away, we can help relieve some of the financial pressures that weigh upon her soul as she bravely struggles to take care of her family. We helped

her to purchase a much-needed van, but—even more significantly—our generous donors have really helped Tracy gain a greater sense of independence in her new journey as a single parent. She now has the freedom to pursue life with her children and a reliable way to

get her baby access to life-saving treatments.” “The man selling the van to us was sure some

money would come from somewhere,” Tracy tells Carol, “and I was too sick to worry about it!

Replying to your message was the only thing I managed to do. I never expected this, but I knew that God would work it out! I was so shocked by the news [that the funds were coming]! We truly appreciate it! Thank you, Carol, and thank you, HSF!”

n Paying it forward Since 2013, the local ambassador team under Carol’s

direction has aided over 40 families in need by using a variety of resources and solutions. Prolonged job losses, severe health situations, heartbreaking abandonment circumstances, ongoing special needs, and the sudden death of a spouse top the list of issues that the volunteer ambassadors in AZ have faced.

Having once been a recipient of HSF assistance, Carol has a particular heart to help families continue to homeschool through hard times. “When one endures a crisis,” Carol says, “there is incredible comfort in talking to another human who not only has had similar experi-ences but also has the means to help you see the light in a dark situation.”

Carol and her husband of 25 years, Grant, recall how difficult their own journey was from 2010 through 2012 as their oldest son, Evan, battled a rare and aggressive form of leukemia. The Garys continued to homeschool their three boys while obtaining needed treatments from four different internationally known medical institutions across the country, even living out of state for nine months.

“When all else was unknown, the reliability and flexi-bility of homeschooling was the one thing that everyone could count on as a constant,” Carol recounts. “Even though Evan ultimately passed away, the Lord provided a number of successful treatment bridges that enabled us to enjoy many more months together than we would have otherwise experienced. Homeschooling was a big part of that equation.”

Life continues to challenge both the Ayers and the Gary families, who must continue to adjust and cope in the months and years to come. Yet both mothers see how

God has faithfully guided them thus far, and know that He will continue to make a way for them now and in the lives of others they touch. n

Read the Gary family’s story and how they became HSF ambassa-dors: hslda.org/Q216gary

currently serve as HSF ambassadors in 38 states92

Learn more about becoming an ambassador: homeschool foundation.org/volunteer . Give to your state ambassador fund: homeschoolfoundation.org/SAFDonations .

COURTESY OF THE FAMILY

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