13 - HSLDA

Transcription

13 - HSLDA

HSLDA
®
THE HOME SCHOOL COURT REPORT
FIRST QUARTER 2016 | VOL. 32, NO. 1
Head Start
to where?
Research
casts doubt
on mandatory
preschool
Corporate
interest behind
Common Core 13
HSLDA
can save me
money? 32
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FIRST QUARTER 2016 | VOL. 32, NO. 1
HSLDA
®
n FEATURES
8 |COVER STORY | Head Start to where? Research casts doubt on
federal early childhood programs
Publisher HSLDA
Chairman Michael P. Farris, JD, LLM
President J. Michael Smith, Esq.
18 |SPECIAL FEATURE | Welcome (back) Dan Beasley!
Editor Suzanne Stephens
Assistant Editors Grace Matte, Peter
Schellhase, Jonathan Bales, Ethan Weitz
Graphic Designers Todd Metzgar, Keith
Ludlow
n COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS
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 20134
Shipping Address One Patrick Henry
Circle, Purcellville, VA 20132
Phone 540-338-5600
Fax 540-338-2733
Website hslda.org
Email courtreport@hslda.org
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 evaluate 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 540338-8605, visit hslda.org/ads, or email
ads@hslda.org.
4 |HSLDA STORE | High school transcript service + Student and
teacher photo IDs + Debate resources + 2016 graduation gear
6
6 |FROM THE PRESIDENT | Best time to learn? When your child
is ready!
13 |FEDERAL RELATIONS | When education is all about the money,
not the kids
13
16 |LITIGATION | Judge: Mother should keep kids (Minnesota—In
re: D Family) + Justice for homeschool mom (Pennsylvania— In re:
H Family)
21 |STATE HIGHLIGHTS | Alabama [21] + California [22] + Delaware,
Florida [23] + Indiana [24] + Kentucky [25] + New Jersey [26]
+ New York [27] + Oklahoma [28] + South Dakota [29] + Texas,
Virginia [30] + Wisconsin [31]
18
32 |NOTES FOR MEMBERS | A panoply of discounts for members
34 |TODDLERS TO TWEENS | Reading, writing, and listening—building
the foundation + Reading resources [35]
37 |SPECIAL NEEDS & STRUGGLING LEARNERS | Homeschooling:
Our wild ride + Meet Kristi Horner [38]
37
39 |HOME SCHOOL FOUNDATION | Beloved skeptics + What is HSF?
n AND THE REST
ABOUT
THE COVER
7 |ADVERTISERS INDEX
17 |ACTIVE CASES
21 |HSLDA MEMBERS’ LEGAL
There’s been
increased federal
and state pressure
for lower compulsory attendance
ages and early education programs.
INQUIRIES MAP
22 |A CONTRARIO SENSU
33 |FROM OUR MEMBERS
Thoughts on
this issue of the
Court Report?
Email courtreport
@hslda.org.
HOME SCHOOL LEGAL DEFENSE ASSOCIATION | HSLDA.ORG
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FROM THE PRESIDENT
Best time to learn? When your
child is ready!
A
s Will Estrada points out in this issue’s
cover story, pressure is mounting at
the federal, state, and local levels to provide more funding for early childhood
education. Although these programs would be voluntary,
the next obvious step is to mandate lower compulsory
attendance to ages 4, 3, and perhaps lower. This means
that taxpayers could be paying for “education” for children beginning almost at birth.
Every year, HSLDA fights the efforts of states to lower
their compulsory attendance ages. We don’t tell parents
how to teach their children or when they should start
by MIKE SMITH
formal education. Experience and research tell us that
HSLDA President many children are simply not ready for formal education
at age 5, 6, or even higher. However, we strongly believe
that parents should be able to decide when their child is
ready for formal education.
Our family began homeschooling because we experienced this issue of readiness firsthand. We went through
the disappointment, and even failure, of our decision to
pursue “the earlier the better” educational options for
our children. In the midst of trying to figure out what
to do about our failed choice, we heard a James Dobson radio program, Focus on the Family. The guests, Dr.
Raymond Moore and his wife Dorothy, had compiled
research regarding early childhood education. In their
research, they focused on how children learn best and
discussed the optimal age for formal learning. They also
addressed the question of whether a child’s learning
experience can be harmed by starting formal education
too early, especially in the area of reading. Elizabeth and
I look back to this program as a pivotal influence on our
choice to begin homeschooling our children.
Incidentally, when I’ve shared our experience with
homeschoolers across the country, I’ve found that many
pioneering homeschool families heard that same Dobson
radio interview. These folks, some of whom are homeschool leaders today, point to that program as the beginning of their journey into homeschooling. Certainly, that
interview helped to catapult the modern homeschool
movement into a new phase of nationwide growth.
The Moores’ work in early childhood education resulted in two books on the issue of readiness: School Can
6
Wait and Better Late than Early. When the couple started
their initial research, they were not interested in homeschooling. They simply wanted to explore the impact of
formal education on children in their early years.
I remember clearly what the Moores said that impacted
me that day. Rather than “the earlier the better,” they said
that starting formal education later was better for most
children. Their research demonstrated that many children
are harmed by early childhood education experiences.
And most children would be better off if they did not
start formal education until 7 or 8 years of age. They also
shared that, on average, boys tend to be two to three years
behind girls in their readiness for school. Ladies, the good
news is that we now know that between 45 and 50 years
of age, the little boys tend to catch up. ( Just kidding!)
The Moores also said that many of the
families who decided to delay their children’s formal education but used informal
education at home in the meantime continued to homeschool as the children grew
older. Because of the excellent education
and socialization they observed in these
families, the Moores became advocates for
homeschooling and convinced many families to teach their own children.
Here are some of the other facts and conclusions published in the Moores’ books:
▶
Research-based data suggests that,
Rather than
“the earlier
the better,”
the Moores’
research
demonstrated
that many
children are
harmed by
early childhood
education
experiences.
whenever possible, parents should be
their children’s only regular teachers or
caregivers until the child is at least 8 to
10 years of age.
▶Until he turns at least 8 or 9, a child’s
central nervous system may not be ready for the
sustained high cortical effort that enables him to
learn basic academic skills at a quality level.
▶Research demonstrates that normal children,
frustrated by their inability to read with understanding, often turn away from reading by grades
2, 3, or 4, and become apathetic toward school.
▶ One study supports the idea that delaying learning
until age 8 can greatly reduce reading disabilities.
▶A study by William Rohwer observed that the
earlier children go to school, the more negative
their attitudes towards schooling are.
▶Curriculum choices should be designed around
and support how the child learns best.
The Moores’ research is now older than the average
homeschooling parent, but recent data and research
continue to support their conclusions, as Will’s story in
this issue shows.
You have already made a smart choice to teach
your children at home. However, if you are having
trouble getting your youngsters interested in learning,
some of this may have to do with their age and maturity.
When we started homeschooling, the Moores’ books
helped us understand our children’s needs, gifts, readiness, and educational options. They may be helpful to
you as well.
Finally, let’s continue to remember that all of our
children are different and each one deserves an individualized education. What’s good for the goose may not be
good for the gander.
Happy homeschooling! n
ADVERTISERS INDEX
Advertising with us
CONTACT | Call Advertising at 540-338-8605, visit hslda.org/ads
or email ads@hslda.org.
,
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 issue
Evangelical Christian Credit Union............................................................ 40
HSLDA’s Generation Joshua........................................................................36
HSLDA’s Homeschool Heartbeat............................................................... 14
HSLDA Online Academy..............................................................................28
HSLDA Resources................................................................................ 5, 14, 32
Liberty University School of Law.................................................................13
Patrick Henry College.................................................................................. 27
Well Planned Gal........................................................................................... 2
7
COVER STORY
© ISTOCKPHOTO
Hea
ad Start to where?
Research casts doubt on federal
early childhood programs
I
t had been a long morning of testifying before
the United States House Education Committee
about a home visitation bill pending before Congress. Nearly all of the witnesses had urged Congress to approve H.R. 2343, the subtly-titled “Education
Begins At Home Act.” The bill proposed millions more
dollars of federal spending for parent training programs,
in which government workers would enter homes to offer
to train parents on how to care for their kids. My testimony alone urged the committee to reject the bill.
From the raised dais, California representative Lynn
Woolsey, a member of the committee, looked over her
reading glasses like Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada
and said, “Quality education, health care, [and] support
services for parents are such important programs. They
need to be expanded, and every child and every parent
needs to have access so that we can ensure that every
single one of these little kids that are born in the United
States of America has an opportunity to be successful.”
She paused, then—glaring directly at me—began a
severe cross-examination of HSLDA’s concerns with
home visitation programs that, in her opinion, were simply helping parents better raise their children.
Congresswoman Woolsey’s declaration is the rallying
cry for every local, state, and federal program that seeks
to institutionalize children at earlier and earlier ages. Kids
are too important for their education to be left up to parents, they say. They need government education, health
care, and support services to succeed.
Beneath this rallying cry lies a dark fact: many of those
who call for government early childhood education
programs simply do not trust parents. They believe that
parents are unable to raise, educate, or even care for their
children. And the explosion in growth of local, state, and
federal early childhood education programs is directly
related to this mistrust.
It’s important to say up front that HSLDA is not taking a
position on whether early childhood education is necessarily bad or good as such. Every child is different, and formal
learning readiness might be age 4 for one child and age 7
for another. What works well for one child may not work at
all for another child. We strongly believe that parents—not
government bureaucrats—are best suited to decide what
is best for their children, and so parents should have the
ability to choose whatever options work best for each child.
Furthermore, we have grave concerns about the growth
of government-funded and government-controlled early
childhood education programs.
by WILLIAM A.
ESTRADA
HSLDA Staff
Attorney and
Director of
Federal Relations
n The history of government
involvement in early education
Local and state government involvement in K–12
education has a long history, going back in the United
States all the way to the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the
“Old Deluder Satan” act of 1647. However, there was no
concerted push on early education until 1965. Indeed, the
compulsory attendance laws that came into vogue in the
early 20th century (against which parents fought back in
powerful cases like Pierce v. Society of Sisters that enshrined
parental rights) were just that: laws mandating that children over a certain age had to attend school. Most compulsory attendance laws did not take effect until age 8 or older.
That all changed in 1965, when Project Head Start was
launched as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great
Society” program. Head Start used federal tax dollars
to fund early childhood education programs. All of a
9
sudden, children began to be institutionalized into early
education programs at younger and younger ages.
n What’s wrong with federal early
education programs?
Not everyone agreed that the federal government
should pressure states to put children into early education. Dr. Raymond Moore wrote two books—Better Late
Than Early in 1975 and School Can Wait in 1979—warning parents about institutionalized early education. But
his was a lonely voice. More and more states chose to
institute early childhood education programs and lower
the age of compulsory attendance. Today, most states
require children to begin school at age 5 or 6.
It would be more difficult to oppose government involvement in early childhood education if the hard facts
showed that such programs are beneficial for children.
But amazingly, study after study has shown that young
children who are institutionalized at too early an age
suffer problems as they mature.
For an overview of the latest research, news, and legislation
on early childhood education, visit hslda.org/earlyed .
Recently a new study was released which, in an honest
world, would have spelled the beginning of the end of
government involvement in early childhood education.
The study was conducted by several researchers, including Jonathan Gruber, one of the so-called “architects” of
the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”). It was published
by the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and focused on the effects of a
government childcare program in Quebec, Canada. The
program, introduced in 1997, provides low-cost childcare
for children under age 5. The study found that young children who participated in the program suffered long-term
social and behavioral effects.
Looking at the program’s long-term effects, the study
found that for children of all ages, the program had a
lasting negative impact on non-cognitive skills, but no
uniform impact on cognitive skills.
Additionally, children who participated in the childcare program had significantly higher levels of anxiety
and aggression. These negative effects persisted into the
grade school years, and in many instances worsened as
children grew older. With regard to anxiety, the negative
impact was more than twice as great among 5- to 9-yearolds as among 2- to 3-year-olds, and aggression was 50%
greater. There was also a significant increase in hyperactivity among older children. And the study found that
children who had been in the childcare program were
10
less likely to get along with their teachers.
Once reaching the preteen and teen years, children who
had participated in the childcare program demonstrated a
worsening of self-reported satisfaction with life and health,
and a sharp increase in criminal behavior, compared to
their peers. Two measures of criminality were used: accusations and convictions. The researchers focused on four
crimes: personal, property, drug convictions, and other
criminal code convictions.
Those teens who had participated in the childcare program had higher differential crime rates at every age, and
showed a greater number of both accusations and convictions. The impact was largest in the “other criminal code
convictions” category. The criminal effects were especially
concentrated in boys.
The authors of the study concluded that it would take
further studies to determine whether or not the observed
negative impacts apply only to the Quebec program, or to
early childcare programs in general.
But these results are remarkably similar to the findings
of numerous studies that have been conducted on the U.S.
Head Start program over the years. Such studies have indicated that although children who participate in Head Start
may have a temporary advantage heading into kindergarten, that advantage evaporates by first grade, when children
who did not participate in Head Start perform at the same
level as Head Start participants.1 And where social development is concerned, teachers reported that children who
had participated in Head Start were less socially welladjusted than children who had not participated in it.2
A study released by the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services in October 2012 said, “Looking across
the full study period, from the beginning of Head Start
through 3rd grade, the evidence is clear that access to
Head Start . . . had few impacts on children in kindergarten through 3rd grade. . . . In summary, there were initial
positive impacts from having access to Head Start, but by
the end of 3rd grade there were very few impacts found
for either cohort in any of the four domains of cognitive,
social-emotional, health and parenting practices. The few
impacts that were found did not show a clear pattern of
favorable or unfavorable impacts for children.”3
n Educational experts
oppose mandatory preschool
Edward Zigler, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Yale University and the first administrator of Head
Start, is a strong supporter of government preschool
programs. Yet he understands that preschool is an option
that should be left to the discretion of parents.
D START
© OFFICE OF HEA
1965
Project Head Start was launched as part of
President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” program.
“Most two-year-olds, and indeed, many threes, simply
are not ready for formal schooling,” Zigler writes. “In the
normal course of development, the physical, cognitive,
and emotional skills necessary for school emerge at various rates and times in each child. The child who has not
yet achieved one developmental activity or another will be
disadvantaged by premature school entry. Children whose
first exposure to school brings negative experiences may
be doomed to a negative—and lasting—attitude toward
education. It is best to make school for such young children a voluntary matter to be chosen when parents and
educators agree that it is in a child’s best interests.”
Zigler continues, “Another fact that speaks strongly for
voluntary preschool is the importance of parental cooperation and participation. The literature is very clear that
effective preschool programs feature a strong partnership
with parents. Forcing them to put their very young children
into classrooms is not the way to start a partnership. This is
particularly true among parents who have low educational
achievement and bad memories of their own school years.
If they’re invited rather than forced rather into their child’s
schooling, they are more likely to become invested in their
child’s learning in preschool and later grades.”4
It is also important to consider the examples of Georgia
and Oklahoma. Although Georgia has offered universal
preschool since 1993 and Oklahoma since 1998, there
has been no improvement in academic achievement in
either state since the program began, according to the
National Assessment of Education Progress. In fact, Oklahoma has seen its scores drop.5
In their book From Neurons to Neighborhoods, psychologists Jack Shonkoff and Deborah Phillip say quality of
education, not how soon it begins, should be the emphasis, and it is not necessary to educate children as young as
preschool age: “Assertions that the die has been cast by the
time the child enters school are not supported by neuroscience evidence and can create unwarranted pessimism
about the potential efficacy of interventions that are initiated after the preschool years.”6
These studies further demonstrate the potential harm
posed by government-mandated preschool. Although many
working parents find it necessary to put their children in
preschool or daycare, no parent should be required to do so.
n Parents are better than programs
When taken together with the success of all models
of homeschooling—from unschooling to rigidly
curriculum-based homeschooling, and everything in
between—all this research yields a clear conclusion:
every child is different. Parents know what is best for their
children, and the beauty of homeschooling is it allows
them to tailor their instruction method to each child. The
growth of ever more institutionalized, highly regulated
education is hurting our children. They are losing the
ability to play, to explore, and to learn.
This should be common sense. Politicians across the political spectrum should be able to agree on these facts. But
tragically, both Republicans and Democrats at the federal,
state, and local levels continue instead to push for increased
government involvement in early childhood education.
» continue reading on page 12
FOOTNOTES
HeadStart Impact Study Final Report (2010) http://www.acf.hhs.gov/
sites/default/files/opre/ hs_impact_study_final.pdf p. 3–51
1
2
Ibid, p. 5–3
Michael Puma Et Al., Office Of Planning, Research, & Evaluation, Third
Grade Follow-Up To The Head Start Impact Study Final Report: Executive
Summary iv-v (2012) available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/
files/opre/head_start_executive_summary.pdf
3
Scott Woodruff, Woodruff Letter to Councilman Chavous on Mandatory
Pre-school (2002) http://www.hslda.org/ hs/state/dc/200207180.asp
4
Lindsey M. Burke, The Heritage Foundation, “Does Universal Preschool
Improve Learning? Lessons from Georgia and Oklahoma 1” (2009), available at
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2009/05/does-universalpreschool-improve-learning-lessons-from-georgia-and-oklahoma?ac=1
5
Jack Shonkoff and Deborah Phillips, ed., From Neurons to Neighborhoods:
The Science of Early Childhood Development, National Academy Press,
2000, p. 216
6
11
n What does the future hold?
The good news, if any, is that all of these government
early education programs are voluntary—at least for now.
HSLDA is concerned that government officials may coerce
or pressure families into being involved in home visitation
programs, or other government programs, but the law is
clear: these are all voluntary programs. We remain committed to defending any HSLDA member family who is ever
being pressured to accept government help.
Our concerns for the future are twofold. First, we are
deeply worried that as these programs expand at the fed-
12
TOC
K
© IS
HSLDA and other organizations had long been successful in stopping the federal government from getting
involved in home visitation programs. That all changed
when Congress passed the Affordable Care Act in 2010.
Tucked into the massive bill was a provision called the
Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting
program. This program is aimed at providing federal funds
to states so that they can send social workers into homes to
teach parents how to raise their babies. Forget the village—
does it really take a nation to raise a child?
Since 2010, there has been a radical expansion of federal
involvement in early childhood education, home visiting
programs, and other efforts that target families from the
moment a child is born. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services began finalizing a draft policy statement
on “family engagement from the early years to the early
grades.”
Here’s how the draft policy statement described its purpose: “We refer to ‘family engagement’ as the systematic
inclusion of families as partners in children’s development,
learning, and wellness. Engagement is enabled by positive
relationships between families and staff in the institutions
where children learn. The goal of family engagement is
to support family wellness and children’s learning and
development.”
Further on, the draft policy statement says this: “It is the
position of the Departments that all early childhood programs and schools recognize families as equal partners.”
How is it possible to talk about “including families
as partners” in an activity which is the responsibility
of parents to begin with? When families and parents
are reduced to mere “equal partners” with government
agencies, schools, and institutions, it threatens parental
rights. And that is why we are so deeply concerned about
the march toward more government involvement in early
childhood education.
PHO
TO
n Home visitation under Obamacare
Parents—not government
bureaucrats—are best
suited to decide what is
best for their children.
eral, state, and local levels, there will be increased pressure
to lower the age of compulsory attendance to age 4, 3, or
even lower.
Every year, HSLDA fights to defeat attempts in numerous states to lower the age of compulsory attendance. In
2015, we helped to persuade California Governor Jerry
Brown to veto A.B. 1444, a bill which would have mandated that every child attend kindergarten, effectively lowering
the compulsory attendance age from 6 to 5 in California.
Your membership in HSLDA enables us to partner
with state and local homeschool support groups in all
U.S. states and territories to defeat attempts to lower the
age of compulsory attendance and increase government
control over children at ever younger ages.
Our second concern is that federal, state, and local
policymakers will try to make home visitation and early
childhood education programs mandatory. This hasn’t
happened yet. But it behooves us to continue to educate
parents and policymakers about the problems with this
kind of governmental intervention, and to closely watch
what policies are being drafted.
Some homeschooling parents may decide that their
children will benefit from a home visitation program or a
government-funded early childhood education program.
Other parents may decide an early childhood education
program is beneficial for their children, but choose to
only use a private program and pay for it themselves. Still
other parents may decide that they are best equipped
to provide all of their children’s care. Regardless, these
parents know their children best, and they, not “equal
partners” in the form of government officials, should be
the ones who make that decision. n
FEDERAL RELATIONS
When education is all about
the money, not the kids
W
ith the release of journalist James
O’Keefe’s startling undercover
video in January, concerns over
Common Core’s true intentions are
adding fuel to the already controversial national debate
on education. The video featured a prominent publishing
executive claiming to “hate kids” and declaring Common
Core to be a moneymaking scheme.
“What, are you crazy? It’s all about the money,”
Houghton-Mifflin account manager Diane Barrow
exclaimed in front of hidden cameras. Then, out of the
blue, she made a jab at homeschooling parents: “Homeschoolers, I’m sorry, did you go to school to be a teacher?
Then don’t teach your kids.”
Understandably, the video ignited a firestorm of controversy amongst parents nationwide, as they recoiled at
the idea that their child’s classroom is an experimental
lab for corporate interests. Corporate lobbyists have tremendous power to shape federal education policy—but
what will this mean for the future of children across the
country?
n New books, new tests, new profits
It’s no secret that educational corporations are
profiting heavily from the Common Core. Originally,
all but five states adopted the new standards, creating
an almost nationwide demand for required “Common
Core–aligned” curricula as well as assessment materials.
Now, hoping to surpass their current $9 billion revenue
stream, big educational publishers—such as Pearson,
CTB/McGraw-Hill, and Houghton-Mifflin—are looking
to partner with local and state governments to provide
massive quantities of new textbooks and other materials
to classrooms within their jurisdictions.
by LAUREN
MITCHELL
HSLDA Federal
Relations legislative
assistant and a
senior at Patrick
Henry College
13
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In New York, for example, Pearson has a $32 million
contract to administer “testing services” through the
state education department, as well as five other Race
to the Top contracts. This positions Pearson as the main
provider in the Empire State of assessments to measure
Common Core’s “college- and career-ready” standards.
The company has bragged to investors that its partnership
with PARCC (a Common Core consortium) earned
Pearson a contract to help deliver Common Core tests to
over 23 states, and that it expects to expand with further
reforms.1
With the sole claim that their curricula are “Common
Core–aligned,” these companies are making millions in
new profits, even when their rebranded curriculum is
virtually identical to the previous non-aligned editions.
A study by William Schmidt, professor of education at
Michigan State University, found that over 700 textbooks used by over 60% of children in the United States
were hardly changed at all in the new Common Core
alignment versions.2 In other similar
For more information
studies, experts found that the “Newly
Common Core, pleas
Aligned for Common Core” sticker simply meant a new look for the textbook,
rather than new and improved content. What does this
mean for children across America? For many, it means
that their families are paying millions for nothing at all.
The realization that new standards and assessments for
students equal new profits has prompted Pearson to also
create a new set of assessments for teachers. Their new
edTPA tests have been adopted by seven states so far
and other states are apt to follow. By spending millions
of dollars in lobbying over the past several years, Pearson and other educational corporations have effectively
bought policies that favor their own profits—essentially
turning education policy into an investment for big
publishing.
n Following the money trail
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has long been
known for its aggressive education reform agenda that
focuses on collecting detailed student data. The foundation poured millions of dollars into the creation of
the Common Core, beginning in 2007 when it gave $27
million to the NGA (National Governors Association),
CCSSO (Council of Chief State School Officials), and
Achieve (an organization founded in 1996 by a group
of corporate leaders to push policy reform through the
states) to help develop and advance common state standards and student data systems.3 The Gates Foundation
continued its involvement in education policy by giving
Big publishers and corporate
interests shouldn’t profit from
your hard-earned tax dollars—and
lobbyists shouldn’t control what
your child learns.
over $12 million to CCSSO in
2009 and $2.1 million to NGA
from 2009 to 2011.4 NGA and
CCSSO partnered in June 2009
to begin drafting the Common
Core State Standards, and
Achieve evaluated and promoted
the standards.5
As Common
Core’s key financier,
the Gates Foundation has millions of
dollars at stake in
Common Core testing technology and
computers. Microsoft’s
website urges schools
to “migrate to the
new Windows as soon
n about how you can help stop the
se visit hslda.org/commoncore .
as possible,” citing
statistics from Smarter
Balanced, a Common Core
consortium.6
n It’s
time for answers
FOOTNOTES
Pearson PLC, For Traders, 2013, accessed April 14, 2016, www.4-traders
.com/PEARSON-PLC-4000637/news/Pearson-plc-Pearson-2012-results16297110/
1
©
HS
A
LD
/G
EN
NY
C
RI
HA
RD
SO
N
The undercover video demonstrates why Common
Core isn’t working: corporate interest, not the child’s
interest, is driving its approach to education policy.
Parents across the country are realizing this, which
has made the anti-Common Core movement one
of the fastest-growing grassroots efforts in the United
States, with almost a quarter million students opting
out of assessments in the state of California alone,
and another quarter million students expected to stage
protests in New York. States are dropping out of the
Common Core tests left and right, halving consortia
participation.
With policymakers waking up to the truth, now is
the time to reject Common Core and demand answers
from politicians in Washington. Big publishers and
corporate interests shouldn’t profit from your hardearned tax dollars—and lobbyists shouldn’t control
what your child learns. n
“Research Questions Common-Core Claims by Publishers,” Education Week,
March 3, 2014, accessed April 4, 2016, www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/
03/05/23textbooks_ep.h33.html?intc=mvs
2
Emmett McGroarty and Jane Robbins, “Controlling Education from the
Top: Why Common Core Is Bad for America,” A Pioneer Institute White Paper
no. 87 (May 2012): 4.
3
See Council of Chief State School Officers, Financial Statements: Years Ended
June 30, 2010 and 2009 (McLean: Goodman and Company, 2010), 11, accessed
June 8, 2013, www.ccsso.org/Documents/2010/financials/CCSSO_financial
_statements_FY2010.pdf ; “Awarded Grants,” Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation, accessed June 8, 2013, www.gatesfoundation.org/How-WeWork/Quick-Links/Grants-Database#q/k=national%20governors%20
association
4
This paragraph is adapted from an article on HSLDA’s Common Core
microsite, “What is the Common Core?” accessed April 14, 2016, www.hslda.
org/commoncore/Topic1.aspx
5
Valerie Strauss, “How Microsoft will make money from Common Core
(despite what Bill Gates said),” The Washington Post, July 12, 2014, accessed
April 14, 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/
07/12/how-microsoft-will-make-money-from-common-core-despitewhat-bill-gates-said/
6
15
LITIGATION
Judge: Mother should keep kids
A
Minnesota social services investigator
pursued a groundless allegation of educational neglect to an extreme conclusion—petitioning a court to remove two
by DARREN homeschooled children from their mother.
A. JONES
The ordeal began when the mother received a phone
call from the investigator, who wanted to come to her
house and privately interview each of her children, based
only on a tip that the kids weren’t in school. The mother
contacted Home School Legal Defense Association for
advice. Staff Attorney Tj Schmidt contacted the social
worker concerning the mother’s compliance with the law.
Sure enough, her homeschool paperwork had been correctly filed and acknowledged by the local school district.
There were two problems with the allegations. First, one
of the children was not even required to be in school yet,
and the other had just reached the compulsory attendance
age. Second, initial homeschool reports aren’t due until
October 1.
On HSLDA’s advice, the mother consented to a meeting
three days later. She spoke with the investigator outside
her home, allowed the investigator to speak with her
children but not interview them privately, and showed her
homeschool paperwork and curriculum outline.
But after leaving the meeting, the social services investigator filed a petition the same day to take the children
away from their mother.
© BIGSTOCK
MINNESOTA
When the family received the
Case: In re: D Family
summons to appear in court, HSLDA Filed: October 13, 2015
immediately arranged for an attorney
to represent them at their court hearing in October. At
that hearing, the judge ruled that the children should stay
in their mother’s custody—but instead of just dismissing
the case, he set another hearing for November.
With HSLDA’s help, the mother met with another
investigator who was willing to listen. She demonstrated
again that she had met all the state requirements for education. Before the next hearing, the department asked the
court to dismiss the case. Based on this request, the judge
dismissed the case and canceled the November hearing. n
Justice for homeschool mom
W
hen is a non-homeschooler still a
homeschooler? According to one
public school district in Pennsylvania, whether you are currently
by DARREN homeschooling is not as important as whether officials
A. JONES want to charge you with truancy.
This odd interpretation arose recently when HSLDA
successfully defended a member in court.
A single mother had fought with the local public school
for years, trying to get proper services for her gifted and
special needs sons. In the fall of 2014, she finally decided
to try homeschooling her sons, so that she could give them
the individual attention they needed. HSLDA assisted
16
PENNSYLVANIA
her in filing the extra paperwork that
Pennsylvania law requires for homesCase: In re: H Family
chooling special needs students, and
Filed: October 2, 2015
she began homeschooling her sons.
In February 2015, the homeschooling mother found a
local charter school that would both allow her to continue teaching her sons at home and provide the services
that she had begged her local public school for. Thrilled
with getting what she believed to be the best of both
worlds, our member enrolled her sons. She showed the
charter school evidence of work they had completed in
the months of homeschooling, and the boys began their
new regimen.
The judge asked, “Did you
ever call for a school board
hearing when you didn’t get
an evaluation?”
The district representative
sheepishly admitted he had not.
ACTIVE CASES
ALASKA | D Family v. Social Security Administration | J Family v. Social
Security Administration
But the school district did not want to give up so easily.
At the end of the school year, even though the boys had
been in a public charter school for four months, the
school district wrote a letter demanding that the mother
comply with the homeschool law and submit an evaluator’s report documenting their homeschooling progress.
When she chose not to do so, since the boys were now
public school students, the school district filed truancy
charges against her.
HSLDA represented the mother in court, since the
charges were based exclusively on the time that she was
homeschooling. At the trial, the school district representative told the judge that even though the boys were in school
now, “she can’t get away with not filing an evaluation!”
Our local counsel pointed out that Pennsylvania’s
homeschool law requires school districts to set a hearing
before the local school board if they are unsatisfied with the
evaluation, rather than jumping right to truancy charges.
He handed the judge a copy of the homeschool law with
the administrative procedure highlighted.
Turning to the school district representative, the judge
asked, “Did you ever call for a school board hearing when
you didn’t get an evaluation?”
The district representative sheepishly admitted he
had not.
“Well, the law requires it,” stated the judge. “I’m finding
her not guilty!”
Outside the courtroom afterwards, the school district
representative complained angrily to his attorney about the
result. Our member, though, was delighted, as she and her
boys left the courtroom to continue their schoolwork at
home for the rest of the day. n
ARKANSAS | R Family v. Department of Veterans Affairs | S Family
v. Social Security Administration | State of Arkansas v. W Family | In re:
W Family
CALIFORNIA | Wilson, et al. v. Russo et al.
GEORGIA | C Family v. Social Security Administration | D Family v. Social
Security Administration | K Family v. Social Security Administration
ILLINOIS | In re: H Family
MICHIGAN | D Family v. Social Security Administration | D Family v. Social
Security Administration | S Family v. Social Security Administration
MISSOURI | In re: M Family
MONTANA | A Family v. Social Security Administration
NEW YORK | Batt v. Buccilli
OHIO | B Family v. Social Security Administration | State of Ohio v.
B Family | State of Ohio v. B Family
OREGON | W Family v. Social Security Administration
PENNSYLVANIA | Ferris v. Hershey Medical Center
SOUTH CAROLINA | C Family v. River Bluff High School | S Family v.
Social Security Administration
TENNESSEE | 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
WEST VIRGINIA | C Family v. Social Security Administration
WISCONSIN | In re: K Family
17
SPECIAL FEATURE
WELCOME (back)
DAN BEASLEY!
H
an interview by Peter Schellhase for the Court Report
COURTESY OF THE FAMILY
SLDA welcomes our new
staff attorney Dan Beasley,
who joined our legal team
in December 2015. Dan
is a homeschool graduate, just like Darren
Jones, Tj Schmidt, Will Estrada, and Peter
Kamakawiwoole, and he is now HSLDA’s
fifth homeschooled attorney. Coincidentally, Beasley has the same initials as the
attorney he was hired to replace, Dewitt
T. Black, who retired in January. Although
Black is fondly missed, having the same
initials was not a prerequisite for the job.
We sat down with Beasley to ask a few
questions about him and his family, his homeschool
experience growing up, and what it feels like to be back
at HSLDA.
What have the first few weeks at HSLDA
been like?
So far so good! It’s great to be back and see a lot of
familiar faces, as well as some new ones. I’m definitely
excited about working here!
This isn’t your first time working at HSLDA.
Tell us about your first job here.
I was on the other side of the hall, working as a legal
assistant. It was great because I was in law school at the
time, and I was able to study law and then see it in practice. I learned so much working for Mike Donnelly—
seeing how he handled school officials, negotiated, and
wrote and edited letters. It was incredibly helpful, and a
18
lot of that practical experience translated
into my time practicing law in Milwaukee.
What are some of the top lessons
about being a lawyer that you
learned from Mike Donnelly?
A big lesson I learned is how to handle
adversarial contacts. Mike is very good at
being friendly and cordial yet very firm
at the same time. I would get to listen to
a lot of his phone calls, and a lot of what
I saw I later applied in private practice,
when I would negotiate with other attorneys. There’s a way to be friendly and polite and try to
be on the same team with the opposing attorney even
though you have very different views on the particular
issue at hand. Mike is very confident. He is an incredible advocate, very zealous for our members.
Tell us a bit about how you got here.
As a junior and senior in high school I took college
classes from a local community college, and in the fall
semester after I graduated from high school, I started law
school. Then, a year later, I started working for HSLDA
as a legal assistant.
So you were working here at HSLDA while
you were studying law?
I worked here for four years, from July 2008 to June
2012. I started a week before finals, actually—one of the
most stressful weeks of my life! It was pretty hectic, but I
made it through.
What did you do after you moved on from
HSLDA in 2012?
When I finished law school, I moved to Milwaukee
and took a job with the DeLadurantey law office as an
associate attorney. The firm handles a variety of civil
cases—primarily bankruptcy and foreclosure—as well
as miscellaneous civil practice. When I got there I was
working almost exclusively in bankruptcy. Later I started
to work on more foreclosure cases, and eventually I had a
caseload of about 250–300 cases, most of them transactional bankruptcy cases. A couple years later I was put in
charge of managing the business operations of the firm
(a fairly small firm—about four attorneys and several
office staff), as well as all the bankruptcy, foreclosure,
and mediation cases. I also assisted with some of the
litigation in a limited role.
I loved being homeschooled. I’m grateful to my parents for the sacrifice and investment they made in my
education. I was the third of nine, so I have two older
brothers, two younger sisters, and four younger brothers. We were all homeschooled. My oldest brother is an
engineer. He’s very good at math—sometimes he would
tutor me! My next-oldest brother is a big reader—more
into history, so I had helpful conversations with him, too.
My whole family is very diverse with lots of different interests, but I just loved growing up with them, and being
homeschooled allowed me to spend a lot more time with
my siblings. I’d say they’re still my best friends today,
aside from my wife, Bethany.
My brothers and I would engage in all sorts of competition—almost any sport you can think of—basketball,
football, baseball, Ping-Pong, Foosball. We also love
board games. Settlers of Catan is probably my favorite,
but my family also played a lot of Monopoly growing up.
In general, when it comes to hobbies, for me it’s not so
much about what I’m doing as it is about who I’m doing
it with.
Do you still play any sports?
Yes, I try to keep a good balance, but I play basketball
primarily—I used to play competitively in junior high
and high school, and now I play recreationally. I also
Homeschool graduates themselves,
Dan and Bethany
Beasley plan to
homeschool their
children Arianna (4)
and Caden (2).
enjoy ultimate Frisbee, football, racquetball,
softball—almost anything involving competition.
Last year and the year before I participated
in Relay Iowa, which is a 339-mile run across
the state of Iowa. I didn’t run that all myself—I ran with
a team of 12 including a couple of my brothers, which
was a lot of fun. We would run 3–5 mile increments and
rest in between while a teammate ran.
With you joining the ranks of the attorneys
here at HSLDA, we now have five lawyers
who are homeschool graduates. What was
your homeschool experience like?
Speaking of family, do you and Bethany
have any children?
Yes, our daughter Arianna is 4 and our son Caden is 2.
I guess at those ages you wouldn’t be
“homeschooling” proper; is that something you’re looking toward in the future?
Yes, we’re definitely planning on homeschooling
them. We’ve begun teaching Arianna some, certainly
not anything too regimented or too academic at this
time, but she’s learning her letters and she knows all her
colors—actually she knows the whole alphabet and is
beginning to read. She’s a huge bookworm. My wife is
also a homeschool graduate and a big reader and it looks
like she’s passed that along to our daughter. One time we
caught Ari on video “reading” the dictionary. Bethany
and I spend quite a lot of time reading to her and she
19
remembers a lot and loves reading, so we’re certainly not
going to hold her back.
Our son is more hands-on. He’s fascinated with climbing and moving in general.
How do you think the landscape of homeschooling has changed since you were a
student, and how has it remained the same?
Alabama
Alaska
Arkansas
Delaware
Georgia
Mississippi
Montana
Nebraska
North Carolina
North Dakota
Pennsylvania
Washington, DC
Wisconsin
Wyoming
20
DAN BEASLEY
IS HSLDA’S
CONTACT
ATTORNEY FOR:
Well it’s certainly grown a lot. It’s been cool to see the
growth in my own life over the last two decades. When
I was young and people found out I was homeschooled,
they’d have all sorts of weird questions and odd looks:
“Oh, so do you do school in your pajamas? Do you
have any friends?” Now, if I’m traveling somewhere and
the person next to me on the plane finds out that I’m
homeschooled, it’s no big deal. They always know somebody—a neighbor or friend, or a brother, or a dog—
who’s being homeschooled. It’s becoming normal. When
I was young, there weren’t as many of us, but now there
are so many people doing it for a variety of reasons.
The other thing that’s changed is the amount of resources available. As a junior and senior in high school I
was able to take classes from a local community college, but my younger siblings who are still in school are
taking even more courses through a homeschool co-op.
The primary education is still being done at home and
directed by my parents of course, but there are a lot more
resources available to help supplement the education
that’s taking place at home.
As far as what remains the same, I think homeschooling still provides parents with the ability to create or craft
an education plan for each child that meets each child’s
individual needs. They can custom-tailor the program of
instruction to meet the child’s interests and skill levels
in different activities. I saw this with my own brothers
and sisters as well. In high school I took an interest in
law, so my education looked different from that of my
older brother, who went on to become an engineer. He
was taking calculus and very advanced math. I took a fair
amount of math, but once I realized it wasn’t going to be
a real focus in my career path, my parents and I were able
to adjust my education plan and incorporate things that
would better fit with my career choices and my interests.
The other thing that hasn’t changed with homeschooling is that it is, I think, one of the best ways for Christian
parents to share their faith in Jesus Christ with their
children and give them a day-to-day vision for the kind
of people they should become—people who express
kindness, compassion, faithfulness, graciousness, and
self-regulation in their
interactions with their
family and their world.
For Bethany and me,
we want our children
to become the kind of
people who exemplify
what Jesus summarized
as the two greatest
commandments in all
of the Bible: “Love the
Lord your God with
all your heart and with
all your soul and with
all your mind,” and
“Love your neighbor
as yourself.” Homeschooling gives us the
freedom to talk about the amazing transformative grace
of God while studying math or literature, and it gives our
children the opportunity to explore and embark on a
life-changing relationship with the Savior as part of their
learning experience—without the limitations of school
regulations on faith-based speech and curriculum.
One of the things that made me so excited to come
back to HSLDA was the opportunity to participate in a
movement that is exciting and brings so much hope and
freedom. I’m so grateful to be part of that again. It’s great
to be back! n
Homeschooling
gives us the
freedom to
talk about the
amazing
transformative
grace of God
while studying
math or literature.
STATE HIGHLIGHTS
Oct.–Dec. 2015 members’
legal inquiries to HSLDA
public school contact
social service contacts
State refuses private
school registration
H
ome School Legal Defense Association members
are reporting that the Alabama Department of
Education (ALSDE) has prevented them from complying with state law, which states that private schools must
annually register with the department. Attendance at a
private school, either on-site or through a home program, is one of the legal options for parents conducting
home instruction. Other options include attendance at a
church school, or instruction by a private tutor who is a
state-certified teacher.
While two years ago through Act 2014-245 the legislature removed state oversight of private and church
schools in several respects, it did not repeal statutes
such as § 16-1-11 of the Alabama Code. This law requires private schools to register annually by October
discrimination
general legal questions
10 with ALSDE, and to complete “uniform blanks”
(standardized forms) furnished by the department,
“giving such statistics as relate to the number of pupils,
the number of instructors, enrollment, attendance,
course of study, length of term, cost of tuition, funds,
value of property, and the general condition of the
school.” But ALSDE personnel are advising HSLDA
members that a private school providing home-based
education is not required by law to register, and they
are refusing to furnish home educators with access to
the form necessary to do so.
Home educators operating as private schools might
prefer this potential reduction in state contact and red
tape, but the laws remain on the books requiring them
to submit certain information to the state. We are concerned that our members may be charged with truancy
by DEWITT T.
BLACK
KEY
Government
contacts
Discrimination
General legal
questions
2015 members’
NATIONWIDE Oct.–Dec.
public school contacts +
social service contacts +
discrimination +
21
» continue reading from page 22
if they fail to regard these laws. The department of education has no authority to change or disregard state law.
HSLDA Senior Counsel Dewitt Black has written to
the state superintendent of education, notifying him of
the erroneous advice being dispensed, and asking him
to instruct ALSDE personnel to stop preventing administrators of private schools (including homeschool
parents) from registering their schools as required by
state law. In the meantime, HSLDA has developed a
form letter for use by our members, whereby they can
notify the state superintendent of their good faith effort
to comply with the law and the department’s refusal to
permit them to do so. You can find the form letter at
hslda.org/Q116AL .
public school contacts
Bill tightens immunization
rules, leaves homeschool
exemption
O
n January 1, 2016, S.B. 277 became the law of the
land for families in the Golden State.
Governor Jerry Brown wasted no time in signing this
by J. MICHAEL controversial legislation into law in June of last year.
SMITH
This surprised some observers who thought he might
veto it, based in part on his earlier veto of A.B. 1444 (the
A CONTRARIO SENSU
{on the other hand}
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:
ComDept@hslda.org
22
discrimination
mandatory kindergarten bill), when he stated that he
“would prefer to let parents determine what is best for
their children.”
Under S.B. 277, parents who place their children
in public and private schools with classroom-based
instruction must have them immunized with the listed
inoculations. They may no longer decline for reasons of
“personal belief.” The only recourse left to families who
object to the inoculations is the medical exemption,
which is exceedingly rare. The bill also gives the California Department of Public Health authority to add “any
other disease deemed appropriate by the department”
to the list of mandatory inoculations without going
through a legislative approval process.
Fortunately for home-based private school
families, an amendment was added to S.B. 277 before
it passed that excludes home-based private school
students from the immunization requirements. This has
actually made exemptions from immunization easier for
these families. Before this bill was passed, home-based
private school students seeking an exemption were
required to secure an authorized medical practitioner’s
signature. Now, home-based private school parents
who do not immunize their children, or who immunize
selectively, no longer need to secure an authorized medical practitioner’s signature in order to be exempt from
immunizations.
S.B. 277 will be fully implemented in the 2016–2017
school year.
social service contact
DOE backs down
F
ollowing Home School Legal Defense Association’s
intervention on behalf of a member family, the Delaware Department of Education (DOE) has reversed its
position that homeschooling parents must first register
their children in public school before the parents are permitted to file the required homeschool pupil enrollment
and end-of-year homeschool attendance reports with the
state. In refusing to provide the parents with the forms
necessary to file the reports, a DOE official had cited
Delaware’s compulsory attendance statute, which states
that parents with children of compulsory attendance age
must enroll them in public school.
HSLDA Senior Counsel Dewitt Black sent a letter
to the official, pointing out that another state statute
discrimination
by DEWITT T.
expressly exempts homeschool students from public
BLACK
school enrollment. This prompted a letter to HSLDA
from the DOE stating that the family’s homeschool
would be “approved” and they would be permitted to file
the reports if they would provide the department with
two documents establishing their residency in Delaware.
In a second letter, Black responded that there was no
state law requiring persons operating a homeschool to
submit proof of residency to the DOE. He further stated
that this new requirement was just another unlawful
obstacle created by the department for parents who were
simply trying to obey the law by filing the enrollment
and attendance reports. Although the DOE did not reply
to HSLDA’s latest letter, homeschools are now being permitted to file the required reports without meeting any
of the conditions previously imposed by the department.
HSLDA helps aspiring pilot
spread his wings
H
aving dreamt of becoming a pilot since he was a
little boy, a recent homeschool graduate sought to
fulfill his childhood ambition by applying to Aviator
College, a flight school located in Fort Pierce.
However, the graduate’s dreams met with some turbulence this past summer when the college’s admission
discrimination
department questioned the validity of his parent-issued by THOMAS J.
high school transcript. The college wanted an “accredited SCHMIDT
transcript,” and noted that the graduate, who was homeschooled in Illinois, had graduated from an “unaccredited” school.
The graduate and his family contacted Home School
Legal Defense Association about the situation. After
some follow-up communication with Aviator, the college
asked HSLDA to verify that the graduate had in fact
23
completed a legitimate high school homeschool education. Writing third-party verification letters is a service
HSLDA frequently provides for our member families’
homeschool graduates.
HSLDA Staff Attorney Tj Schmidt sent a letter to
Aviator’s registrar. The letter explained education law in
the graduate’s home state of Illinois, proved that his tran-
script was acceptable under Illinois law, and insisted
that he be admitted. Following the college’s receipt
of HSLDA’s verification letter, the graduate was fully
admitted to Aviator College in September. By the close
of 2015, he had earned his pilot’s license and was well on
his way to living his childhood dream.
State snoops into
immunization records
T
his fall, thousands of families across Indiana received
copies of a letter from the state Department of
by THOMAS J. Health (ISDH) informing them that their children had
SCHMIDT not been vaccinated against the human papillomavirus
(HPV). The letter explained that IDSH had reviewed all
of the immunization records in the statewide Children
and Hoosier Immunization Registry Program (CHIRP)
to locate those children who had not received the HPV
vaccine. The letter went on to urge parents to schedule
an appointment with their doctor for their children to
receive the HPV vaccine.
Several Home School Legal Defense Association
A CONTRARIO SENSU
{on the other hand}
From the top
Our 5-year-old daughter Claire gave us a good laugh after piano practice one evening as she read a children’s book. When she came to a colon,
she paused, and then read the sentence again. Confused, I asked her why
she had repeated the sentence.
“I reread the sentence, Mommy,” she said, “because there was a repeat
sign.” Her lesson in piano that day had been that a repeat sign (which looks
similar to a colon) meant to play that part again. Oh, the joys of learning!
Jenifer M. | Northport, AL
24
discrimination
member families who received this letter contacted our
legal department, concerned about the state’s use of the
immunization database to target their children for the
HPV vaccine. While this vaccine is currently voluntary
in Indiana, there were attempts earlier this year to increase the immunization rate through legislative means.
It appears that ISDH decided instead to use pressure
tactics to increase the use of this vaccine.
It is extremely concerning that state officials would use
Indiana’s immunization database to try to coerce families
into vaccinating their children—especially regarding a
health issue about which many parents want to engage in
personal and appropriate conversations with their doctor
and children. We believe this use of the immunization
database is contrary the original intent of the legislature
and appears to be a violation of the medical privacy of
these families.
However, there is an alternative for concerned parents. A recently enacted bill—which HSLDA tracked
as it made its way through the legislature—ensures that
parents can opt out of having their child’s data entered
into CHIRP. The final version of the bill provided a form
that allows parents to prevent their doctor from entering
their child’s immunization data into the registry. The
form also allows parents to exempt their child from the
entire immunization registry if they desire.
Please contact HSLDA if you have questions about the
recent letter. HSLDA has provided our members with a
copy of the form on our website at hslda.org/Q116chirp .
discrimination
Counties demand to review
school records
home within two weeks of the beginning of school are
by THOMAS J.
operating a bona fide school and are in fact teaching their SCHMIDT
child at home. The Best Practice Document approach is
intended to prevent public school officials from demandwo Home School Legal Defense Association meming the submission of the attendance and scholarship
ber families in Paducah and Owsley counties were
reports from homeschooling families unless there is
recently contacted by their local directors of pupil perevidence that a bona fide homeschool program does not
sonnel (DPPs), asking for personal meetings to review
exist.
the families’ private homeschool educational records.
After being contacted by both families regarding this
The family in Paducah County had recently withsituation, HSLDA Staff Attorney Tj Schmidt contacted
drawn their special-needs son from public school and
provided an appropriate notice of attendance to the DPP. the offices of both DPPs to clarify Kentucky law and the
Best Practice Document approach with regard to these
Shortly before Thanksgiving, the DPP told the family
families’ private homeschooling programs. HSLDA was
that his office would be contacting them soon “to verify
able to resolve both situations.
the establishment of [their] home school.”
To read the full text of the Best Practice Document,
In the beginning of December, the DPP followed up
visit hslda.org/Q116KY .
with the family, demanding that they “provide information to verify their home school as a bona fide home
school.” The DPP wanted a copy of their school
A CONTRARIO SENSU
calendar, a daily schedule of their homeschool, and
{on the other hand}
evidence that the family’s children were receiving instruction in “core subjects.” Although, according to state
Relating to math
law, the only documentation that a school official may
My sister visits us each year, and has always asked the school-aged
request is attendance records and scholarship reports,
children to tell her about their favorite school subjects. A number of years
the DPP stated that his office would contact the family
ago, one of my sons informed her that he did not like math.
to set up a time and location to “view” all the records he
“I never really enjoyed math, either,” replied my sister.
had requested.
At that remark, my son’s eyes grew wide. “Aunt Annette! Had math
In early December, the family in Owsley County
been invented when you were young?” Elijah has since grown up, but has
received a letter from their local DPP, indicating that he
never managed to leave that line behind him.
wanted to review their homeschool records “to ensure
Susan C. | Poplar, WI
that the requirements of compulsory attendance [were]
being met.” He requested that the family contact him to
History at work
set up a time to meet so that their educational records
Returning from work, my husband told me that a series of events
could be reviewed.
caused his day to be totally unproductive. Our 2nd grade son came up to
Many years ago, the Kentucky Directors of Pupil Perhim and said, “Daddy, your day was kind of like the War of 1812. It didn’t
sonnel (KDPP) and the existing statewide homeschool
accomplish anything.”
organizations developed the Best Practice Document to
Homeschooling definitely isn’t like the War of 1812!
address several legal issues and concerns about private
Heather S. | Marysville, OH
homeschool programs. This approach presumes that
parents who report their intent to teach their child at
T
25
HSLDA torches discrimination
at welding school
W
hen a homeschool graduate went to sign up for
a welding program at Morris County Vocational
School,
the school representative questioned his
by SCOTT A.
WOODRUFF diploma and contacted the New Jersey Department of
Education.
A department spokesman told the school representative that the diploma was not “state recognized.” The
school representative then told the graduate he would
need a GED.
A CONTRARIO SENSU
{on the other hand}
When in Rome?
Although our four children haven’t formally studied Latin, they have
learned lots of Latin root words using flashcards. Our youngest, age 7,
has a good memory and enjoys flash cards, and now knows about 100
of them. The other day he said, “Mom, I don’t think I would ever be a
missionary.”
I had been a missionary in France for a few years, but I started to
explain to him that nobody’s required to be a missionary overseas. Before
I could elaborate, however, he continued, “But if I did ever decide to be a
missionary, I’d need to go to a country where they speak Latin because
that’s the only other language I know a little.”
Karen K. | Auburn, WA
Lessons from the coop
Our favorite and most intelligent chicken disappeared the other day. My
15-year-old daughter Hannah and I were talking about her.
I said, “She was always too independent for her own good, wandering
off all alone. I’m sure there’s a lesson in that.”
Hannah, our resident chicken expert, quipped, “Don’t be too independent, if you’re a chicken?”
Sarah A. | La Grange, KY
26
discrimination
After the family contacted Home School Legal Defense
Association for help, our legal department wrote a letter
to the school, explaining that the student’s high school
diploma was valid under New Jersey law. The school representative sent our letter to the New Jersey Department
of Education (NJ DOE) for feedback.
After reading our letter,
the department spokesman did not repeat his
assertion that the diploma
was not “state recognized.” Instead, he said
that “the NJ DOE doesn’t
support home schooling. It is allowed, but
I can’t verify anything
about a home schooled
student.” So the school
rebuffed the homeschool
graduate once again.
HSLDA Senior Counsel Scott A. Woodruff
then wrote a letter to the school explaining that under
well-established federal law, a homeschool graduate
who has finished his program of secondary education
can qualify for federal financial aid—with or without
a diploma. Woodruff confirmed that the school could
accept the student without jeopardizing the school’s
eligibility to participate in federal college financial aid
programs.
Shortly thereafter, Morris County Vocational School
fully admitted the young man into their welding
program, saying, “After receiving a lengthy letter from
HSLDA it was decided a high school diploma was not
necessary for the class.”
The graduate, who is now at the top of his welding
class, sent a note of thanks to HSLDA: “You have
restored my sanity . . . the diploma I worked so hard for
was worth it.”
“You have
restored my
sanity . . .
the diploma
I worked so
hard for was
worth it.”
District: Unit study
insufficient
A
member family recently received a letter concerning their children’s homeschool paperwork from
the Pearl River School District deputy superintendent, who stated that the family’s paperwork did not
show “differentiation by grade level” and was therefore
insufficient.
However, the family’s individualized home instruction
plans and quarterly reports had clearly indicated that the
children were in different grade levels and that that they
were using a unit study approach for science and social
discrimination
studies. While studying the same general material, they
were completing assignments and activities appropriate
to their respective grade levels.
Home School Legal Defense Association Staff
Attorney Tj Schmidt contacted the deputy superintendent on our member’s behalf, explaining that unit
studies were permissible under New York law, and
that the family’s paperwork had fulfilled the New York
State homeschool regulations. Based on this conversation, Schmidt expects that Pearl River will be more
accepting of homeschooling families using a unit study
approach in the future.
by THOMAS J.
SCHMIDT
27
Homeschool family sets
the record straight
L
ast November, a local Oklahoma National Public
Radio station wrote an extremely disappointing
article
attacking homeschool freedom. The article
by THOMAS J.
SCHMIDT used one homeschool student as an example to
support their argument. The student’s family objected
to false claims made in the article—and due to their
diligent efforts, the article was significantly edited
and the station apologized for the uncorroborated
claims.
discrimination
Home School Legal Defense Association applauds
this family’s courage in confronting misinformation.
Their example is an encouragement to all homeschooling families that they can make a difference
if they speak up. No matter the situation—from
opposing legislative bills
harmful to homeschool
freedom to combatting
inaccurate media reports—taking a stand for
the truth will always have
an impact.
Taking a stand
for the truth
will always
have an impact.
Quality
CHRISTIAN
Teaching
YOU CAN
TRUST
28
540-338-8290
Teacher-led, live interactive courses
academy.hslda.org
E N G L I S H · M AT H · F O R E I G N L A N G U A G E S · S O C I A L S T U D I E S
public school contact
social service contact
Attorney General agrees
with HSLDA
A
homeschool family in northeast South Dakota
called Home School Legal Defense Association
on August 20 after the local superintendent somewhat
brusquely refused their request to allow their child to
take a public school class.
Senior Counsel Scott A. Woodruff called the superintendent that same day and told him that South Dakota
Statute 13-28-51 required him to allow the student to
take the requested class. The superintendent said his
attorney advised him that he had the right to refuse the
student.
Woodruff followed up with the school board attorney
on August 21. Since the statute clearly seemed to give
homeschoolers the right to take public school classes,
Woodruff asked the attorney what legal authority he was
relying on in advising the superintendent to refuse the
homeschool student.
The attorney explained that the Council of School
Attorneys interprets the statute to give school districts
the option of turning away a homeschool student.
Woodruff then asked him to urge the school board to
allow the student to be admitted, at least on a provisional basis. He also warned the attorney that if he did
not comply, litigation on the family’s behalf might be
necessary, since school would be starting on August 31.
Woodruff followed up with a faxed letter the same day
explaining in detail the family’s right to take the public
school class.
After receiving Woodruff ’s letter, the attorney advised
the school board that they should provisionally accept the student and seek an attorney general opinion
to bring closure to the issue. The board accepted this
counsel and the student was provisionally admitted.
This wise approach avoided a lawsuit, avoided causing
hardship to the homeschool family, and opened the
door to a long-term solution.
discrimination
On November 18, South Dakota Attorney General
Marty J. Jackley issued a formal opinion confirming
that school boards must allow homeschool students to
take classes. Any school board that prevents a homeschool student from taking a class is now defying the
attorney general.
by SCOTT A.
WOODRUFF
Mystery guidelines lead
to compliance threat
T
he Sioux Falls School District sent a letter to homeschool families telling them that if their child was in
grades 2, 4, 8, or 11, they must submit standardized test
scores by August 1. If they did not, the district would list
the family as noncompliant and ask the South Dakota
Department of Education to investigate them. To back
up this threat, the district representative cited the “State
Alternative Instruction Guidelines.”
Home School Legal Defense Association Senior
Counsel Scott A. Woodruff wrote to the district
representative and explained that South Dakota law
stipulates no particular due date for testing results
(other than the deadline for filing each year’s excuse
paperwork) and asked her to change the district’s form
letter to align with state law. He also asked her where
he could find the “State Alternative Instruction Guidelines” cited in the letter.
The district representative responded that they were
reviewing the situation and would take Woodruff ’s
comments into account when revising their letter.
When the form letter was next sent out, the August 1
test submission deadline was gone. So was the threat to
report “noncompliant” students to the state.
We appreciate the district making these changes.
However, the district representative never told Woodruff
where to find the “State Alternative Instruction Guidelines.” This is not surprising, since they do not exist.
29
In-state, out-of-state, and out
of their minds
A
Texas community college refused to offer in-state
tuition rates to a Texas homeschool graduate. Why?
The
college
disputed that she had graduated from a
by DARREN
A. JONES Texas school.
As Canadians living in Texas for years, the graduate’s
family had complied with Texas homeschool law. Like
many students around the country, the graduate had
taken high school courses through Seton Home Study, a
distance-learning program.
But problems arose for this student after she graduated and applied to the local community college. The
college accepted her, but then became confused. It denied that the student—a Texas resident—had graduated
discrimination
from a Texas homeschool, because Seton Home Study
is headquartered in Virginia. Thus, according to the
college, the graduate didn’t qualify for in-state tuition.
And because she was Canadian, the college wanted to
charge not just out-of-state tuition rates, but international tuition rates!
The family called HSLDA. Staff Attorney Darren Jones
responded to the college, explaining that the student had
graduated from a Texas school—a Texas homeschool established in her parents’ house in compliance with Texas
homeschool law.
After receiving our letter, the college relented and
offered the proper in-state tuition rate to the graduate.
“As a Canadian-born homeschool graduate myself, I
was delighted HSLDA could help this student get into
the college of her choice,” Jones said.
Hampton no longer
questioning children’s faith
F
amilies in Hampton seeking to homeschool under
Virginia’s religious exemption statute (see sidebar)
got
an unpleasant surprise, when the Hampton school
by SCOTT A.
WOODRUFF board began requiring children age 10 and older to
explain their religious beliefs.
This requirement would have shocked the Virginia leg-
30
discrimination
islature, who wrote the law so that, given that the parents
themselves qualify, a child can be exempt from compulsory school attendance laws based on the religious
training he is receiving, rather than on his own belief.
Home School Legal Defense Association Senior
Counsel Scott Woodruff wrote a letter to the school
system attorney urging her to work to get the policy
changed. When it became clear that there would be no
quick solution, Woodruff drafted forms that families
could use when applying for religious exemption. These
forms did not require children to explain their beliefs.
HSLDA followed up with an email to our members
offering further guidance.
We are grateful to report that Hampton has now revised its form to harmonize with the religious exemption
statute. In Hampton’s revised form, a question asks: “Is
the pupil’s religious training complete to the extent that
you, the parent, consider the pupil to be self-governing
on matters related to religious faith and practice?” If the
parent answers “no,” the form seeks no further information about the child’s faith. If the parent answers “yes,”
the child will need to answer for himself, as is appropriate in that situation.
We appreciate the board’s willingness to revisit this issue. Since it is no longer necessary to avoid the Hampton
religious exemption form, HSLDA will no longer make
its own form available to families.
Cosmetology school drops
“registration” request
A
southeast Wisconsin homeschool graduate recently
hit a snag when she applied to enter The Academy,
a Waukesha cosmetology school connected with the Paul
Mitchell cosmetology schools. The Academy accepted
her parent-issued high school diploma, but then asked for
her current homeschool “registration.” Her family asked
Home School Legal Defense Association for help.
HSLDA Senior Counsel Scott A. Woodruff contacted
The Academy. He explained that Wisconsin law requires
homeschool families (as well as public and private schools)
to send the state the total number of children enrolled in
their respective programs as of the third Friday of September, but it does not require any kind of registration.
The family followed up by sending The Academy
a copy of their most recent statement of enrollment
(a form known as PI-1206). The Academy promptly
accepted their daughter into the program.
Eaton reengineers policy
G
lobal engineering giant Eaton told a homeschool
graduate he was well qualified and offered him a
position at their Waukesha facility. But when they discov-
discrimination
ered that he did not have an accredited high school diploma, they canceled the job offer. The graduate’s family
asked Home School Legal Defense Association for help.
HSLDA Senior Counsel Scott A. Woodruff wrote a
letter to Eaton’s human resources department, explaining
that Wisconsin homeschool parents have authority to
issue diplomas to their students. He emphasized that the
young man’s parent-issued diploma was just as valid as
any other diploma.
Eaton took the letter seriously. They offered the young
man the job again and changed their policy to make it
more friendly to homeschool graduates. n
VIRGINIA CODE
22.1-254:
A school board
shall excuse from
attendance at
school any pupil
who, together
with his parents,
by reason of bona
fide religious
training or belief
is conscientiously
opposed to attendance at school.
For purposes
of this subdivision, “bona fide
religious training
or belief” does not
include essentially
political, sociological or philosophical views or
a merely personal
moral code.
by SCOTT A.
WOODRUFF
A CONTRARIO SENSU
{on the other hand}
Peace, man!
My children and I were discussing derivatives for our list of Latin vocabulary words. When we came to pax, pacis, I wanted them to identify
“pacifist” as a derivative, so I hinted, “Someone who loves peace, and
doesn’t want to fight.”
Our youngest, age 8, blurted out, “A hippie!”
Marianne P. | Park Hills, MO
Send in your “A Contrario Sensu” for next issue! See page 22 for details.
31
NOTES FOR MEMBERS
A panoply of discounts
for members
Y
ou know HSLDA will be there for you
if you encounter legal problems while
homeschooling. But do you know that
your membership can save you a lot of
money? More than 30 businesses offer special discounts
on their products and services to HSLDA members
as part of our PerX program. And we’re always on the
lookout to expand your savings by adding more valuable
PerX partners.
Taking advantage of these discounts can more than
pay for your membership! Here are five great PerX discounts you could be using to make sure you are getting
by CHUCK HURST the most out of your membership:
HSLDA Vice
President of
Administration
32
▶Dave Ramsey is offering HSLDA members
an extra 10% off his best prices on personal
finance curriculum for middle and high schoolers. More than 25,000 families have used Foun-
dations in Personal
Finance for Homeschool to teach their
Dave Ramsey’s Foundations
students how to save,
in Personal Finance: Homeschool
is offered at an additional 10% off.
spend wisely, and
avoid debt.
▶Thinking about moving? Andrews Real Estate
Group will locate an experienced and trustworthy realtor to help you buy or sell your home,
you’ll save $500, and they’ll donate $50 to the
Homeschool Freedom Fund. As home educators
and HSLDA members themselves, Robert and
Lynette Andrews understand the needs of homeschoolers and want to support and encourage you
in your relocation journey.
▶Save on medical costs by using MDLIVE’s
telemedicine service. For only $10.95 per
month, HSLDA member subscribers can speak
FROM OUR MEMBERS
30+
businesses
offer
discounts
to HSLDA
members
with experienced
physicians by secure
online video, phone,
or email. MDLIVE
doctors are available to assist with
non-emergency
medical issues
24/7/365 and can diagnose, recommend
treatment, or prescribe medication.
▶Going on a business trip, taking your kids on
an extended field trip, or just traveling to see
family? Choice Hotels offers our members
a 15% discount at more than 6,100 participating
locations nationwide when they make a reservation using HSLDA’s discount code.
▶PerX can even save you money at HSLDA
Online Academy! As an HSLDA member,
you qualify for up to $100 off the Academy’s
online high school and college prep courses,
featuring quality Christian instruction and
personal interaction with expert teachers.
Subjects include English, algebra and calculus,
history, government, economics, Spanish, Latin,
and more.
Many of our PerX partners also donate
part of their proceeds to the Homeschool Freedom Fund. So in addition to
getting great deals, you will be supporting
HSLDA’s litigation work.
To take advantage of these great savings,
simply go to hslda.org/perx , click on a
PerX partner’s name, and then use your
HSLDA membership number to request
discount instructions. While you’re there,
be sure to check out our complete list of
PerX partners and see what other discounts
are available to you. n
I just wanted to convey my appreciation for all that
you do. I am very thankful that there is such a
robust organization working so hard on our behalf.
I tell my sons they should endeavor to follow in your
footsteps and become lawyers—you are like superheroes to our family! We have never experienced
problems, but I sleep easier knowing you are there.
Thank you so, so much!
Karen R.
Diane Kummer, you have been so helpful to us.
Thanks for taking the time to offer a detailed response
to each of our questions. We see HSLDA as a great
resource to our family, and you are one of the reasons
why! Thanks again for helping us in the “planning
phase” for homeschooling through high school.
Scott R.
We were members of HSLDA when we homeschooled many years ago. Our children scored very
high on the college entrance exams. Now, they are
homeschooling our grandchildren, who are also
doing very well. I think HSLDA membership is as
important as textbooks, because without it, you would
be constantly fighting the wolves howling at your
doorstep—at the expense of your child’s education.
Ben S.
Thanks again for all the great information. It will help
as I chart my daughter’s course towards independence.
Lyn D.
Thank you so much for being part of our 24-year
homeschooling experience. It is hard to believe we
graduated our last child this year. I remember in our
early days just starting out, meeting Michael Smith
at a CHEA convention when he had much darker hair
than present. Being a part of HSLDA brought a sense
of peace to our homeschooling effort, knowing that
we had a partner that was watching over us. We pray
for the future growth of HSLDA as it continues its
vigilance of defending all the homeschooling
families under its watch. Thank you again Michael
Farris, Michael Smith, and the whole HSLDA staff!
Please don’t
hesitate to
contact HSLDA
by calling 540338-5600 or
emailing
info@hslda.org.
Garret B.
33
TODDLERS TO TWEENS
Reading, writing and listening—
building the foundation
O
HSLDA Toddlers to
Tweens consultant
Looking at words from left to right simply needs to be
taught and practiced. Sometimes we forget to verbalize and
teach the most obvious lessons. While reading aloud to your
young children, be sure to ‘read with your fingers’ so they
can learn to follow along from left to right. Later, as they
begin to phonetically sound out words, it is critical that they
are taught to look at the left of the word for the initial sound.
n Phonics, phonics, phonics
n Early writing
You just can’t underestimate the power of solid phonics.
Although there are many methods of teaching phonics,
vertical phonics—the method of teaching
all the sounds of the phonograms at the
same time—was a great fit for our family.
(In another approach, horizontal phonics,
the child first learns the most common
sound each letter makes, then learns alternate sounds later.) Phonics for Reading and
Spelling is the program I used and loved.
Other materials that utilize the vertical
phonics approach include TATRAS
(verticalphonics.com ), The Writing
Road to Reading (WRTR), All About
Reading (AAR), WinterPromise, Logic of
English, and Spell to Write and Read, to name
just a few.
If you think your child is lacking in phonics skills,
it’s never too late to catch up. As a matter of fact, just as
knowing math facts is critical for math success, honing
phonics is essential for a life of confident and enthusiastic
reading and successful self-learning. You may find that
phonogram cards are all you need for a solid review. I have
used the ones from Rainbow Resources, which have the
phonogram on one side and all the sounds it makes on
the other. If you would like to hear the sounds, there is a
corresponding CD available.
5
important
components
for building
the foundation
of a lifetime of
language success.
n Directional guidance
Most experts believe that directional guidance is essential to learn to read. Many children tend to look at words
from right to left. This does not in any way indicate a problem, as it is quite natural in many cultures; many ancient
languages (Arabic, Hebrew) are written this way.
34
Parents often tell me, “My child is a terrible writer.” But
that is not often the case. The child just hasn’t been taught
to break down the process. Writing involves so many different skills. Not only is a child expected to write
engaging and interesting content, but he
is also expected to remember all the
paragraph, spelling, capitalization,
© PHOTO ALTO / VINCENT HAZAT
by STACEY
WOLKING
ur primary objective in the elementary
years should be to build a strong foundation in reading, writing, and listening.
Verbal and language skills lay the cornerstone for all future learning.
I’d like to share 5 important components for building
the foundation of a lifetime of language success.
“There is no such
thing as a child
that hates to
read; there are
only children that
haven’t found
the right book.”
—Frank Serafini
and punctuation rules. Whew, that is a
lot to think about all at the same time!
So let’s break it down for him.
First, have your child write down
all his ideas on a topic. Outlining is an
often forgotten but very useful tool for
organizing thoughts. You don’t have to
use the standard old Roman numerals
though; there are other outlining styles.
Once your child has his initial
thoughts or outline, have him go back
and write each idea into a complete sentence, then rearrange those sentences into paragraphs. Jeanne Mulligan’s
Pencil Playground suggests cutting the paper into strips,
which allows children to organize their thoughts by manually rearranging each sentence into the desired sequence.
This is especially helpful for kinesthetic learners.
Next, have your child go back and look at his spelling,
capitalization, and punctuation—one at a time. To avoid
discouragement, it is imperative that you let your child
know that you expect him to go through many drafts before
he has a final paper. Emphasize that each draft is not wrong,
just a step in the writing process, and that all writers pro-
duce many versions before their work is
complete.
Rest assured: as your child gains
confidence and ability, he will begin to
naturally start combining these steps
and will get to his final draft more
efficiently. But again, this will happen
sooner for some than for others.
Writing is often best taught through
one-on-one interaction. For homeschoolers, this is an area where the
“home-field advantage” really comes in handy. That said,
group classes for writing feedback can also be very beneficial. Children sometimes “hear” constructive criticism
from a peer better than from mom or a teacher.
Remember that the parent’s attitude towards writing
strongly influences the child’s attitude. Keep it light. Make
it fun. Tell him that the only way to fail at writing is to stop
writing. Louis L’Amour, a favorite author of several of my
children, once said, “Start writing, no matter what. The
water doesn’t flow till the faucet is turned on.” And if your
child is familiar with Finding Nemo, you can singsong with
a big smile: “Just keep writing . . . just keep writing. . . .”
n Reading aloud
There is nothing better than snuggling together while
reading aloud. Let your children see that you treasure books
by reading slowly, giving them time for their imaginative
juices to flow. In addition to engaging “chapter books,” this
is also a great time to introduce books about history and
science. Take the time to discuss what you are reading, using
the clues provided to predict what will happen next. Build
enthusiasm and excitement by asking questions: “What do
LEARNING
STYLES
Visual, auditory,
kinesthetic—
do you know
how to identify
your child’s
learning style?
Find out more at
hslda.org/Q116
learningstyles .
WRITING
DIFFICULTY?
If your child
experiences
unusual difficulty
with writing,
you may want
to check for eye/
hand dominance
issues or other
obstacles to writing success. Go to
hslda.org/Q116
writingstress
to learn more.
READING RESOURCES
My children and teens’ favorite titles included Bruchko by Bruce Olson, Jotham’s Journey by Arnold Ytreeide, My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craig George, the Shiloh series
by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli, and Katherine Paterson’s
classic Bridge to Terabithia.
Our family’s favorite book series included YWAM’s Heroes for Young Readers, Mott
Media’s Sower Series, Brian Jacques’ Redwall books, Jonathan Rogers’ Wilderking trilogy, Chuck Black’s Kingdom series, and Louis L’Amour’s Sacketts. I’d also recommend
Janette Oke, the Christian Heritage Series from Focus on the Family, Laura Ingalls
Wilder’s Little House books, Peter Doyle’s Daring Adventures, the Boxcar Children, and
Random House’s Step Into Reading nonfiction early readers.
For more read-aloud suggestions, see the articles “Read Aloud to Build Skills and
Relationships” at hslda.org/Q116readaloud and “Come Away with Me, My Child!
Reading Books Aloud Together” at hslda.org/Q116readtogether .
35
you think is going to happen next?” “Why did he do that?”
joy action adventures, science fiction, and stories involving
“What could she have done or said instead?”
competition, heroism, and conflict. Biographies and stories
Even if—no, especially if—your children are begging
of martyrs and missionaries often have elements of danger,
for more, only read a chapter or two at a time. Waiting a
suspense, honor, and even romance that both girls and boys
day gives them time to ruminate on the story and wonder may find appealing. (And yes—many of these stories have
what will happen next. Of course, I’m not saying you can
elements that are gross or gory. Don’t be squeamish! Your
never spend a whole afternoon just reading aloud and
kids will be okay, and boys often find “gross stuff” especially
even finishing an entire book. Those can be some of the
compelling.) Have quality books available to your kids, and
most memorable and best school days!
make regular trips to the library to give them opportunities
Reading multiple chapter books concurrently develops to find books that spark their interest.
your child’s thinking skills as they recall a variety
Did you find this article helpful? See more resources on HSLDA’s Toddlers
of stories. You don’t have to read every book
to Tweens website at hslda.org/toddlerstotweens . Or explore the
every day, but you can get in the habit of reading
archives of Homeschool Heartbeat at homeschoolheartbeat.org . You may
one at lunchtime, another after quiet time, and
also take advantage of your HSLDA member benefits by calling Vicki Bentley
maybe another at bedtime. Your kids will begin to or Stacey Wolking for assistance with your questions about homeschooling
look forward to a specific book at the designated
preschoolers through 8th graders!
time of day.
Make sure that reading on their own is a daily habit for
your children. Having a designated quiet time when readn Books are food for the mind
Kids often lose interest in reading to themselves because
ing is the only permitted activity can motivate an otherwise
there is nothing interesting to read. Find stories that appeal
reading-reluctant child. Or make after-dinner a no-screen
to your kids. As a mother of both boys and girls, I found that time; if your child gets bored, he just might pick up a book.
they tend to have different tastes when it comes to reading.
My kids found it exciting to read in their beds by flashlight.
Girls often enjoy mysteries and historical or inspirational
And of course, we can always allow them to stay up past
fiction with strong female protagonists. Boys particularly en- bedtime to read a good book. Happy reading! n
Check out the new website & programs—generationjoshua.org
36
SPECIAL NEEDS & STRUGGLING LEARNERS
T
here are two types of homeschoolers—those
who choose to homeschool, and those who
are chosen by homeschooling. Our family is
definitely the latter. You see, we don’t really
fit the typical description of a homeschool family at first
glance. My husband Chris and I both work full-time and
each have a part-time job, and we homeschool. It might
sound impossible, but it’s not. God has a way of leading you
to where you need to be, if you just listen.
As parents, we’d decided that our general goal was to
raise God-loving, productive members of society. That
didn’t seem too daunting. Both of us graduated from the
local public school system and went on to college, and we
feel that we contribute to society and do our best to uphold
our Christian values. Despite having friends and family in
our community who homeschooled, we weren’t entirely
sold on the idea. Public education
could have easily been the path that
The Horners’
our now-8-year-old twins Gabriella
educational
and Griffin followed, but God had
journey took a
different plans for us.
twist when they
recognized that
By age 4, we had a pretty good idea
their son, Griffin,
that Griffin struggled with sensory
struggled with
processing issues and verbal apraxsensory processia. He had already graduated from
ing issues and
our state’s Birth to Three program
verbal apraxia.
and completed countless hours of
in-home speech and occupational
therapy. He’d had success in a parttime Fine Arts Preschool and made huge
leaps in overall development and speech.
The professional laundry list of providers
who had helped us provide Griffin with early
intervention already included speech therapists, developmental pediatricians, pediatric
neurologists, a nutritionist, half a dozen
different occupational therapists, audiologists, and physical therapists. After two years
of consistent therapies and behavior work, we could see
immense improvement from the individualized attention
Griffin had been receiving—and we realized that we were
already homeschooling.
We’d adjusted Griffin’s nutritional supplements, attended
conferences and workshops on various topics, and joined
parent support groups. We’d purchased countless tools
and devices to enrich Griffin’s sensory diet. Throughout
the years, we had both continued to work to feed the bank
account because—as you can guess—therapies, interventions, and supplements are not cheap. We were running
low on funds and energy, but not on hope. These sort of
situations can very easily take over your life, so we carefully
orchestrated our days with the twins to be ordinary by
day—but by night I prayed by Griffin’s bedside harder than
I’d ever prayed before. We needed guidance and perseverance to overcome this hurdle.
Despite all the progress and hundreds of hours of
research, my “mommy gut” told me there was still a piece
of the puzzle missing. We consulted a Sensory Integration & Praxis Test (SIPT)–certified specialist to evaluate
© HSLDA / CHARITY KLICKA
Homeschooling: our crazy ride
by KRISTY
HORNER
HSLDA special
needs consultant
Griffin. Even if it meant a label, we hoped
that it would give insight to the specifics
we needed in order to help him. We were
his voice, his advocates, and every day that
went by not knowing, we felt, was an opportunity lost.
Griffin’s test results showed he had a significant struggle
with sensory processing, mainly auditory discrimination.
That was the piece of the puzzle we’d been missing and it
explained so much. Despite his above-average IQ, Griffin
struggled with open-ended questions, was extra-sensitive
to tone of voice, often could not carry out oral directions,
and fought to follow multistep commands. We began to
37
What we have
discovered . . .
is that the
treasure is in
the journey itself.
seek treatment and discovered that he
all expectations and it was clear that
was a prime candidate for therapy using
his success was directly related to the
the Tomatis Method. It was a huge
individualized program that he had
family decision to take on such a combeen receiving.
mitment, which would require over four
Today we are beyond blessed to say
hours a day in travel alone. It also put a
that both Gabriella and Griffin love holot of stress on the entire family, as Chris and I continued
meschooling as much as we do. They are completing their
to work. There are no words to explain the dedication and
fourth year here at our “Windy Hill Academy,” consistentstrength you gain when you realize your child’s success
ly achieving beyond their grade level. They participate in
depends on you. I know now that everything leading up to a large homeschool co-op, practice Soo Bahk Do karate,
this point was God’s way of preparing us for the road that
play soccer, swim, and play piano. The days of tantrums
lay ahead. He was building our endurance for the long haul. and tears have been transformed into comprehension and
Tomatis therapy (without getting too technical) is a
communication for Griffin. Gabriella has always been his
listening therapy that uses filtered Mozart music to retrain number one fan. It has been beautiful to watch her support
the ear. By doing so, it stimulates the brain to
improve sensory function which will allow
HSLDA’s special needs / struggling learner consultants offer a variety of
your ear and brain to operate effectively and
rescources for parents of struggling learners or children with special
needs. HSLDA members may contact Faith Berens, Joyce Blankenship, Carol
efficiently. After three loops of therapy, which
Brown, Krisa Winn, or Kristy Horner for counsel and suggestions. Call 540also integrated more occupational therapy, we
338-5600 or visit hslda.org/contactstaff . For helpful resources 24/7 or to
saw immediate changes in eating habits, behavior, problem-solving, listening, and speech. sign up for our e-newsletter, visit hslda.org/strugglinglearner .
This was in fact a miracle; our son had new and
improved sensory processing abilities!
and nurture her brother like a mother hen. It is pure joy to
For the next two years, we continued to see the effects
watch our kids laugh, cry, learn, and pray together, and to
of the Tomatis Method and watched as the frustrations
get to be a daily part of their struggles and successes. And
melted away little by little and what remained was a joyif that weren’t enough, we are surrounded by the most
ful, vibrant child who was eager to please. He had a strong wonderful, supportive, loving homeschool community
desire and ability to communicate. Griffin had surpassed
that truly enriches our lives.
When we embarked on this journey in 2008, we were
totally focused on the outcome we wanted. We wanted to
seek, find, and fix anything obstructing the path to success.
MEET KRISTY HORNER
What we have discovered since then is that the treasure
Kristy Horner and her husband Chris
is in the journey itself. It has helped us to find a new love
reside in Gerrardstown, West Virginia,
of encouraging and helping others along their homeswhere they homeschool their twins
chooling journey. The past eight years were God’s way of
Gabriella and Griffin. Kristy holds
teaching us to lean on Him as we took a long, hard road
a Bachelor of Science in Business
to where and who we needed to be. Now that’s a lesson in
Administration and Human Resource
character development!
Management from Shepherd University, with a minor in Technology, and
Homeschooling had wanted us all along, and now we
she has studied many areas of Special
want it too. We have learned to juggle the things that hold
HERE
Education at Fairmont State University.
strong value in our lives. We both still work a lot. That
FOR
Kristy has over 10 years of experience in her
hasn’t stopped us from homeschooling, or from keeping
YOU!
local public school system—in both a tradithe kids active in the community. It has taught us to prioritional and nontraditional classroom—teaching
tize, organize, and execute the things that really matter. We
typically developing students, struggling learners,
can dive headfirst into the chaos if we do it together and
and those with intellectual disabilities. Kristy joined the
with God. I know, because we’ve done it. What an exhaustteam of HSLDA special needs consultants in 2015. Kristy has
contagious joy and enthusiasm. Over the past eight years, her ing, amazing, uniquely Horner experience we’ve had so
far—and I know this is just the beginning of our crazy ride.
passion for homeschooling and bringing Christian education
I can’t wait to see what the next chapter of our adventure
to other families has made advocating home education a
has in store. n
priority for her.
38
HOME SCHOOL FOUNDATION
Beloved skeptics
A
s a minority in the world of education,
homeschooling parents are used to
having to explain, or even defend, why
they homeschool. The skepticism of
well-meaning loved ones can be the hardest to bear. And
unfortunately it seems that these doubting voices speak
the loudest during tough financial times—when homeschooling families need loving support the most.
Angela, a homeschooling mom, wrote us an email
describing the pressures her family has faced this past
year: “This year in particular, we have been met with a
great deal of loving, caring,
non-homeschooling friends
and family who have, out of
love, encouraged us to ‘take
a break’ from homeschooling due to our finances. We
have always believed
that God led us
into this adventure of home
education and
we have been
confident that
The skepticism
of well-meaning
loved ones can
be the hardest
to bear.
Kids
Curriculum
Fund
God would provide.”
This fall, HSLDA’s charitable arm, the Home School
Foundation (HSF), was privileged to be able to come
alongside Angela’s family through its Kids Curriculum
Fund. In addition to providing a grant for educational
resources, we were able to give Angela something more
valuable: encouragement!
“Thank you,” writes Angela to HSF donors, staff, and
board members. “Because of your generosity of both
time and resources, we were able to keep all five of our
children at home for school again this year. . . . That is an
incredible gift!”
A letter from another family says, “We have been
under tremendous pressure from well-meaning, nonhomeschooling loved ones to abandon this path ‘even for
just a year’ and this news [of our grant application being
by DIANNE
TAVARES
Grant administrator
for HSF and HSLDA
contest coordinator
$113,402
given through 212 Kids
Curriculum Fund grants last year.
approved] has come at the perfect time to renew and
fortify our belief that God has chosen this path for
our family and His path is exactly where we want to
be, no matter what.”
The courage and resilience shown by families
in these situations is amazing, and we at HSF are
grateful for the opportunity to help them continue
homeschooling their children. n
WHAT IS HSF?
The Home School Foundation is HSLDA’s charitable arm, founded in
1994 as a non-profit 501(c)(3) and separately funded through private
donations. HSF provides financial assistance to low income homeschooling families, widows, single parents, families who have children
with special needs, and victims of natural disasters, as well as supporting the work of homeschool organizations.
For more details on how you can help, please call HSF at 540-338-8688,
visit homeschoolfoundation.org , or email info@homeschool
foundation.org.
© ISTOCKPHOTO
39
We partnered with Evangelical Christian
Credit Union to offer our members up to
TWO YEARS OF FREE HSLDA
MEMBERSHIP!
eccu.org/hslda
It’s simple–all you have to do is open an ECCU checking account, savings
account or credit card to receive a complimentary one‑year HSLDA
membership. Open two accounts and get two free years of membership!
The best part? ECCU offers competitive rates with convenient banking options
and the peace of mind that you’re putting your money where your heart is.
Visit eccu.org/hslda
for full terms and conditions,
or call 1-800-921-1130.
It matters where you bank.
5554 3/16

13 - HSLDA

Transcription

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