Texas Homeschool Laws

[Alte Veste Academy]

I do know of public school officials who flat out lied about drop outs being homeschoolers. They have been caught for the most part.

 

When I worked at a large home school co-op in Texas, I took a lot of phone calls asking about homeschooling. I was stone cold shocked at how many parents were being told by the school system that they should home school their child, or even told that they HAD to home school their child. Sometimes it was because a child's needs were not being met and a teacher or guidance counselor really thought the parent could do a better job at home. But a lot of these parents were clearly being told to home school because their child was a problem for the school and they wanted them out. This was obviously much easier for the school than having to kick them out (if they could even do that).

 

So, if those kids do not do well homeschooling, who is going to get blamed? And what would the point be in having the school system regulate them? :glare:

 

Same experience here.

We live in a high-ranked district, with our local high school considered one of the best around.

Our school was investigated by the TEA last year for "pushing out" those students that cannot pass the state standardized tests. These parents are finding out at 10th, 11th grade that their children are failing and being told that they have pull their children out and homeschool them, as the district does not want their failing test scores on their record!

The parents I have spoken with are shocked, as their children have always received passing grades and showed no signs of failing.

 

I agree that this is wrong but it goes both ways. I ran a teen court in a DFW suburb for a couple of years and you wouldn't believe the number of parents who started "homeschooling" their kids because they were sick of seeing the truancy officer and paying fines. I remember being shocked at the lack of oversight, because it was patently obvious that no education was being delivered. It was an incredible disservice to the kids.

 

Now my POV has changed because I'm a homeschooling mom and I love the freedom I have here in Texas but the fact remains that some kids are the worse for it. However, I agree that the schools are failing these kids as well. I don't know the right answer. How do I keep my freedom while ensuring that all kids are getting at least a basic education? I'm not sure it's possible.

[mandymom]

Well, I think more public school students fall through the cracks than homeschooled students, and the public schools are heavily monitored.

 

:iagree: My mom is a 6th grade English teacher in a Dallas suburban school. She has multiple students in her classroom that cannot read or write English. She repeatedly tells me that she wishes her students were even at the level of my kindergarten son in reading, writing, and spelling.

 

She was also told by other teachers (this was her first year at her current school) not to fail students. Well, she had the highest failing rate of any of the 6th grade classrooms, and when administration got involved, she understood why the other teachers told her that. They made the hoops she had to go through next to impossible. It's just easier to pass a student on to the next grade. She couldn't pass them when the kids were not doing the work, but she sees why other teachers do it.

 

And don't get me started on the very scripted curriculum that they require her to use. That's a whole other ball of wax.

 

So yeah...."oversight" is just a fancy word for bureaucracy that means very little to actual education.

[Puma Mom]

Disclaimer: I'm not trying to offend anyone. Please don't be offended!

 

I was looking up the TX homeschool laws, and honestly, I was shocked.

We are in PA, which is a highly regulated state. And I realize that not every state is like ours. But, from what I looked at, it seems like there is zero accountability for homeschoolers in TX. Is it really like that, or am I just misunderstanding?

 

What I read said that there is no testing requirement, and no evaluation requirement. You have to complete 160 days, but you don't have to keep a record of your school days, and you don't have to prove to anyone that you have completed them.

 

So, I was just wondering - for anyone who has lived in TX - are there many homeschoolers who take advantage of the lack of accountability?

 

I have heard rumors of people here in PA who homeschool 'under the radar' and don't bother to meet the legal requirements, and who don't challenge their kids very much academically. But, I don't actually know any people like this.

 

Are there a lot of very self-motivated homeschoolers in TX (which I would consider myself to be, simply b/c the weight of educating my children is not something I take lightly)? Or, are there many lax homeschoolers because the law is so light? Or, do you think that there is an even mix of homeschoolers comparable to any other state?

 

Opinions?? :bigear:

I homeschooled for 11 years in NJ which also has no regulations. The only difference between what I did (oram doing) in NY before that, VA after that or in NJ was the paperwork. Or lovely lack thereof. I didn't know of any NJ homeschoolers who taught less because there was no accountability.

[Mrs Mungo]

So yeah...."oversight" is just a fancy word for bureaucracy that means very little to actual education.

 

:iagree:

[TravelingChris]

I am tutoring two girls in the public school. One girl is very near grade level and I think she will do okay. The other girl, a fifth grader, is really not done with third or fourth grade level math, let alone fifth grade. She is supposed to be going to middle school in a few months. She probably will and then will be lost forever since middle schoolers don't get tutoring help. It is ridiculous. Many of these kids come to kindergarten and first grade so behind. They didn't get the requisite early childhood experiences. They had a mom (these kids never have a dad in the same house) who spoke limited vocabulary and didn't do the basic things that regular middle class or above parents do- point out colors and shapes to toddlers, take pre-schoolers to lots of parks and activities to have them experience the world, etc. These kids didn't do this and many of them enter school without concepts that everyone else has- like that numerals represent numbers and numbers mean something. It has been depressing in many ways.

[Mommyof4ks]

I began homeschooling in Texas. Most of the homeschoolers I know took it very seriously. I look at it this way - I am accountable to my *kids* and to *their future.* Ultimately that is the most important thing. What's a state test? It's *my job* to see that my kids are prepared for the opportunities they'll have, and to be able to pursue the lives they'll want. That's accountability.

 

:iagree: Being forced to test, meet with teachers, provide portfolios, and so o does not change anything for those of us who are doing our best for our kids. It is my job to make sure my kids are prepared for life no matter what mode of schooling we choose for them. Those that do not care to prepare their kids will fly under the radar anyway regardless of the rules and oversight. Public schools have a lot of rules, and still many kids come out unable to read or do basic math.

 

Personally I do not know any homeschoolers who are lax, but I do know plenty of parents who have no clue what their kids do in school all day. ;)

[MrsJewelsRae]

I live in a fairly liberal place- Ontario Canada and surprisingly we gave no regulations here. We've been homeschooling for years, since my oldest was 4 and I've never had to inform anyone, never had a phone call or a letter, there is no testing or hour requirements. It is stated that homeschooling parents *should* register with their school district, but it's not a must unless you want the government involved on any level in your schooling. I'm not actually sure what those regulations would be, though I don't think they're too rigid or extreme, as I don't actually know anyone who is a registered homeschooler. In our large Christian homeschool group pretty much everyone I know takes this job pretty serious. I appreciate the freedom to educate as I wish without government interference- I don't need to be held accountable to a government in order to do a good job, my kids are all the accountability I need, I don't want them to someday point their finger in blame at me for being uneducated and unable to get a job or finish college. Their future is ever on my mind.

[Joanne]

I've been homeschooling for 17 years in TX. I've been in four different support groups, attended and taught at one large co-op that was academically oriented and then organized a small (true) co-op this last year. My kids have taken classes from three individual providers and taken dual-credit courses from two CCs and one local four-year state uni branch.

 

In all that time and with all that exposure, I will say that I've seen a range of homeschooling families who range from average academics to truly rigorously homeschooling. I've only known one family in which I was worried about their total homeschooling picture, but the parents were blue-collar entreprenuers and were very resourceful, so I figured it was none of my business: their kids would likely be cut out of a similar mold as the parents and grandparents, so I didn't concern myself past loaning them some algebra books which they returned with profuse thanks at the end of the year. Shrug.

 

I will say that I have had great frustration and concern with parents who will not hold their kids accountable or who make excuses for their kids, but those kids will run into the realities of life sooner or later. They were doing no worse than they would have done in public school.

 

We learn at a pretty intense level, although nothing like some of the draconian moms I admire on the high school board: I would face open revolt at home if I tried. One of my students has the heart of a scholar, the other two learn what they want to but aren't the information and interconnection hounds that we two are.

 

About TX law: that very lack of oversight--the lack of yearly milestones and comfortable accountability--may have the effect of weeding out some of those who are more timid or less inclined to put in the effort on their own. Who knows. Laziness usually seeks the path of least resistance, and public school can be that path for some folks.

 

(No rotten tomatoes, please, I'm not saying anything about all the reasons families send their kids to school. In the scenario I'm talking about, the too-lazy-to-homeschool parent, wouldn't you think they'd find it easier to not be responsible for their ill-behaved little brats for 7 hours a day if they had invested nothing in parenting the kids?)

 

Just a thought...

 

:iagree:

 

I've homeschooled in 2 states, Texas being the longest. I now teach in a school that has many former homeschoolers.

 

While I think the homeschooling community has some blind spots to academics, I don't think the level of state requirements will have much correlation to academic rigor.

[Firefly]

No homeschooling laws or regulations in Connecticut either-- only "suggested guidelines," which are completely optional. I wouldn't have it any other way. :)

[Mommy22alyns]

:iagree: Being forced to test, meet with teachers, provide portfolios, and so o does not change anything for those of us who are doing our best for our kids. It is my job to make sure my kids are prepared for life no matter what mode of schooling we choose for them. Those that do not care to prepare their kids will fly under the radar anyway regardless of the rules and oversight. Public schools have a lot of rules, and still many kids come out unable to read or do basic math.

 

Personally I do not know any homeschoolers who are lax, but I do know plenty of parents who have no clue what their kids do in school all day. ;)

 

 

SO very well said! :iagree:

[elegantlion]

No homeschooling laws or regulations in Connecticut either-- only "suggested guidelines," which are completely optional. I wouldn't have it any other way. :)

 

I adore states where the rules are more like guidelines. MO has one item worded with a "may" instead of "must"; That appeals to the pirate in me.

[Jen in PA]

Ok, I have to double-check this -- is your requirement really 160 days? Because I am in the same high-regulation state as the OP, and we have a 180 day minimum, but no set length for those days.... and I really cannot imagine schooling only 160 days per year.

[Ellie]

What I read said that there is no testing requirement, and no evaluation requirement. You have to complete 160 days, but you don't have to keep a record of your school days, and you don't have to prove to anyone that you have completed them.

 

Public schools are required to do 180 days. Private schools have zero requirements for school days. Homeschools in Texas are the equivalent of private schools.

 

To take that a step further, private schools in Texas are not regulated at all. So that means not only do homeschoolers have to prove nothin', private schools don't have to, either. That's why they are *private.* :D

[Avila]

Ok, I have to double-check this -- is your requirement really 160 days? Because I am in the same high-regulation state as the OP, and we have a 180 day minimum, but no set length for those days.... and I really cannot imagine schooling only 160 days per year.

 

Actually, I do not know where she got that. Texas does not have a requirement for private schools or homeschool as to how many days. So no, 160 is not a requirement.

[Jen in PA]

Actually, I do not know where she got that. Texas does not have a requirement for private schools or homeschool as to how many days. So no, 160 is not a requirement.

 

 

I want to be sort of anti-regulation, but I just cannot wrap my mind around this.

[GoVanGogh]

Actually, I do not know where she got that. Texas does not have a requirement for private schools or homeschool as to how many days. So no, 160 is not a requirement.

:iagree:

Texas law does not mandate how many days or hours one must school a year.

That said, we must use a "visual curriculum." Whatever that means. :lol:

http://www.thsc.org/Categories3.aspx?Id=Its_Legal

[Avila]

I want to be sort of anti-regulation, but I just cannot wrap my mind around this.

 

And I don't get why this is an issue, probably because I have never homeschooled anywhere that had heavy oversight.

 

There is absolutely no data out there that shows that regulations improve performance. Tests, portfolio reviews, requirements for number of days, whatever, simply do not increase performance. If they did, NCLB would be a resounding success and the states with the highest regulations for homeschooling would be outperforming the rest of homeschoolers by leaps and bounds. But that is just not the case.

 

People who want to slack will find a way to do that, regardless of the guidelines in place to prevent it. People who take it seriously will take it seriously without having to have something written somewhere to enforce it. And people who ignore the law will do so anyhow or find a way to fake things, fly under the radar or get away with the bare minimum.

Edited March 27, 2012 by Asenik

[jennsmile]

For those who can't fathom our Texas laws, think of it this way.

 

You manage to feed and cloth your children without somebody from the state checking up on you. We just think the same is true for education.

 

We don't have any paid state workers checking up on us. We function just fine and work hard to teach our kids. If they fly though work and we do school 100 days it is okay. I grew up in a state that required 4 hours of instruction. I would be hard pressed to spend that much time with my 1st grader. He can do math, spelling, reading, FLL and WWE in less than 2 hours. Yes we also do history or science depending on the day but still I would be under 4 hours. I know as a teenager my brothers and I looked at 4 hours as the max we needed to do. Gotta love teen logic.

 

I prefer not having to report or count hours. We work till our work is done, we redo papers till they are correct in math or spelling or any other subject. We strive for mastery, not checking a box and moving on with the next lesson.

[trlt]

Why does the amount of days of instruction required something that is a big deal? My dd is getting one on one instruction each day with me. How much time are public school children really working each day? If you compare the time of actual instruction and learning homeschooled kids are probably getting more. I am guessing that most homeschooled children are putting in way more time of meaningful instruction than their public schooled peers, yes? I think that the requirement for 180 days is really worthless when it comes to homeschool.

[TXMomof4]

Why does the amount of days of instruction required something that is a big deal? My dd is getting one on one instruction each day with me. How much time are public school children really working each day? If you compare the time of actual instruction and learning homeschooled kids are probably getting more. I am guessing that most homeschooled children are putting in way more time of meaningful instruction than their public schooled peers, yes? I think that the requirement for 180 days is really worthless when it comes to homeschool.

 

:iagree: The law here (in GA) is 5 instuctional hours/day. Seriously??? For K? Meanwhile my 6th grade dd in PS went to school at noon yesterday and was thrilled because from 12 -3:15 there was only 30 min of 'class'. They then had PE, 'Connections' (basically social hour), and Courtyard (another social hour). She had only missed math and social studies. So her possible instructional time on Monday is 2 hours. 45 min of math, 45 of social studies, 30 of LA. And people wonder how we get done with school before 12 every day?

[elegantlion]

I want to be sort of anti-regulation, but I just cannot wrap my mind around this.

 

To me it's not about meeting minimums, it's about meeting the child.

 

Even if the requirement is 160 days, no one says you have to stop there. 160 days doesn't finish the lessons in some books. I can see calling 160 days good for early elementary, but beyond that we'd still be working.

 

Our state (not TX) has a notation that a high school credit is 100 hours + of instruction in a subject. That's a minimum. It's also a low number of hours to consider a credit, as generally I've seen 120-180 hours. I feel like if I followed that state requirement I'd be cheating ds, we couldn't even cover the material in some classes.

 

Maybe some people from Texas can comment on this issue. Public schools in Tx have 3 levels of graduation requirements. You can view the side by side list here. http://www.tea.state.tx.us/graduation.aspx The distinguished level is 4 credits each in English, Math, Science, and 3.5 in Social Studies. Math credits must all be algebra I or above, Science credits physics, bio, chem and above. These are the level of graduates homeschooled students are competing with for college spots.

 

Isn't there some deal about the state universities accepting a certain level/percentage of public school or distinguished graduates? I don't know for certain on that.

[Amy loves Bud]

 

 

About TX law: that very lack of oversight--the lack of yearly milestones and comfortable accountability--may have the effect of weeding out some of those who are more timid or less inclined to put in the effort on their own. Who knows. Laziness usually seeks the path of least resistance, and public school can be that path for some folks.

 

(No rotten tomatoes, please, I'm not saying anything about all the reasons families send their kids to school. In the scenario I'm talking about, the too-lazy-to-homeschool parent, wouldn't you think they'd find it easier to not be responsible for their ill-behaved little brats for 7 hours a day if they had invested nothing in parenting the kids?)

 

Just a thought...

 

Absolutely.

 

I have met the full range in the years I have homeschooled. But having had a son in the local middle school in a good district or the past two years, I think those same kids with uninvolved parents would be no better off in PS.

[Amy loves Bud]

Isn't there some deal about the state universities accepting a certain level/percentage of public school or distinguished graduates? I don't know for certain on that.

 

Top ten percent are automatically accepted to state universities. This was a move to get away from affirmative action and even out racial admissions to public u's. There is something being heard in the US Supreme Court right now that could result in the Topeka ten percent rule being scrapped.

[scrappyhappymama]

I want to be sort of anti-regulation, but I just cannot wrap my mind around this.

 

I've read LOTS of threads here and elsewhere discussing how to calculate the required number of hours or days for state requirements. How park days and working in the garage with dad and working in the garden and helping mom with laundry all can "count" in various ways. How families make life educational throughout the day, so they "easily" meet the hours requirements. I really don't have a problem with this, although it could certainly be abused, but it comes down to the busywork of logging hours and activities throughout a school year to prove a certain number of learning hours. Of course, public schools do the same thing, sometimes scheduling half days that just meet the minimum number of school hours to "count" as a full day instead of taking the full day off. As a student, I remember vividly spending these days and many others watching movies and playing games and getting nothing productive done.

 

So, not having a requirement to prove a certain number of school hours or days simply relieves those of us here in Texas and other similarly unregulated states from the busywork of counting up activities to try to mimic the public school education. It has no real bearing on what kind of education is or is not happening in the home. I've never kept track of the number of school days we've completed, but I honestly believe it would be far fewer than the 180. However, we school year round and continue each curriculum until it is completed, and don't pay a lot of attention to grade level or the arbitrary end or beginning of school years. For our own knowledge, we had our oldest son take the Texas public school assessment test for the grade level he recently completed and he aced it. I knew he was fine and didn't consider it necessary, but it gave my husband peace of mind. We'll probably do the tests informally every few years or so (they are posted online and available for free) just to confirm that we don't have any gaps in the minimum state standards, but we won't be teaching to the tests and this will be the extent of any attempt on our part to conform to public schools in our state.

[Sk8ermaiden]

And I don't get why this is an issue, probably because I have never homeschooled anywhere that had heavy oversight.

 

There is absolutely no data out there that shows that regulations improve performance. Tests, portfolio reviews, requirements for number of days, whatever, simply do not increase performance. If they did, NCLB would be a resounding success and the states with the highest regulations for homeschooling would be outperforming the rest of homeschoolers by leaps and bounds. But that is just not the case.

 

People who want to slack will find a way to do that, regardless of the guidelines in place to prevent it. People who take it seriously will take it seriously without having to have something written somewhere to enforce it. And people who ignore the law will do so anyhow or find a way to fake things, fly under the radar or get away with the bare minimum.

:iagree:

I used to belong to a forum with a disproportionate number of radical unschoolers. While the ones in lax states took joy in the fact that no one was overseeing them, you would find the ones in high-reg states coming online every year for "reporting" help. With posts (I am not even kidding) detailing how their kid played video games 8 hours a day and maybe liked to read sci-fi and helped her in the garden and other unschoolers would help her spin that into chemistry! and art! and literature! If he was playing age of empires it was history and if he played Sim city it was civics! People who want to skate by will do it anywhere.

[Forget-Me-Not]

 

I'm in Ca, we are unregulated- the State does not have oversight for private schools here, nor should they have oversight over homeschools >> a big conflict of interest.

 

Also, our schools are doing so badly here in Ca, I don't think I should have to answer to them- they need to clean up their own house first.

 

Homeschoolers I know care about how their children are doing and want to do better than the public schools.

 

Yup

[PeacefulChaos]

Well, I think more public school students fall through the cracks than homeschooled students, and the public schools are heavily monitored.

:iagree:

And I don't get why this is an issue, probably because I have never homeschooled anywhere that had heavy oversight.

 

There is absolutely no data out there that shows that regulations improve performance. Tests, portfolio reviews, requirements for number of days, whatever, simply do not increase performance. If they did, NCLB would be a resounding success and the states with the highest regulations for homeschooling would be outperforming the rest of homeschoolers by leaps and bounds. But that is just not the case.

 

People who want to slack will find a way to do that, regardless of the guidelines in place to prevent it. People who take it seriously will take it seriously without having to have something written somewhere to enforce it. And people who ignore the law will do so anyhow or find a way to fake things, fly under the radar or get away with the bare minimum.

:iagree:

[FairyMom]

I've always homeschooled in Texas. There are as many methods and commitment levels as there are Texans. I certainly wouldn't rush to generalize.

 

I couldn't agree more!!!!

[Leonana]

We have no oversight in Arizona, other than filing a Notice of Intent one time.

 

I haven't noticed any parents who aren't concerned about their children's education. Most are very committed to homeschooling, but they are accountable to themselves, not a state agency.

[Reflections]

I don't mean to offend anyone in PA - but I know someone who moved to PA and I was SHOCKED at the hoops one has to jump through to homeschool there. It seemed overkill. Confining even.

[JessReplanted]

I don't mean to offend anyone in PA - but I know someone who moved to PA and I was SHOCKED at the hoops one has to jump through to homeschool there. It seemed overkill. Confining even.

 

It is definitely overkill. There are some things we have to do that just don't make any sense - like file a list of Educational Objectives for each subject, although technically, none of those objectives actually have to be achieved. :confused:

 

Personally, I don't think that having some accountability is a bad thing though. This was the first year that my son had to take a standardized test. When I got his results I realized that all of the effort we were pouring into Singapore Math just wasn't worth it. :tongue_smilie:

And, having to create a portfolio doesn't bother me. I think that we should have some concrete evidence of all of the work we've done. But, having to turn the actual portfolio into your superintendent (and not just a letter from the evaluator) seems like overkill.

 

I appreciate all of the feedback on this thread. Thanks!

[FO4UR]

:iagree:

I used to belong to a forum with a disproportionate number of radical unschoolers. While the ones in lax states took joy in the fact that no one was overseeing them, you would find the ones in high-reg states coming online every year for "reporting" help. With posts (I am not even kidding) detailing how their kid played video games 8 hours a day and maybe liked to read sci-fi and helped her in the garden and other unschoolers would help her spin that into chemistry! and art! and literature! If he was playing age of empires it was history and if he played Sim city it was civics! People who want to skate by will do it anywhere.

 

On the flip side, I live in a state where we have to count the Hours of Instruction. It is easy to find here moms who do a full curriculum of their choosing and then spend countless precious moments of their lives documenting each.and.every. extra thing they do in order to fill those hours. Their fun field trips to the museum include mom "jotting it down in the notebook.":001_huh:

 

 

It seems to me, that the purpose behind this particular law is to put the HS parent in a state of anxiety about "not doing enough." It certainly doen't ensure that the child gets *appropriate* instruction....b/c like your example, parents could just easily call a video game "history"...while someone else is micromanaging their child's reading time for the sake of "jotting it down."

 

 

Gah! I meet the law. Then I actually homeschool!:tongue_smilie:

 

 

I have lived in a state where a portfolio was reviewed yearly by a certified teacher. *If* that certified teacher is supportive of homeschooling in general, I think this is a very good idea. In my experience, the teacher encouraged me where I was doing well, noticed things (tons of reversals LOL) that needed help and talked with me about how I'm handling it. I have heard horror stories though, about teachers who put HSers through _____ about their child's portfolio. I'm pretty sure you could do a search on this board and find some.

 

I like how Elegantlion put it..."meet the child" and not some minimum standard. I don't think it's possible to regulate that.

 

 

Like anything else in life, you cannot make a law that forces people to do the right thing. Those kinds of laws usually punish the people who were already doing the right thing...while the people who want to break the law will find a way.

[elegantlion]

On the flip side, I live in a state where we have to count the Hours of Instruction. It is easy to find here moms who do a full curriculum of their choosing and then spend countless precious moments of their lives documenting each.and.every. extra thing they do in order to fill those hours. Their fun field trips to the museum include mom "jotting it down in the notebook.":001_huh:

 

 

It seems to me, that the purpose behind this particular law is to put the HS parent in a state of anxiety about "not doing enough." It certainly doen't ensure that the child gets *appropriate* instruction....b/c like your example, parents could just easily call a video game "history"...while someone else is micromanaging their child's reading time for the sake of "jotting it down."

 

We live in a state that requires 1000 hours (600 core, 400 non-core) per 12 month cycle. We had a hard time in 1st -3rd when school took two hours a day. We did count every.little.thing to meet the 1000 hours. (Disclaimer: I counted literal hours) We moved to a state with a day regulation and it was nice. We're back in the hours state and it's not so hard at his age. Couple of observations though.

 

State law says I can count a high school credit as "100+ hours of instruction in a subject". If public school kids on are a block schedule they can earn up to 8 credits a year. If I homeschooled 8 credits at 100 hours per credit that only 800 hours at the HIGH SCHOOL level. Obviously most credits will be over 100 hours, but still. if they allow 800 hours to be a full academic year in high school, why the same requirement for first graders.

 

Also I messed ds up in his thinking. When he was little, I'd tell him we were going to count this for school, that for school. He's very literal and got into the habit of separating academics and life. We're not an academic family after hours. Dh is more likely to watch TV than discuss current events or anything cultural with ds. After we moved to the days required state I had a hard getting him to do anything academic looking after school. It took two or three school years to work that out of him. So I remind parents in an hours state not to comment on everything you're counting for school. Just write it down and move on.

[MrsBear]

:iagree:I take homeschooling very, very seriously, as does everyone I know. I am quite glad to live in a state that values personal freedom and leaves us alone to educate as we see fit. I certainly do not think that a state whose ranking is somewhere around 44th in the nation should have any say in how I set my educational goals for my children.

 

:iagree:

 

Our state sits in the bottom third too and we're very low regulation for homeschool, but do have some high requirements to meet without being regulated (I do have to keep records and track of hours, although no one ever looks at them). I seriously do not think the state can manage the public schools well, so how could they begin to regulate private or homeschool? What measure would they even use? Equivalent to the public school would still be well below what we do here in our home education!

[Pamela H in Texas]

the ones in lax states took joy in the fact that no one was overseeing them, you would find the ones in high-reg states coming online every year for "reporting" help. With posts (I am not even kidding) detailing how their kid played video games 8 hours a day and maybe liked to read sci-fi and helped her in the garden and other unschoolers would help her spin that into chemistry! and art! and literature! If he was playing age of empires it was history and if he played Sim city it was civics! People who want to skate by will do it anywhere.

 

I guess it would have been against the "rules" to have the KIDS figure out how their video game playing was educational, huh?

 

We were fairly laid back homeschoolers when my bigs were little. However, I wouldn't have had an issue reporting it had I needed to. We really did learn things and do meaningful things. IN fact, they didn't play almost any computer games or watch tv before double digit ages. They were much too busy with real life.

 

I don't think I "got" how little other people are doing when my kids were little. In more recent years, I've noticed a lot more.

 

However, surely if people are going to the extreme of grasping at those sorts of straws, regulation isn't gonna help children much.

Edited April 11, 2012 by 2J5M9K