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Easy Q: How to unenroll from PS?


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Is the process for unenrolling from PS usually just asking the school what they require? I've tried looking on our county and school website and I know the laws about HSing but I didn't see anything about unenrolling from PS. The reason I'm looking it up is because I'm worried DH will have to be there too which could be a problem with his schedule.

 

I want DS to have a "last day", which may be either tomorrow or Wednesday. But until I figure it out it's hard to let him know. I'm in the most southeast state in the continental US, FWIW.

 

Thanks for any insight! Eek! So excited and nervous now that this is happening!

 

ETA - I'm aware of the state laws but I didn't know if there are some local PS or county rules that sometimes come into play.

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I went in, told them that I was withdrawing my student, had to fill out a form,  child had to make the rounds with a checklist to her teachers to return all books, home we went. A second parent's present was not necessary to sign up for school, and it was not necessary to withdraw either.

 

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Look up your state homeschooling laws with HSLDA, your state support org, or another reputable source.  Some states require you to give notice.  It just depends, and you want to make sure you follow the law!  :)

 

Some states also have notification procedures where you file a letter of intent.  So again, don't do anything till you find out the law for your state!  

 

:thumbup: 

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If by the most south east state you mean FL, then you should be able to contact the principal of the school. There is a form, you fill it out, collect your kids and go.

You file your Letter of Intent with the board of education. You don't have to tell the PS that you intend to homeschool if you don't want to.

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Is the process for unenrolling from PS usually just asking the school what they require?  I've tried looking on our county and school website and I know the laws about HSing but I didn't see anything about unenrolling from PS.  The reason I'm looking it up is because I'm worried DH will have to be there too which could be a problem with his schedule. 

 

I want DS to have a "last day", which may be either tomorrow or Wednesday.  But until I figure it out it's hard to let him know.  I'm in the most southeast state in the continental US, FWIW. 

 

Thanks for any insight!  Eek!  So excited and nervous now that this is happening!

 

Most states do not specify the process by which parents should withdraw their children from school, which is often a separate thing from complying with the homeschool laws in their states.

 

If you have complied with any requirements for homeschooling, then the easiest way is to send a letter to the school, certified, return-receipt required, informing the school that you are withdrawing your child immediately; you should request your dc's records, as well (although you might not get them). The reason a letter is sometimes better than doing it in person is that it is very common for school employees to nag parents into filling out unnecessary forms, such as a "permission to homeschool" when in fact the law doesn't require such forms. And the reason that you require a signed receipt is to prove that you did, in fact, notify the school that you withdrew your child; schools are notorious for starting truancy proceedings against homeschooling parents. Sheesh. And yes, you do need to inform the school in some way that you are withdrawing your child. If he just doesn't show up, then there is a strong likelihood that someone will think he's truant, and you don't want to go down that road.

 

If you think you can persevere and refuse to sign anything other than a simple withdrawal form, then do it in person, but be prepared to repel anything school employees say about the legalities of homeschooling.

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Agree with Ellie that withdrawing your child from school and complying with the homeschooling laws in your state are kind of two different things, which is sort of what you were asking maybe?  Frequently schools do not actually know the laws and have created their own set of requirements for withdrawal.  You can call the school to ask what their policy is, but definitely check out the HSLDA website.  Don't fill out forms you aren't required to legally unless you just like filling out forms.  But I also agree, don't burn bridges.  You may need their help later on.

 

Have you looked at this?

http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/FL/default.asp

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Thanks to all for the links and info. I am aware of our state laws to the best of my knowledge, but was uncertain about the local PS. I don't want phone calls for truancy! The teacher is updated and I want to be kosher as we will be doing electives at the school sometimes. Sounds like it will be pretty easy so that's great!

(sorry I wasn't clear about state laws vs local politics. I apologize for being confusing!)

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Thanks to all for the links and info. I am aware of our state laws to the best of my knowledge, but was uncertain about the local PS. I don't want phone calls for truancy! The teacher is updated and I want to be kosher as we will be doing electives at the school sometimes. Sounds like it will be pretty easy so that's great!

(sorry I wasn't clear about state laws vs local politics. I apologize for being confusing!)

 

An astounding number of public school employees have no clue whatsoever about the homeschool laws in their states, but then...why should they? :-)

 

It's just best to notify the school in writing that you are withdrawing your child, regardless of state laws vs local politics. :-)

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Most states do not specify the process by which parents should withdraw their children from school, which is often a separate thing from complying with the homeschool laws in their states.

 

If you have complied with any requirements for homeschooling, then the easiest way is to send a letter to the school, certified, return-receipt required, informing the school that you are withdrawing your child immediately; you should request your dc's records, as well (although you might not get them). The reason a letter is sometimes better than doing it in person is that it is very common for school employees to nag parents into filling out unnecessary forms, such as a "permission to homeschool" when in fact the law doesn't require such forms. And the reason that you require a signed receipt is to prove that you did, in fact, notify the school that you withdrew your child; schools are notorious for starting truancy proceedings against homeschooling parents. Sheesh. And yes, you do need to inform the school in some way that you are withdrawing your child. If he just doesn't show up, then there is a strong likelihood that someone will think he's truant, and you don't want to go down that road.

 

If you think you can persevere and refuse to sign anything other than a simple withdrawal form, then do it in person, but be prepared to repel anything school employees say about the legalities of homeschooling.

 

 

The combative Gettysburg school district tries this sort of thing all the time.  They tell new hsers that they need "permission to homeschool."  They will start the whole truancy thing if you don't fill out their forms, unless you remind them yet again, because they already know, they just pretend they don't each time, that there's no such thing as permission to homeschool.  It's even on our state's homeschool department of education website. 

 

So glad I don't live in the Gettysburg district.  

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The state laws are the laws the district is supposed to follow. The district can't make up it's own laws or rules for people to follow. This is the problem homeschoolers run into all the time.

 

So, follow the state regs. If your local district calls and tell you you have or have not done something then ask them to tell you specifically where in the state regs it says you have to do that.  That usually shuts them up.

 

Don't do something just because that is how your local district says it should be done. They have to follow the state regs, just like you. If you let them make up their own requirements and you do what they ask, you are just making it more difficult for yourself down the road. If you give them an inch they will take a mile. And some districts truly don't seem to know that they can't make it up as they go along.

 

Now, sometimes the district gets to pick from a number of options and then they can tell you what to do. But know what those are.

 

For example, in my state, NY, the state is very specific about how to let the district know you are homeschooling. The district might WANT parents to do something different, but they may not require it and parents don't have to do anything more or less than what the state requires. 

 

However, the district MAY decide how parents will make an end of year assessment. Districts may allow parents to write an end of year narrative, OR parents may administer a standardized test (Pass, CAT etc are all acccepted, and some years the testing is mandated), OR the district can require a narrative written by a certified teacher.  My personal district allows EITHER testing OR a parent written narrative. My friend lives in a district where they do not allow a parent narrative. That district gets to make that call and people have to live with it.

 

But her district also attempted to make her come in and have her materials 'assessed' by the school principal. She asked where in the state regs that was required and they backed down right away. The district can't do that just because it sounds like a good idea.

 

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We moved over the summer, registered child with new school district, submitted letter of intent and IHIP, etc. in the new district.

He simply never went back to his old school. In the fall,  that school called DH and asked him where our son was (which I thought interesting since 1. we never registered him for 4th grade and 2. they did not pay any sort of attention to us when we actually attended. DH said we had moved, were homeschooling, and DS would not be back. They responded that they would mark him absent (!!!)

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Thanks to all for the links and info. I am aware of our state laws to the best of my knowledge, but was uncertain about the local PS. I don't want phone calls for truancy! The teacher is updated and I want to be kosher as we will be doing electives at the school sometimes. Sounds like it will be pretty easy so that's great!

(sorry I wasn't clear about state laws vs local politics. I apologize for being confusing!)

 

I took my son out in the middle of the year and I liked his teachers.  So I sent his teachers and email thanking them for their hard work and telling them that we had made a decision to homeschool our son.  I told them which day would be his last day(the day after they received his email) and asked them if they would help him gather his things and that I was returning his books to the office. I CC.'d his principal and that was it.   Then I submitted my notice of intent to homeschool to the superintendent as required by our State law.  

 

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We moved over the summer, registered child with new school district, submitted letter of intent and IHIP, etc. in the new district.

He simply never went back to his old school. In the fall,  that school called DH and asked him where our son was (which I thought interesting since 1. we never registered him for 4th grade and 2. they did not pay any sort of attention to us when we actually attended. DH said we had moved, were homeschooling, and DS would not be back. They responded that they would mark him absent (!!!)

 

We had a similar laugh when we began homeschooling.   We sent in out notice of intent and then we were required to prove guardianship to make education decisions for our oldest at home.  He went to this districts schools for 2 years prior and we had provided a copy when we enrolled him, but somehow they lost it and were not sure we were allowed to decide to homeschool.  We of course wondered how we were able to enroll him in school at all if that was the case.  No biggie but an extra hoop.  Then a year later after we sent in out Notice of Intent, all homeschoolers in our district received a letter giving them permission to homeschool for the year.  I sent mine back,  stating we were informing them we were homeschooling as required by law, but we did not require, nor need their permission.

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Every state is different.

In both Kansas and Nebraska you have to file a form with the state dept. of ed.  

 

In Kansas, it's effective upon receipt (you can even do it online) and they'll notify the school district for you.

In Nebraska you have to wait a certain amount of time (was it 6 weeks??).  You basically have to wait for the paperwork to process.  You also have to notarize the withdrawal form, give a list of what your curriculum is going to look like and then notify the local district once your approval comes back from the state.

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