Hawaii? Anyone hs there?

[asta]

My basic question: Is anyone HSing in Hawaii, and how do you do it w/o giving everything to the gvt.?

 

DH is going to be relocated by his firm next year, and one of the possible locations is Hawaii.

 

I've read the regulations for hsing in Hawaii and they look... awful. The mere thought of having to submit a book list ("in bibliographic format"), complete curriculum, number of hours, test scores, etc. etc. makes me cringe. Especially since it doesn't even go to the PS district office, it goes to the local school principal!

 

When I look at the regs, all I can think is "well, dummy, sign up for one of these schools that are "private schools" (eg: Kolbe). But then the law is confusing me. It says:

For purposes of this chapter, enrollment in a private school’s home study school program shall not be construed as equivalent to attendance at a private school.

 

Huh? Places like Kolbe don't differentiate between their "brick and mortar" and their "mail order" programs, but...

 

I read everything on the HSDLA site, and it doesn't clarify things.

 

Any info/thoughts are welcome.

 

 

a

[Ellie]

Well, HI's laws are not as bad as some, and I say this as someone who hsed in Calif which has no requirements other than to file an affidavit annually.

 

And as I read the law, you don't have to tell the school principal what you will be doing; you only have to "provide a notice of intent to educate 'before initiating home schooling.'" The notice of intent includes the following items: name, address, telephone, birth date, and grade level of the child. That's not a big deal.

 

I don't see anything in the law that says you have to provide that list of subjects you'll be teaching and the bibliography of materials used. You just do it and file it. At the end of the year, do standardized testing and submit it to the principal. Required testing makes me crazy, but it's not that big a deal, really.

 

I'm thinking that even if you enrolled with, say, Kolbe, you'd still have to notify the school principal, but heck, the notification is no big deal.

[LaxMom]

Battlemaiden does. :001_smile:

[asta]

Well, HI's laws are not as bad as some, and I say this as someone who hsed in Calif which has no requirements other than to file an affidavit annually.

 

And as I read the law, you don't have to tell the school principal what you will be doing; you only have to "provide a notice of intent to educate 'before initiating home schooling.'" The notice of intent includes the following items: name, address, telephone, birth date, and grade level of the child. That's not a big deal.

 

I don't see anything in the law that says you have to provide that list of subjects you'll be teaching and the bibliography of materials used. You just do it and file it. At the end of the year, do standardized testing and submit it to the principal. Required testing makes me crazy, but it's not that big a deal, really.

 

I'm thinking that even if you enrolled with, say, Kolbe, you'd still have to notify the school principal, but heck, the notification is no big deal.

 

I had misread that part whew! :lol:

 

The sad thing is, it isn't that I don't write the stuff down, it was the idea of having to submit it that made my stomach turn. I just don't think it is the state's business.

 

---------

 

Battlemaiden. Cool. I'll look her up.

 

 

a

[Colleen in NS]

LynnG in Hawaii, too. And maybe Mrs. Mungo? pm them, anyway.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

We homeschooled in Hawaii for a couple years. I submitted a letter to the principal of the school the kids would have attended (I used the form on HSLDA's website). At the end of the year, I submitted a copy of the test scores. When we moved houses and changed reporting schools, I sent scores to one school and notified them of the move at the same time that I sent a letter to the new school notifying them that we were under their administrative recordkeeping (I pretty much copied this from a friend of mine).

 

You are supposed to have a list of what you are using, but don't have to submit it.

 

One thing about Hawaii is that they will not recognize any homeschool work for high school credits. So it is very difficult to transfer back to a public school after freshman year. (On the other hand, the high schools there are a great arguement for sticking with homeschooling.)

 

For the most part the principals tend to ignore homeschoolers. However, there are a lot of letters sent out with incorrect information or a badgering tone, especially around test time. One of my friends could count on an annoying letter from her elementary school every year.

 

On the other hand, I found that most people I talked to were encouraging about homeschooling. I'd say that most people don't think very highly of the public school system. Many families spend a lot of time and money on geographic exceptions and private school attendance.

 

However, the library system is quite good. And since it is one system for the whole state, you can get books from branches on other islands. I just love the idea of getting books from Molokai'i or Maui. The weather is great and you have natural science study opportunities that you just wouldn't have elsewhere (whales, snorkling, volcanoes).

[LynnG in Arizona]

We homeschooled in Hawaii for a couple years. I submitted a letter to the principal of the school the kids would have attended (I used the form on HSLDA's website). At the end of the year, I submitted a copy of the test scores. When we moved houses and changed reporting schools, I sent scores to one school and notified them of the move at the same time that I sent a letter to the new school notifying them that we were under their administrative recordkeeping (I pretty much copied this from a friend of mine).

 

You are supposed to have a list of what you are using, but don't have to submit it.

 

One thing about Hawaii is that they will not recognize any homeschool work for high school credits. So it is very difficult to transfer back to a public school after freshman year. (On the other hand, the high schools there are a great arguement for sticking with homeschooling.)

 

For the most part the principals tend to ignore homeschoolers. However, there are a lot of letters sent out with incorrect information or a badgering tone, especially around test time. One of my friends could count on an annoying letter from her elementary school every year.

 

On the other hand, I found that most people I talked to were encouraging about homeschooling. I'd say that most people don't think very highly of the public school system. Many families spend a lot of time and money on geographic exceptions and private school attendance.

 

However, the library system is quite good. And since it is one system for the whole state, you can get books from branches on other islands. I just love the idea of getting books from Molokai'i or Maui. The weather is great and you have natural science study opportunities that you just wouldn't have elsewhere (whales, snorkling, volcanoes).

 

I agree with almost everything Sebastian has said. The part that I bolded is exactly what we do. It's really not too bad - you basically just fill out a short form every time your child would be starting at a new school, and then report test scores every year.

 

We have never, in six years, had any contact with any schools. They do send you a signed copy of your notice of intent, in order to acknowledge that they have received it. But I've never had any other letters, phone calls, etc.

 

There is a decent sized homeschool community here. Some of the people are diehard homeschoolers, and others just choose to homeschool temporarily because they are in Hawaii and the other options are so bad (basically, bad public schools or excellent but expensive private schools).

 

I would politely disagree with Sebastian on only one thing; I personally think the libraries stink. I have ordered a *lot* of books from Amazon and Sonlight over the years as a result. ;) Your mileage may vary, of course. And it is true that you can order books from any library in the state.

 

Let me know if I can be of further assistance. Do you know what part of the island you might be living in?

[asta]

Thank you, everyone!

 

It is pretty sad (funny?) when you start considering HS laws as part of a career path...

 

 

a

[Sebastian (a lady)]

 

I would politely disagree with Sebastian on only one thing; I personally think the libraries stink. I have ordered a *lot* of books from Amazon and Sonlight over the years as a result. ;) Your mileage may vary, of course. And it is true that you can order books from any library in the state.

 

 

 

I think libraries are partly viewed through one's comparisons. In Germany we had access to one library with ok books but the whole library would fit into my living room/dining room (not exagerating). The last year and a half, I was thrilled to be able to beg access to the library at an English language private school.

 

In Hawaii we used the Salt Lake Branch. I was pleased with the branch and kept using it even when we moved closer to Aiea. It had tons of books on the shelves and I could get all sorts of things on loan from other branches. I bought far fewer books online than I had when my options were far more limited. They even had a pretty good selection of homeschooling books like The Charlotte Mason Companion.

 

Now I'm in Japan and I have one well intentioned but frustrating base library to pick from. I'd cheerfully suffer through the Hawaii selection again.

 

And I'm really jonesing for the library book sale that's coming up.