ProudGrandma Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 I have a friend who has 3 children. A set of 3rd grade twins and a preschooler. She was intending to start homeschooling them in the fall. One of her twins has diabetes and is treated like a burden and a pest at school by the teachers and the school nurse. They don't understand that if they let her sugar level go to high or too low it will affect how she thinks...and it can take up to an hour to get her "back to normal"...and the teachers expect her to be normal right away...and take a test...for example...and when she does poorly, they make her feel stupid. She was getting her "ducks in a row" just in case she decided to pull them early. She had no intention of doing so abuptly, but Wednesday night one of the twins came out of her room in tears...(after she was put to bed)....saying that she was scared to go to school the next day. After talking with her daughter, she discovered that 2 4th grade boys (who come from very unsupervised homes) told the twins that they were bringing a gun to school tomorrow "to teach them a lesson" becasue they were in the boy's way at school that day. Now, would that really happen? Who knows...but the mom took it very seriously...called the principal...he said he would "look into it"...but if his looking into it is like how he looked into a drug allegation (he asked the kids and the kids denied and he was on his merry way), then this would be no different. So she didn't let her kids go back to school and the following day sent in her paperwork for homeschooling. It could take up to 2-3 weeks to get them approved (or so they say)...so...what would you do....keep them out of school...tell the school the kids are sick...can she get in legal trouble by doing so? Give me some guidance here....please!!! thank you so much!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skeeterbug Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 I think it would help if we knew what state your friend is in, someone familiar with homeschool regs in that state could hopefully give some advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 what state is this? in many states, you send in your paperwork and notify the school, you dont actually need to be 'approved', they just send you paperwork confirmed they've gotten your paperwork. I would think if she's kept a copy of her paperwork and she tells the principal and teacher, they shouldnt send truancy officers out or anything. it certianly doesnt sound like the school si that on top of things anywas lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heatherwith4 Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 I would not send the kids back to school in those conditions. She needs to make sure she is following her state laws, which she can look up online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Get approved by whom? What state is she in? Chances are that the public school system doesn't have a clue what they are talking about and nothing "needs to be approved." I'd keep them home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countrygal Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 I would report what those boys said to the police dept. pronto. She shouldn't worry about her children missing some 'school' right now. If anyone questions her she can explain her situation. Or tell them it's none of their beeswax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted January 25, 2013 Author Share Posted January 25, 2013 we live in Nebraska. Sorry that I left that part out...so how does that change anything?? Does anybody know??? Oh thank you so much for helping us out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoObvious Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Nebraska only requires notification (per the hslda site) so she should be fine. She sent it in and they can just be "absent" for the next few days until the district receives her info. Tell her not to think about it again. She is in an easy state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 Well, I looked at the Nebraska rules on the education.ne.gov website. It does say on there that the papers need to be filed prior to pulling the kids from the school and it can take up to 30 days. However, in this situation *I* would contact the police and still keep the kids home - with a copy of the police report on file in case the school decided to be a PITA about it. Sometimes rules are just made to be broken, and the safety of my children is definitely a good reason for me to "break the rule". They come first. Always. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoObvious Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 People get really nervous with the truancy laws. Unless this family hasa a sketchy history and her kids have missed a TON of school, there should be no reason for her to worry. She should call the school and let them know though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted January 25, 2013 Author Share Posted January 25, 2013 if she calls the police, does she also inform them that she has pulled the kids and plans to homeschool...or does she leave that part out. and she did file papers...but they have not been looked at and returned. Do you think just her sending the papers is good enough?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted January 25, 2013 Share Posted January 25, 2013 http://www.hslda.org/laws/analysis/Nebraska.pdf I don't really have an answer since I live in a state that does not require the filing of papers. But I'd just like to point out that in light of the way violence has affected everyone in our nation lately, she did a very right thing in taking her dd's fear seriously and keeping her home. I don't think she would have any reason to NOT tell the police. Homeschooling is legal in all states and the police would have no business in that choice one way or the other. Unfortunately children likely see the news and hear adults talking about this stuff (shootings and gun laws) and there may be more drills at schools. Some kids would take that chance to turn it into a mean spirited joke. I on the other hand would not risk my kids lives in this current environment on the chance it was a mean joke. She's doing the right thing. My advice would be for her to contact a state homeschooling group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraidycat Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 if she calls the police, does she also inform them that she has pulled the kids and plans to homeschool...or does she leave that part out. and she did file papers...but they have not been looked at and returned. Do you think just her sending the papers is good enough?? It probably doesn't really matter, either way. She can tell them that she is not sending the kids back, if she chooses. Yes. Just sending the papers is good enough, IMO. The state has been informed, per their laws, that is all that is needed. She only has control over so much. She sent the papers in - she can't control how quickly the envelope gets opened at the other end, so if it were me, I wouldn't give it a second thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 In NZ the approval can take a while. Do you have a friendly family doctor. If so it is common here to get a "stress leave" note to cover the wait. As in going to school is damaging their mental health. Which it is if one child is being made to feel stupid and they are scared of other kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besroma Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 I agree with keeping them home and contacting a local homeschooling group. There may be an umbrella school that she could join and have faster recognition as a homeschooler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 So she didn't let her kids go back to school and the following day sent in her paperwork for homeschooling. It could take up to 2-3 weeks to get them approved (or so they say). Nebraska is not an approval state. Whoever told her that was crazy mistaken. She doesn't have to prove anything to anyone or be recognized by anyone. I hope she sent the paperwork certified, with a return receipt, so she does have proof that she did notify the Nebraska Department of Education. so...what would you do....keep them out of school...tell the school the kids are sick...can she get in legal trouble by doing so? Give me some guidance here....please!!! I'd keep the dc home and let them be sick for a few days. Since she has sent in the paperwork, she should officially notify the school that she's withdrawing her children and that she'll be homeschooling; she isn't required to notify the school, you know, but if she doesn't, they'll think that her dc are just truant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamalbh Posted January 26, 2013 Share Posted January 26, 2013 Hi, I live in NE too :-) In NE this is the law in regards to withdrawing a child to homeschool: D27. I want to withdraw my child from a Nebraska approved or accredited school to home school in the middle of the school year. Can a mid-year filing be done? Yes; however, this process must be completed prior to withdrawing the student from the approved or accredited school. Allow up to 30 days to process (refer to Rule 12 or Rule 13, Section 003.02A). (PDF of homeschool in NE papers) BUT in your friend's case I would probably take them out right away, and be prepared to put up a fight if neccessary - document what the child said about the gun & about how they did not feel safe there. There was a prosecutor who was going after a family here recently, but in a different situation (Here's info on that) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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