School Boards, Policy and stuff

[mohini]

What do you think is the ideal relationship between homeschoolers and school boards/ schools and government funded programs? How would you like to see local or national policy change? Can you foresee a time when homeschooling will be considered a "mainstream" educational choice?

 

I'm trying to formulate a research question to address policy/ relationships between homeschoolers and school boards. I realize it's a huge topic that will have a million contradictory answers and that there is now blanket solution but I'm curious to understand how other HSers grapple with these questions.

 

[TechWife]

There should be no relationship between government entities and homeschools. Education policy should be set at the local level. Homeschooling is already mainstream where I live - there are over 15,000 of us in this state.

[T'smom]

I agree with TechWife. Why would there be any kind of relationship? There is no relationship between school boards and private school kids.

[elegantlion]

Homeschooling is fairly mainstream around here, no one really bats at eye, even at my college. Obviously not every understands it, but that's common with anything I think. 

 

As far as relationship with school board, I've never even had contact with ours. I've homeschooled from first grade through high school in two states and never interacted with the public schools at any level. In our previous state, we only had to mail a LOI and it was sent to the state department of ed, nothing went locally. 

 

Unless existing state laws require some local oversight, I see it almost as a professional conflict of interest. School boards need to keep the best interest of enrolled students at the forefront, not those who have chosen to educate outside of the system. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

The only relationship between homeschoolers and the school board in our state is that we turn in our letters of intent to homeschool to the district superintendent.  

 

Homeschooling is mainstream here.  According to the latest report from the state, there are a little bit under 20,000 registered homeschoolers here.  

 

I'm happy with how it is in our state.  I'm not grappling with anything.  

[Catwoman]

Homeschooling is mainstream here.

 

I don't see why there needs to be any "policy" regarding homeschoolers and the local school board. I don't believe the local school boards should have any jurisdiction whatsoever on homeschoolers.

 

Then again, I don't "grapple with these questions" at all, so perhaps I'm not the best person to respond to your post.

[Arcadia]

My district is funded through property tax. Even people who do not have kids in public schools are concern with how the school boards and the district spend money.

 

My district is suppose to offer services to anyone who attends a private school in the district boundaries. I guess since we file a private school affidavit here, homeschoolers would get services too.

 

Early intervention which starts at 3 is also under the district. So if the school board decide on anything which might be self serving, lots more than children attending public schools would be affected.

 

I don't think homeschoolers should be oblivious to what the school board does just because their kids are not in public schools. We have power struggles and mild anarchy in the school board. A board member was charge with harassing his child's principal and teachers.

[Lolly]

Just going to agree. There should be no relationship between the school board and homeschoolers. Government funded programs? such as? i would tend to say that as long as the government is funding a program it should be open to all citizens who wish to participate; that would include homeschoolers.

[Ellie]

What do you think is the ideal relationship between homeschoolers and school boards/ schools and government funded programs? How would you like to see local or national policy change? Can you foresee a time when homeschooling will be considered a "mainstream" educational choice?

 

I'm trying to formulate a research question to address policy/ relationships between homeschoolers and school boards. I realize it's a huge topic that will have a million contradictory answers and that there is now blanket solution but I'm curious to understand how other HSers grapple with these questions.

 

I want them to leave.me.alone.

 

There is no "national policy," nor should there ever be one. That is solely the purview of individual states.

 

[mohini]

I find it interesting that the consensus seems to be that there should be absolutely no relationship between school boards and homeschoolers. I have been homeschooling for 5 years and live in a very rural area. Here, I am required to file an "intent to homeschool" including a curriculum plan and schedule. After that, I'm left alone. I've often wished that my kids had access to school resources, sports, contests, events etc.. like homeschoolers in other areas do. When I think of policy, I don't think exclusively in terms of educational oversight but in terms of community building, making homeschooling accessible to more families through hybrid programs and government funding (which is already available through charters in some places,) making district professional development programs available to parents and having school resources (libraries, labs, theatres etc..) available for homeschoolers to use. 

The idea that there should be "no policy" is itself a policy of course. I understand the desire for educational autonomy, it's the reason I pulled my kids out of school in the first place, but I wondered what kinds of local/ state/ national policies people thought would allow them to retain their educational autonomy and be beneficial to the homeschooling community. 

 

 

 

- Government funded programs could mean things like subsidized breakfast/lunch, eye/ ear testing - and of course all of the physical resources in the schools are funded through taxes so I would include those as well.

 

ETA - I appreciate everyone's opinion and thank you for taking the time to respond. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Well part of the problem with this is that homeschool regulations aren't usually made at the local level.  They are a state thing.  Local districts just follow what the state tells them.  So going to my local school board for help, suggestions, etc. regarding homeschooling is pretty pointless.

 

I don't have any connection to my local schools beyond the pointless paperwork.  They don't even hold up their end of the regulations.  I'm not thrilled by that, but I'm also afraid to complain because I don't want them to become annoying. 

 

I would love it if we could participate in some stuff, but it's not allowed. 

[Tsuga]

What do you think is the ideal relationship between homeschoolers and school boards/ schools and government funded programs? 

 

You should look into the relationship between private schools and the government. You may find some interesting parallels in terms of freedom to be accredited or not, oversight, access to programs, etc. etc.

 

That would also give you a lot more research to use in your writing, because people have looked extensively into many questions about private vs. public schools whereas objective (i.e.  not sponsored by a pro- or anti- lobbying group, nothing is perfectly objective) research on homeschooling is nascent at best.

[snowbeltmom]

I enjoy a very positive relationship with my local school district.  The guidance counselor has proctored AP exams for my kids, even when the class has not been offered at the public school.  My kids are able to participate in any after school activity that the public school offers.  My middle qualified for states last year in his sport, and the school payed for his (and the coach) hotel room and meals for the weekend.

 

Since our tax dollars are funding the public schools, I believe all children that live in the community should have access regardless of the educational path they choose.  I am extremely fortunate that my local school district agrees.

[SparklyUnicorn]

You should look into the relationship between private schools and the government. You may find some interesting parallels in terms of freedom to be accredited or not, oversight, access to programs, etc. etc.

 

That would also give you a lot more research to use in your writing, because people have looked extensively into many questions about private vs. public schools whereas objective (i.e.  not sponsored by a pro- or anti- lobbying group, nothing is perfectly objective) research on homeschooling is nascent at best.

 

Something interesting about that in my state is that private schooled students are entitled to borrow books from the public schools and the public schools are required to provide transportation to the private schools (within reason).  Those are basically seen as things that follow the student irregardless of where they go to school.  EXCEPT, none of this pertains to homeschoolers. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I enjoy a very positive relationship with my local school district.  The guidance counselor has proctored AP exams for my kids, even when the class has not been offered at the public school.  My kids are able to participate in any after school activity that the public school offers.  My middle qualified for states last year in his sport, and the school payed for his (and the coach) hotel room and meals for the weekend.

 

Since our tax dollars are funding the public schools, I believe all children that live in the community should have access regardless of the educational path they choose.  I am extremely fortunate that my local school district agrees.

 

I agree.  Even adults in the district get some access to the public schools through low to no cost adult ed programs.  Homeschoolers, however, get absolutely nothing. 

[Ali in OR]

I've always had one foot in home schooling and one in the public schools--my disabled dd has always attended public schools and my other two take classes there part time in middle school and full time in high school. In our state, schools get more money based on how many kids attend classes each day. It is in their interest to let home schoolers take the elective classes they allow (mine take band and science in middle school--youngest may take art or foreign language too at some point). Youngest also does sports there. I wouldn't want the school board dictating what home schoolers teach in their homes, but I'm glad they aren't two completely separate worlds here. We benefit from the classes we choose to participate in and they benefit too by getting a little more money (and some pretty good students to teach!). If I were on the school board, I would be working to make sure all home schoolers knew what we offered for them and also work hard to make sure they were attractive options.

[Incognito]

I think if you want to see what government/homeschooling hybrids could look like, read up on British Columbia and Distance Learning - both through school districts and independent schools (which are half funded by the government).  I don't know the numbers, but homelearning has grown astronomically in BC in the last decade, but technical "homeschooling" has dropped to extremely low numbers.  Distance Learning is a fuzzy hybrid where parents get support and some funding, but also are expected to meet the provincial standards (in their own way).  

[T'smom]

The school board is supposed to set goals, standards, and policy to ensure that the children in the local community receive an appropriate education.

 

Unfortunately, since the board is elected, the board panders rather than finds ways for all children to receive an appropriate education. Homeschoolers and private schoolers have walked off as a result. There should be no relationship in this scenario.

I would disagree with this. I think the school board is supposed to be in charge of the schools.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I think if you want to see what government/homeschooling hybrids could look like, read up on British Columbia and Distance Learning - both through school districts and independent schools (which are half funded by the government).  I don't know the numbers, but homelearning has grown astronomically in BC in the last decade, but technical "homeschooling" has dropped to extremely low numbers.  Distance Learning is a fuzzy hybrid where parents get support and some funding, but also are expected to meet the provincial standards (in their own way).  

 

That's another thing about my state.  They don't recognize distance learning.  If I enroll my kid in an accredited distance learning program, I still have to jump through all of the homeschool hoops and it will not be considered a private school option.  Some higher ed schools in my state also don't recognize diplomas from accredited long distances learning programs.  The regs don't state that's the rule, but that's how some interpret it. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

The state sets the laws.  My state allows me access to programs, classes and services in the public schools.  My dd received speech therapy at the local school.  But that wasn't specifically provided for her because she's a homeschooler.  It was provided because the state recognizes that we pay taxes for those services and should receive them.  The school board had nothing directly to do with it other than making sure that they comply with state law.  

 

Public school "homeschool" programs are not homeschooling at all (by legal definition) and are not something I am interested in.  At all.  

[Jean in Newcastle]

[

PS - Any school event that is open to the public is open to me and my family.  So we go to school musicals and fairs and whatever else is open to the public.  

 

 

[happypamama]

I'd rather have no relationship with the school district at all. But since I have to have a relationship because that's what the state law says I have to have, I would rather the school district give me some of the money they would spend if my children were cyber schooled or charter schooled. As it is, my children are at least somewhat considered to be students of the district because the district has to allow them to take classes, use books, participate in clubs and sports, and use services such as speech therapy, so since I have used none of that but still have to report to them, I'd like to have some of the money. Or no relationship at all. (It bugs me to no end that my school district complains that it doesn't have enough money and that its teachers haven't gotten raises for a while, but they've raised my property taxes quite a bit, and have mediocre test scores. I don't mind my county and local township property taxes at all, just the ones that go specifically to the school district.)

 

Also, if I have to have a relationship with them, I'd like for them to know the homeschooling laws. Last spring, when DS2 was 5, we got the Kindergarten registration packet in the mail from the school. I called to tell them that he wouldn't be attending, that we were going to homeschool him. The lady said, "Well, you still have to register him as a homeschooler and fill out the paperwork." I politely informed her that, actually, no, I did not, because the age here for registration is eight; K is not mandatory. She told me she'd have to ask someone and would call me back. I never did get a call back, of course, but even if I were intending to send him to public school, I would be perfectly legal not to send him for K or first and do absolutely nothing with him for those years, and I think it's ridiculous that the school district's office personnel doesn't know that.

 

Anyway, I would, rather not even be on their radar, but since I have to be, I'd like some benefits from it.

[Tsuga]

Something interesting about that in my state is that private schooled students are entitled to borrow books from the public schools and the public schools are required to provide transportation to the private schools (within reason). Those are basically seen as things that follow the student irregardless of where they go to school. EXCEPT, none of this pertains to homeschoolers.

Wow. That must cost a ton of money, to provide every child with transport anywhere they want in the city. I our wealthy district, you only get bussed within district. Special needs children are districted by program. Lottery schools and people going out of their home area can be dropped at regular pick-up points. And nobody can borrow from a public school library without being a student there. It would be too expensive to administer. Bussing to and library for people who are not tied to an administrative body sounds like a nightmare.

[Um_2_4]

In CA, Homeschools (here they are with Private schools for all intents and purposes) can access district services for testing/LDs/therapy, etc. But most people I've known personally who used it got frustrated and walked away. A lot of "Well if Junior was in the classroom we could x,y,z" or "If you don't do b,c,d we'll have to report it". Basically pushing to get bodies into class seats for more funding. Forget the fact that many kids are not learning much.

I would be in favor of those services (testing, therapy, etc) being removed from school settings in all states so that parents, no matter what educational choice they choose, could access them.

So for me policy should be educational choice, hands off, myob. I actually have some ideas about educational reform that I think might be workable, but would require a complete overhaul and would rock too many boats (union and the like) so I doubt it would ever get passed.

[Ellie]

Community building is not the Board's business.

 

 

AMEN.

[TechWife]

I I wondered what kinds of local/ state/ national policies people thought would allow them to retain their educational autonomy and be beneficial to the homeschooling community. 

 

 

- Government funded programs could mean things like subsidized breakfast/lunch, eye/ ear testing - and of course all of the physical resources in the schools are funded through taxes so I would include those as well.

 

ETA - I appreciate everyone's opinion and thank you for taking the time to respond. 

 

The thing about government policies is that they rarely come without strings attached. I can't really think of any situations that would allow a homeschool to retain autonomy. Many people think that access to extracurriculars, such as sports and clubs, should be available to homeschool. Those usually come with minimum grade requirements, so the government is deciding what grades your homeschool student must have in order to play a sport. I think that minimum grade should be our decision as homeschoolers, not the schools. 

 

The government funds food assistance and medical care through existing programs, such as SNAP and health departments. Homeschoolers don't need to take part in the school system in order to access these services. 

 

I am not interested in accessing school textbooks - the catch in that is that it would require me to teach what the government has determined is important and to teach how the government has determined it should be taught. I would loose the autonomy of choosing the appropriate teaching methods and materials for my student. 

 

I am hard pressed to come up with a scenario that doesn't require the relinquishment of some autonomy in exchange for a government determined benefit, but I'm all ears. 

[TechWife]

Community building is not the Board's business.

 

 

:iagree:  Exactly. 

[Arcadia]

I am hard pressed to come up with a scenario that doesn't require the relinquishment of some autonomy in exchange for a government determined benefit, but I'm all ears.

We have a bond/measure passed to pay for school librarians. It is a line item on our property tax bill. As such the district allowed all residents (young to old) to borrow from the school libraries. They actually gave me a school library account when I asked for one just by showing my address on my DMV ID. I had borrowed in the past.

[TechWife]

We have a bond/measure passed to pay for school librarians. It is a line item on our property tax bill. As such the district allowed all residents (young to old) to borrow from the school libraries. They actually gave me a school library account when I asked for one just by showing my address on my DMV ID. I had borrowed in the past.

 

Yes, you gave up the autonomy of deciding how to spend your own money in exchange for being able to use the school library. Additionally, I don't know about your county, but mine has a thriving public library system that can get books from around the world through ILL, so access to a school library would not be a benefit to me - it wouldn't expand my access to books at all, although it might help me get to some of them more quickly. 

[Arcadia]

Yes, you gave up the autonomy of deciding how to spend your own money in exchange for being able to use the school library.

The bond measure did not include use of the school libraries. It was just a goodwill measure after the bond measure passed. The "goodwill" can be revoked anytime.

Not every school has a librarian and I guess voters don't wish to see librarians retrenched because of the drop in property tax in the property downturn years. Pink slips were already issued to the school librarians at the same time as pink slips to teachers.

[Incognito]

The thing about government policies is that they rarely come without strings attached. I can't really think of any situations that would allow a homeschool to retain autonomy. Many people think that access to extracurriculars, such as sports and clubs, should be available to homeschool. Those usually come with minimum grade requirements, so the government is deciding what grades your homeschool student must have in order to play a sport. I think that minimum grade should be our decision as homeschoolers, not the schools. 

 

The government funds food assistance and medical care through existing programs, such as SNAP and health departments. Homeschoolers don't need to take part in the school system in order to access these services. 

 

I am not interested in accessing school textbooks - the catch in that is that it would require me to teach what the government has determined is important and to teach how the government has determined it should be taught. I would loose the autonomy of choosing the appropriate teaching methods and materials for my student. 

 

I am hard pressed to come up with a scenario that doesn't require the relinquishment of some autonomy in exchange for a government determined benefit, but I'm all ears. 

 

Well, I live where the government determined benefit requires extremely little in relinquishment of autonomy (for primary grades).  I will say that the fact that homelearning is sort of public supported has made it MUCH more attractive to a lot of people starting out.  Then people find out how awesome it really is and either stay with it or just enjoy a few more of the young years at home with the kids before putting them in the usual system.  Also, the way it is currently set up a lot of children with special needs go outside the regular system and their funding for therapies is then able to be used directly on them instead of spread across administration and a variety of undiagnosed kids in their classes.

 

Depending on what place I choose to be supervised by, I get varying levels of oversight and suggestion.  There are places that do 3x year portfolio submissions, places that do weekly reports you type up... it's extremely varied and you choose what suits your family.  In enrolling in these programs, you agree to cover what the provincial government says you should cover.  For grades k-2 that means working towards learning to read and "reading like behaviors", along with learning about numbers and some skip counting, observing the local environment and community helpers.  Umm... I'd be pretty hard pressed to find people who DIDN'T want to cover those things with their kids in K-2, so it really isn't onerous to agree to the provincial standards.  

 

When you get past 2nd grade, then the topics of study and requirements get more specific, so the type of oversight one has chosen becomes more important (and more people choose to step outside the system - or high school it gets really hard to have your total autonomy and be in the system - there it seems like you have to choose... but you can choose to enrol kids on a class by class basis, so there too, if you don't expect to get the provincial high school diploma, it doesn't matter).

 

What does a parent get out of agreeing to the oversight?  Money for curriculum and/or classes, along with various things that the different enrolling organizations offer (some offer classes, some offer more teacher support, others offer computers, etc.).  It doesn't pay for everything, and there is some work to it (you have to somehow report about what you have done), but the carrot is big enough to lure a lot of people into it.

 

FWIW, the only reason this system works well and has the autonomy and flexibility it DOES have is because 1)nobody is required to be a part of it - you can choose to homeschool completely outside it and 2)there are a lot of private schools that receive the 1/2 government funding which supply the variety and choice/autonomy in education.  There is one public school that is very flexible, but in my experience most local ones are not.

[snowbeltmom]

The thing about government policies is that they rarely come without strings attached. I can't really think of any situations that would allow a homeschool to retain autonomy. Many people think that access to extracurriculars, such as sports and clubs, should be available to homeschool. Those usually come with minimum grade requirements, so the government is deciding what grades your homeschool student must have in order to play a sport. I think that minimum grade should be our decision as homeschoolers, not the schools. 

 

(snip)

 

 

I am hard pressed to come up with a scenario that doesn't require the relinquishment of some autonomy in exchange for a government determined benefit, but I'm all ears. 

 

Two years ago, my state granted homeschoolers access to sports and clubs.  There were some in the homeschooling community who were against this law for the reasons you cited.  However, their predictions were wrong.  Homeschoolers did not relinquish any autonomy.

 

My public school has no idea how my kids are performing in school because I am not required to submit grades in order for them to play a sport.  The only requirement homeschoolers must meet in order to play a sport is that they, like every other athlete, must get a yearly physical.  Other than that, my kids simply show up on the first day of practice.

 

My kids are treated like any other player on the team.  Their names and pictures are published on the school website, they are included in the award ceremony nights, etc.  In fact, many in the community (other parents of kids on the teams, teachers, reporters, etc.) have no idea that they are even homeschooled.

 

My daughter starts high school in the fall and is looking forward to joining some of the school clubs with her neighborhood friends (who all attend the public school.)

 

The passage of this law has been great for the homeschoolers in my state.

 

[Reefgazer]

Homeschooling is fairly mainstream here, but I can foresee a time when it would be mainstream just about everywhere, even in places where it is fairly rare now. I do not think there should be any relationship between the federal government and homeschooling, or between the federal government and schooling of any type, really. It would be very nice if there was an amicable working relationship between the local school board and local homeschoolers, so that homeschoolers would have access to public school sports, debate, etc, without infringing on the rights of homeschooling parents to determine grades and academic resources used in the homeschool. We do pay taxes for these things, after all.

[Farrar]

There are a lot of benefits that being a public school student can afford here - not only access to sports and resources, but things like free public transit on school days and, in the near future, potentially pretty large money for college. Homeschooling is not mainstream here, though it is growing.

 

I agree with those that say that since we pay for those resources, homeschoolers should be able to access them in reasonable ways if they wish. I agree that there is a chance of autonomy lost, but in many places that have implemented such access, homeschoolers seem happy with the arrangements so I don't that's inevitable. Here we can't do that, but we are supposed to be able to access some things - like the free transit cards - but it's a pita to do so I wish it were easier and more approachable. Ideally, I wish that the public schools sent homeschoolers something that explained what benefits they could access and how and if there is any additional accountability to access it, whether the state has free online learning like K12 and how to enroll if that is desired, how to re-enroll in traditional public school if they wish, how to access any charter or school lottery or voucher programs and if there are dates for those (I think that's information many would like to have, no agenda there - I just think new homeschoolers may want to know that stuff), and contact information for any statewide groups. Most of that is stuff that most people are going to be able to find relatively easily, but it never ceases to amaze me how people can be ignorant of things like that. I don't think it hurts to put out information.