Help me find a source that explains I have authority over my child's curriculum

[mommysanders]

We are an expat family and are trying to take advantage of my husband's company's offer to cover school costs. They would pay for our children to go to the private international school and supposedly they cover up to a certain amount for homeschool materials.

 

I have given his expat advisor (who will approve the reimbursement of supplies) the list of curriculum and material needed. She has replied with this question.

"is this an official curriculum for homeschooling you got from local home school authorities? Which source did you use to design this plan?"

 

Please help me formulate a reply! I do not need to get defensive, because this woman truly doesn't understand homeschooling. She's not American. What I need is a kind yet informative explanation that basically says "I am the authority over my child's curriculum." Is there anything official I can use? National and/or state law I can point her to? I think she just wants to make sure everything is "official".

 

Please help me! I'm at a loss.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lori D.]

Your best bet may very well be to provide a homeschooling authority to satisfy her request. In many overseas nations, esp. Eastern European nations, legal and bureaucratic authority "trumps all". Trying to explain or convince or enlighten about homeschooling will likely not be in your best interest. From things said by WTM Board members Dialectica and Regentrude -- and you may want to private message them for help here -- about how Eastern European cultures view homeschooling, providing some sort of document or authority that officially sanctions your "private education" (homeschooling) curriculum choices is what will help most in these types of situations.

 

Ideas:

- Are you working with an umbrella or cover school, or accrediting agency?

- Do you pay an annual fee for membership to some homeschooling organization?

- How about any legal paperwork, affidavit, etc., that your U.S. state required you to submit when you choose to homeschool (before you moved overseas)?

- Perhaps pay a fee to a certified educational consultant for documentation of approval of an education plan and materials?

 

 

BEST of luck in finding what will quickly and easily satisfy the need here! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[Aiden]

Could you print out a copy of your home state's regulations (or a user-friendly version) and show that you're meeting those requirements? That's the requirement we have to meet in order for my husband's employer to reimburse homeschool expenses.

 

Another option, and the one I intend to use starting in the fall, is to use a cover school that allows you to choose your own curriculum. This can get expensive, but if your husband's company will reimburse enough to cover it, it may be worthwhile to enroll your child and then simply present it to the company rep as "my child is enrolled in this home education program, and these are the supplies needed."

 

ETA: Feel free to PM me if you want the website for the cover school we'll enroll with in the fall.

[Kiara.I]

Would you still be considered as being from whatever state you used to live in?  If so, you could reference that (if it's useful to you.)

 

Otherwise, I would probably be inclined to descend into educationese.

"I have designed a curriculum that meets all national and state standards for blah, blah, blah...

This satisfies the requirements that apply to us in our country and state of origin, blah, blah, blah..."

 

The hslda site lists laws by state, you can look up your previous state there, and see if there's anything quotable.

[Aiden]

Since they're willing to pay for schools, I'd see if they'd pay for enrollment in Clonlara school. You could then get Clonlara to create a master list of your chosen curriculum, with a stamp ( :)) and submit that for reimbursement.

 

Nothing you could do in a homeschool setting could possibly be as expensive as a private international school. That stuff costs. Lots. Maybe your kids need a laptop for school too? :D

 

Clonlara? Haven't heard of that one, I'm off to Google ... (though we'll almost certainly go with the one we've chosen already, since they have experience with our specific reimbursement situation).

[mommysanders]

Ideas:

- Are you working with an umbrella or cover school, or accrediting agency?

- Do you pay an annual fee for membership to some homeschooling organization?

- How about any legal paperwork, affidavit, etc., that your U.S. state required you to submit when you choose to homeschool (before you moved overseas)?

- Perhaps pay a fee to a certified educational consultant for documentation of approval of an education plan and materials?

Another option, and the one I intend to use starting in the fall, is to use a cover school that allows you to choose your own curriculum. This can get expensive, but if your husband's company will reimburse enough to cover it, it may be worthwhile to enroll your child and then simply present it to the company rep as "my child is enrolled in this home education program, and these are the supplies needed."

Would you still be considered as being from whatever state you used to live in?  If so, you could reference that (if it's useful to you.)

The hslda site lists laws by state, you can look up your previous state there, and see if there's anything quotable.

Since they're willing to pay for schools, I'd see if they'd pay for enrollment in Clonlara school. You could then get Clonlara to create a master list of your chosen curriculum, with a stamp ( :)) and submit that for reimbursement.

 

Nothing you could do in a homeschool setting could possibly be as expensive as a private international school. That stuff costs. Lots. Maybe your kids need a laptop for school too? :D

 

I didn't mention this, but I see it may change some answers. My child is just doing Kindergarten work, so I'm not inclined to pay for a cover school for him. Or should I give it more thought? The biggest expense will be read-aloud books and easy reader books. We will not have access to an English library, so I plan to buy a LOT. This is by far the biggest expense for his curriculum. I have told them we are using OPGTTR, which we already own, and I'm mostly asking for books to be payed for. However, I did also throw in a K level math program and a foreign language.

 

I have thought of looking up requirements for the state we moved from, but I know at the K level I won't find what I'm looking for. I'm also worried that if I send them something that says "Kindergartners should learn their ABCs" for example, and my son is past that and is reading books, they will decline my request for what is appropriate for him. I hope that's not the case, but I'm a bit worried about it.

 

Regardless of the fact that he's doing Kindergarten, the policy states that they cover school expenses starting at age 3. Yes, the international schools are ridiculously expensive! But for home school, they don't cover up to the same amount. However, the amount they're giving me to spend (if they approve my request) is way more than I need this year!

 

And, Dialectica, I wish they covered laptops! haha!

[Aiden]

I didn't mention this, but I see it may change some answers. My child is just doing Kindergarten work, so I'm not inclined to pay for a cover school for him. Or should I give it more thought? The biggest expense will be read-aloud books and easy reader books. We will not have access to an English library, so I plan to buy a LOT. This is by far the biggest expense for his curriculum. I have told them we are using OPGTTR, which we already own, and I'm mostly asking for books to be payed for. However, I did also throw in a K level math program and a foreign language.

 

I have thought of looking up requirements for the state we moved from, but I know at the K level I won't find what I'm looking for. I'm also worried that if I send them something that says "Kindergartners should learn their ABCs" for example, and my son is past that and is reading books, they will decline my request for what is appropriate for him. I hope that's not the case, but I'm a bit worried about it.

 

Regardless of the fact that he's doing Kindergarten, the policy states that they cover school expenses starting at age 3. Yes, the international schools are ridiculously expensive! But for home school, they don't cover up to the same amount. However, the amount they're giving me to spend (if they approve my request) is way more than I need this year!

 

And, Dialectica, I wish they covered laptops! haha!

 

If there's enough extra to pay for a cover school (and if it will continue to be enough extra in upcoming years), then I'd reconsider. My daughter will only be in K next year, and we'll be using a cover school solely to make the reimbursement process from my husband's employer easier to deal with.

 

Also, my home state (Maryland) doesn't list specific standards that must be accomplished for homeschooling in each grade. Instead, they have a list of subjects for which the parent must provide "adequate instruction," without defining what adequate instruction is. So in your situation, if I didn't want to use a cover school, I'd make sure that the books included one or more books that could be said to be part of each required subject and call it good. It never occurred to me to look at the state standards for public school and use that as a list of what must be covered in home school--there are separate laws governing home education for a reason.

 

[Dmmetler]

Would Home Life Academy work? They're quite inexpensive, allow parents free choice in curriculum selections, yet are a "school".

[Jackie]

I second looking at Clonlara. We're hoping to move out of the country in a couple years and I keep them in mind for any situation where we would need to prove "school". They're accredited yet allow you total control and flexibility.