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The state legislature here in Nebraska is considering a bill that would place some pretty onerous burdens upon homeschooling. I've been involved in opposition to it and, because of a letter I wrote to members of the Legislature's Education Committee, got selected to be one of 12 or so people who would testify before the Committee in opposition to the bill. The hearing was Tuesday of this week, and yesterday I was quoted in the largest newspaper in the state about my opposition to the bill. Here's the link if anyone is interested in my moment in the spotlight. To quote the immortal Norma Desmond, "All right, Mr DeMille, I'm ready for my close up".

 

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2798&u_sid=10268901

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And it did get noticed. I was flattered by the response. It was really fun to testify and mix it up a little. I told some friends that, for the first time in a long time, I felt like a "grownup." Homeschooling is great, but it's fun to get out there in the "real" world once in a while and talk about more than reading, writing, and arithmetic. Of course, I was a lawyer in my past life, and this was a great deal like arguing a case on appeal. That explains why I thought it was fun. That was my favorite part of legal work for me. I used to brief and argue appeals for other attorneys. What fun!

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Great job and well done from the other side of the river. I was disturbed that this very important issue got so little coverage on local news but Rosenblatt stadium is of monumental importance -10 minutes of the news last night and very little or no coverage about this issue. I felt that all the families in the World Herald and in the legislature were well versed, humble and respectful to the other viewpoints. Very impressive and well done to all!I can only hope that they decide to vote with intelligence and integrity rather than cater to what seems to be a panic approach to a problem that does not exist. Over here, across the river, we have a flurry of regulations, testing and must submit a complete schedule and lists of materials-it is a huge pain and guess what-if people are not going to educate their dc or say they are hsing only to abuse the poor children its going to happen regardless of the regulations.Sadly, the young lady who was allegedly hsed nearby and was only kept home so her stepdad could abuse her(Tracey Dyess case) is serving a lengthy prison sentence and living with her own horrible deeds against her sibs-would regulations have prevented that tragedy???Nope sadly I do not know the answers but would assert that regulations regarding subject matter , mandatory testing etc will not protect little ones from harm at all. Peace to you and best of luck as you fight to maintain your freedom to hschool in Ne.

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Great job, Linda.

 

We do have testing here in Arkansas for grades 3 - 9, BUT students' individual scores get reported only to their parents. There is no consequence if the scores don't mean certain standards. It would be a whole new ballgame if parents were required to put their dc in public (or other) school for low test scores.

 

Aren't bills (or laws) requiring homeschooled students to be placed in public (or other) schools for low test scores discrimatory? What about public- or private-schooled students who fall below the minimums? Aren't they allowed to continue in their current educational choices?

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I can assure you that, if this bill removing homeschooled children who who fail to show adequate yearly progress to public school is enacted, there will be a challenge to the constitutionality of the measure.

 

The thing that kills me is that homeschooling is currently regulated in Nebraska. The law requires five basic subjects be taught each year and over 1000 school hours to be logged. The number of hours required depends on the age of the student, the older the student, the more hours required. Homeschooling parents determine what curricula will be used to teach the required subjects, but they must file a list of the books and materials they will use and a description of the course of study, called a scope and sequence, with the Department of Education. Along with that information and a calendar outlining how and when the requisite number of school hours will be completed, each homeschooling parent submits a signed, sworn affidavit that he or she will fulfill the obligation to teach the required subjects for the required number of hours.

 

There are already penalties in place if a parent fails to fulfill these obligations. Criminal penalties can be imposed if a parent violates his or her sworn oath. Rules and regulations adopted by the Department of Education empower the Department to conduct home visits and even require regular achievement testing of particular students if the Department has cause to believe the parents are not adequately schooling the children in question. Of course, the same truancy statutes apply to homeschoolers that apply to persons whose children are schooled in public or private schools throughout the state.

 

 

 

 

Clearly, the State already has adequate safeguards in place. If some homeschooled children are still “falling through the cracks,” as proponents of LB 1141 imagine, the responsibility rests with State Department of Education officials to enforce the current statutes. It makes no sense to enact more stringent laws, burdening all homeschoolers with mandatory testing and additional recordkeeping requirements, when the Department has failed to live up to its enforcement responsibilities under the current regulatory structure. More laws will not solve any problem, assuming one exists, if no effort is made to implement and enforce them.

 

 

 

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Clearly, the State already has adequate safeguards in place. If some homeschooled children are still “falling through the cracks,” as proponents of LB 1141 imagine, the responsibility rests with State Department of Education officials to enforce the current statutes. It makes no sense to enact more stringent laws, burdening all homeschoolers with mandatory testing and additional recordkeeping requirements, when the Department has failed to live up to its enforcement responsibilities under the current regulatory structure. More laws will not solve any problem, assuming one exists, if no effort is made to implement and enforce them.[/left]

 

Sounds like you are right on the money. My goodness, Nebraska is already regulated out the wahoo.

 

This reminds me of a situation here in Arkansas. Homeschoolers are required to test in grades 3 - 9, and the testing is administered by the State Department of Education.

 

Last year there was a big stink by some in the Legislature about how homeschoolers need to be more regulated because, according to them, there were 2,000 homeschoolers who had broken the law and not taken the required test in the spring of 2007.

 

What they didn't acknowledge was the fact that homeschoolers are required (by them) to report changes in homeschooling during a school year only if they move to a different school district in the state of Arkansas. If the children move to another state or are enrolled in school in Arkansas, no reporting to the Department of Education is required. So, just because a family had turned in an Intent to Homeschool form in August (as is required for every homeschooling family) didn't mean that family was still homeschooling in Arkansas in the spring. And the Department of Education had made no provision for that.

 

There was also another little snafu they failed to consider. When one of my friends took her two sons to their designated testing center on the designated testing day, the administrators were completely unorganized and didn't have enough test booklets for one of her sons to be able to take the test. They told her she would have to bring him back in two weeks to be tested. My friend was in the process of moving and told them that she had submitted the required forms notifying them that her sons would be present to be tested on that specific day (as they had requested) and that she wasn't responsible for their ineptitude. She had done her part, her sons were both there, and she wasn't going to bring one of them back at another time just because they couldn't find a test booklet for him. They sent her and both her sons home and told her not to worry about testing for that year. I'm guessing theirs wasn't the only family who ran across that situation around the state on testing day, and I'll bet the Legislature didn't take those cases into account, either.

 

But, more regulation for everyone was still the answer in the minds of some.

 

It doesn't make any sense, does it?

 

EDITED TO ADD: Don't get me wrong, I am certain that there were homeschoolers here in Arkansas last year who refused to participate in the required testing. There will always be law-breakers, no matter what the law is. But as you said, passing more legislation just doesn't make sense; just enforce the current legislation if there is a problem.

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