Know the Law, Act on the Law

 

Manfred Smith

 

It is one thing for county systems to tighten up their review procedure, it's quite another when they decide to add new features to the process.

New homeschoolers in Anne Arundel county who have submitted their Assurance of Consent form, the only legally required action they must take under the current by-law, have been receiving letters from the Anne Arundel schools informing them that they are responsible for withdrawing their children from the schools they attended and they need to attend a meeting with school officials prior to the start of the new school year.

The language used by school personnel makes it clear that this is not a request by the county, but rather something that homeschoolers must do. I have been told that the content of these meetings is to instruct homeschoolers how to assemble their portfolios prior to mailing them to the schools. Thus not only are parents bullied to attend meetings which they are NOT required to attend, they are given a limited option for their review with the county.

In an attempt to manage the growing number of homeschoolers in their districts, school personnel forget that they are dealing with private citizens, not students in their schools. They make arbitrary decisions such as the ones mentioned above and expect families to comply regardless of what the law requires.

The bottom line, as always, is that homeschoolers must know the law, and refuse to comply with requests from school officials that go beyond the requirements of the law. If we fail to do this, then the law becomes little more than an official's whim who wants to have it his way.

It does not matter what creative evasions a particular school district comes up with:

 

Carroll county schools wants all homeschoolers to come to the Board of Education building in Westminster for their annual reviews

- NOT REQUIRED UNDER THE LAW.

 

Prince George's schools wants their homeschoolers to complete a written document as part of their annual portfolio review

- NOT REQUIRED UNDER THE LAW.

 

In Montgomery county, homeschoolers have been asked to show specific hours of instruction and proof of educational progress. Parents have been challenged to show that they have the qualifications to teach their children

- NOT REQUIRED UNDER THE LAW.

 

In Baltimore City and Anne Arundel county, homeschoolers are instructed that they must mail their portfolio and no other review option is provided

- NOT REQUIRED UNDER THE LAW.

 

Some counties like Baltimore, and others on the eastern shore, have in the past, and some still do, automatically set up home visits when they contact homeschoolers for the purpose of the annual review

- NOT REQUIRED UNDER THE LAW.

 

Once in a while I hear about a county that insists on seeing a curriculum of studies, or specific textbooks, or test results

- NOT REQUIRED UNDER THE LAW.

 

Sometimes parents with highly gifted or special needs children are told that they must present a plan that shows how they will meet their children's needs

- NOT REQUIRED UNDER THE LAW.

 

How about having a part of the child's room designated as their classroom?

- NOT REQUIRED UNDER THE LAW.

 

None of the above is a new development. Like a virus, new varieties of the creeping crud of regulation will continue to breed well into the foreseeable future. It is not going to go away.

The standard mantra since the bylaw was enacted back in 1986 is that as a homeschooler you must become very familiar with the bylaw that regulates the homeschool process. Next, you must respond immediately to any communication you receive from the schools that you believe goes beyond the scope of the law. During review time, you should be sure to clarify with the school reviewer what is required under the bylaw to prevent the reviewer from going beyond what is proper. And if things do not go well, you must write letters to the Superintendent of schools and complain about any improper actions or outright harassment by school officials.

 

And finally, please contact MHEA and let us know about what is happening in your district.

 

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