Easy homeschool laws and...grrrrrr....homeschool parents!

[Lisa loves Pooh]

So someone in my yahoo-county homeschool group e-mails b/c they got a letter from county and then today got a visit from a truant officer.

The issue--they are a little late on turning in their evaluation.

Turns out it is only a few days late--but still. It's late.

Evidently superintendant is paying hardball and in the letter terminated the homeschool program for 180 days and stated the students had to be enrolled.

Okay--the letter may be a bit illegal in its punishment (though in looking out our statutes, there is no spelled out consequence to not meeting your stated deadline based on when you submitted your letter.)


What makes me miffed--Florida is an EASY compliance state. Don't give me crap about life getting in the way.

365 days in the year and you are a little late and your first inclination is to LAUGH at the letter (stated in this mom's e-mail) and then when the truant officer shows up you state you will get it taken care of pronto.

Then I e-mail saying--I guess it goes to show that we should follow our homeschool laws. And everyone else is saying send it to HSLDA--report the superintendant--torches ablazing!!!!!


It's like--hello--you were LATE!!!!

If you got caught in a speed trap--it doesn't matter if it was mean of the cop to be at your spot that day and life got in the way and you had to speed--you're getting a ticket, buddy!

It just urks me. I love homeschooling--feel my states laws are amazingly simple and here you have not 1--but 3 parents, 2 of whom got letters and the 3rd who is late but hasn't gotten one yet....blowing it off of how mean it is b/c the last superintendent wasn't such a "stickler" for deadlines.



Sorry if this makes no sense. I can write properly--but this just has me so irked!!!

No 1 I know is a great homeschooling parent--the others I do not know personally. I don't think they are trying to skirt the system. But where's "I take responsibility for my actions--I don't agree with their letter and feel the 'punishment' is not legal, but I still made an error, shame on me"?

Vent Over! I hope it doesn't put homeschoolers in a bad light. But color me shocked.

(Oh and I just got a response that 3 moms with over 50 years of experience blah blah blah....well it seems you would know how to respond by a deadline after having to do it a combined 50 times!!!!)

So irked. And us newbies are supposed to respect the knowledge of these more experienced moms who don't take accountability for their actions on the premise that the superitendant possibly broke the law with his "punishment"--an acknowledged "gray" area by one of these pro-homeschooling moms.

 

[lovetoscrap]

I totally agree with you. And it is crap like this that makes school districts start pushing back and then the state decides to get involved and make things more difficult. This is what it looks like to them: "These homeschoolers aren't even responsible enough to send in one form by a specific date. How can we know that they are responsible enough to be actually teaching their children and being responsible for their education." I can't blame the law makers for getting that impression.

 

[Stacerita]

I would be irked like you if I homeschooled. They were late and need to face their responsibilities. Deadlines are deadlines. They should be following the rules. Simple.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

They have a valid point that the punishment may have been overstepping bounds--but seriously--lots more support for the "how dare they camp" than my POV.

I got one response that says we have to watch these govt officials--give them an inch, they take a mile.

Yeah--how late would you have been without a letter and without a knock on your door. Don't give me garbage about wasted tax dollars.

One's daughter is 17. State compulsary age is 16--but if you have an established homeschool program, you still legally have to terminate it. So if you are irked to be bothered, what's with the 1.5 year delay??

Again--I don't question their academic integrity--but I'm just shell shocked. But I said my piece.

And as I told them, at 5 years experience, I'm still wet behind the ears, so what do I know, right? I would have still accepted responsibility for my failure to act AND at the same time follow up on the legality on the threatened punishment.