The September 15, 2008 deadline for filing your declaration-of-intent
to homeschool form (DOI) is fast approaching.

 

If your student is attending the Running Start program
 you must file a DOI form. This will protect your homeschool
reedoms, such as parent-controlled graduation requirements,
 parent-issued diploma and transcripts.

 

We are still receiving complaints of many school districts using
 forms out of compliance with state law.
 We make the following suggestions:

 

·         Use the DOI form prepared by the
Christian Homeschool Network found
on our web site at http://www.chnow.org/page5.aspx

 

OR

 

·         HSLDA members can use the
 DOI form HSLDA has prepared www.HSLDA.org

 

OR

 

·         Use your school district’s DOI form and ONLY
fill in the information required by law.

 

 

There is no excuse for a school district to use a form
different than the one the State Superintendent’s Office
has prescribed. Nor is there any reason for them to
request additional information other than what state
law requires. The form developed by CHN uses OSPI’s
format but only includes information required by law;
such as age not birth date.

 

NOTE: If you have enrolled your student in any public
school-at-home program, you are not required to file a
 DOI form, since your child is enrolled full-time
in the public school.

 

Filing a DOI form does not necessarily mean
that your child is homeschooling under the
 home-based instruction law RCW 28A.200.
 In order for the education to be considered
home-based the parent takes total responsibility
for the child’s education, and conducts the
majority of the teaching. Therefore, programs
 supervised by the public school do not fall
under the home-based instruction law.

 

If you go in to the school district office to file,
we suggest you go prepared. Most school
districts are use to different forms or omission of
information on their form. Just in case, take a copy
 of the law, and be ready to humbly and firmly explain
 your position.  Do not be afraid to ask them
 “where is that in law?” Have the school district
personnel date and time stamp your form and
make you a copy for your records.

 

If you anticipate any problems with your school district,
before filing your DOI form please e-mail us with your
 home telephone number so that we may assist you
chnow@msn.com

 

Some believe that homeschoolers need to work with
heir local school district to bring the DOI forms into
 compliance with state law. We respect and encourage
 homeschoolers to stand for the homeschool law
at the local levels.

 

However, experience has shown us that this is very
 time consuming and has reaped very little results.
Today, 20 years after passage of the homeschool law,
 most school district’s DOI forms are out of compliance.
 A few homeschoolers have had success in getting their
 local school district’s DOI form corrected, but when
 we followed up a few years later, the school district
form was again non-compliant.
Thus is the nature of dealing with the educrats.

 

If you feel led to work with your local school district,
we would be happy to assist you.
Please send us an e-mail at chnow.@msn.com
 include your telephone number and we will give you a call.

 

 

If your school district has a form out of compliance with
 state law, let us know, or better yet send us a copy:
CHN 10638 SE 236^th St Kent, WA 98031

 

 

To read the law in its entirety, click here http://www.chnow.org/page5.aspx

 

 

 

Christian Homeschool Network

 

A Great Victory for California Homeschoolers

Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:

In a unanimous decision, the California Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District today ruled that "California statutes permit home schooling as a species of private school education."

Today's decision stands in stark contrast to the opinion this same three-judge panel issued in February, which would have made California the only state in the union to outlaw home education had it remained in effect.

"It is unusual for an appellate court to grant a petition for rehearing as this court did in March," said HSLDA Chairman Mike Farris, "but it is truly remarkable for a court to completely reverse its own earlier opinion. We thank you for your prayers and give God the glory for this great victory."

When the court vacated its earlier decision on March 25, 2008, it invited interested organizations to file friend-of-the-court briefs. "I have never seen such an impressive array of people and organizations coming to the defense of homeschooling," said Farris, who was one of the attorneys who argued the case on rehearing along with Alliance Defense Fund attorney Jeff Shafer, who represented the father. The father was also represented by Gary Kreep of the United States Justice Foundation.

California's three largest homeschool organizations, California Homeschool Network, Homeschool Association of California and Christian Home Education Association joined together in one brief to defend the right of all parents to homeschool. HSLDA, Family Protection Ministries and Focus on the Family also joined in a separate brief. Numerous other private organizations came to the defense of home education as did California's governor, attorney general, and superintendent of public instruction.

We are extremely grateful to all of the organizations who worked tirelessly to protect and preserve homeschooling freedom in California. We are also thankful for you, our members, for your prayers and support during this trying season.

The freedom to homeschool is a precious gift from God. But keeping it free requires vigilance and perseverance. We must continue to work together diligently to preserve this precious freedom in California and elsewhere.

Sincerely,

J. Michael Smith
HSLDA President

To read the full opinion click here. Below are excerpts from the opinion:

We will conclude that: (1) California statutes permit home schooling as a species of private school education; and (2) the statutory permission to home school may constitutionally be overridden in order to protect the safety of a child who has been declared dependent. [FN1: We use the terms "home school" and "home schooling" to refer to full-time education in the home by a parent or guardian who does not necessarily possess a teaching credential.]

...

Although the Legislature did not amend the statutory scheme so as to expressly permit home schooling, more recent enactments demonstrate an apparent acceptance by the Legislature of the proposition that home schooling is taking place in California, with home schools allowed as private schools. Recent statutes indicate that the Legislature is aware that some parents in California home school their children by declaring their homes to be private schools. Moreover, several statutory enactments indicate a legislative approval of home schooling, by exempting home schools from requirements otherwise applicable to private schools.

...

While the Legislature has never acted to expressly supersede Turner and Shinn, it has acted as though home schooling is, in fact, permitted in California.

...

While the legislative history of Education Code section 44237 is somewhat complicated, it confirms this interpretation, and also reflects the Legislature's apparent intent to accommodate home schooling parents.

...

The most logical interpretation of subsequent legislative enactments and regulatory provisions supports the conclusion that a home school can, in fact, fall within the private school exception to the general compulsory education law.

...

We therefore conclude that home schools may constitute private schools.

...

While the interpretation of the private school exemption is ultimately an issue for the courts, we find it significant that education and enforcement officials at both the state and local levels agree that home schools may constitute private schools.

...

In short, the rule of Turner and Shinn has been discounted as a doctrinal anachronism, and clinging to such precedent would undermine a practice that has been, if not actively encouraged, at least acknowledged and accepted by officials and the public for many years.

---

The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of:

Home School Legal Defense Association . P.O. Box 3000 . Purcellville, Virginia 20134-9000
Phone: (540) 338-5600 . Fax: (540) 338-2733 . Email: info@hslda.org
Web: http://www.hslda.org