Homeschool legislation in Nebraska affecting single parents
According to current Nebraska law, both parents must sign the paperwork for Rule 12 or 13 to satisfy the requirements to homeschool in this state. This can be particularly difficult for single parent households, and if the parents disagree on the choice to homeschool (or to send their child to an unaccredited institution), the law currently favors the parent in support of public education. Erdman and Harms have introduced Legislative Bill 101 which would reduce the burden on homeschooling families, allowing only one parent to sign the parent. A summary of the bill, from NCSA:
Current law (§ 79-1601) seems to require statements from both parents (guardians) of a child who will be attending a private, denominational, or parochial school that elects not to meet state accreditation or approval requirements. The statement must be received by the Commissioner of Education and must state that:
Either specifically (i) the requirements for approval and accreditation required by law and the rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the State Board of Education violate sincerely held religious beliefs of the parents or legal guardians or (ii) the requirements for approval and accreditation required by law and the rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the State Board of Education interfere with the decisions of the parents or legal guardians in directing their child's education;
An authorized representative of the parents or legal guardians will at least annually submit to the Commissioner of Education the information necessary to prove that the private, denominational, or parochial school (i) met minimum requirements relating to health, fire, and safety standards prescribed by state law (ii) reported attendance according to law, and (iii) maintained a program of instruction designed to lead to basic skills in the language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and health;
The school offers the courses of instruction required by law, and
The parents or legal guardians have satisfied themselves that individuals monitoring instruction at the school are qualified to monitor instruction in the basic skills as required by law and that such individuals have demonstrated an alternative competency to monitor instruction or supervise children.
LB 101 clarifies that the authorization by only one parent or legal guardian is necessary to comply with these provisions. The complete bill can be viewed here. According to HSLDA, this is scheduled to be voted on today, January 22, at 1:30. If you would like to contact a member of the Education Committee, their contact information is below.
I have one question about the bill, which perhaps someone could clarify, if s/he knows a bit more about it. Section 2 states that "Such rules and regulations may include a provision for the visitation of such schools and regular achievement testing of students attending such schools in order to insure that such schools are offering instruction in the basic skills listed in this subsection."
I don't think this differs any from the letter of the current law, but at the same time, we seem to have an informal agreement with the Department of Education that homeschools will not be tested (scroll to the bottom). Will this change with this legislation?
Updates for homeschoolers living in or moving to Nebraska.
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