Homeschool Alliance of North Carolina

“HARFORD COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) ― A Harford County child starves to death, leaving a senator to wonder if the state should be checking in on the welfare of children who are schooled at home.

Suzanne Collins reports the little boy who died had very little contact with the outside world.

Dennis Merryman, 8, was one of four brothers and sisters from Russia, adopted by a Harford County couple who already had children of their own.  The couple, convicted of child abuse leading to death, testified Dennis had a lot of behavioral problems and they used strict discipline.  Prosecutors say that included tying the boy up and denying him food.

“He died when he was a few months shy of nine-years-old and he looked like he was three or four in those pictures.  That’s the thing I don’t understand.  Didn’t anybody notice this child wasn’t growing?” said Harford County Diane Tobin.

The Merrymans live in rural Harford County.  The children had little contact with outsiders and Donna Merryman taught them at home.  They did go to Franklin Baptist Church, but church members testified they thought the boy was born disabled and sickly.

“The one question I keep getting asked is ‘didn’t the teachers notice?’  But they were not in public schools.  They were home-schooled,” Tobin said.

A state senator wonders if there should be checks made by the state on children who are so isolated and home schooled….”

For the complete story visit: http://wjz.com/local/dennis.merryman.2.703908.html

“Liz Beavers
Cumberland Times-News

KEYSER - After a lengthy and detailed discussion on the proposed policy on home-schooling students, the Mineral County Board of Education decided Tuesday to postpone any action until they can answer a series of questions originally posed by the Keyser High School Guidance Department.

The board members have been considering a proposed policy since their April 1 meeting when a large number of home school supporters appeared in protest of the removal of three students from classes they were taking at county schools.

At issue was the question of what constitutes a home-schooled student as opposed to a full-time public school student, and whether Superintendent of Schools Skip Hackworth had the authority to have the students removed from all but two of their classes in February.

When he took the action, Hackworth said home-schooled students could take no more than 50 percent of their classes in school without being classified as a full-time public school student.

The home school supporters questioned, however, how he had the authority to make that decision without an official policy in place….”

For the complete article visit:

http://www.times-news.com/local/local_story_107101449.html

“By Mary Hooper

Some people wonder if Mikaela Thomas is exceptionally intelligent, or if she’s not very smart at all.

“When we were young, a lot of people thought our mother was trapping us in the houses and brainwashing us,” Thomas said. “Adults would instantly start going into pop quizzes.”

Others assume she comes from a family with radical ideology, or that she has no friends.

All the misconceptions stem from one fact - Thomas was home-schooled.

“I’m normal,” said the radio-television-film junior.

Perceptions of home schooling began to change at some point, and people thought she was brilliant, Thomas said.

“The main misconception [then became] that you home school because you don’t fit into school,” Thomas said. “Which wasn’t the case at all.”

Margaret Halpin, an American studies junior, agrees that misconceptions about home schooling are common.

“A lot of people perceive home schooling as something that people with radical ideology use to shelter their kids,” Halpin said. “That was absolutely not the case.”

Thomas and Halpin were both part of the Austin Area Homeschoolers, an informal network of home-schoolers where Halpin said “everyone is welcome, and there is a neat mix of people.”…”

For the complete article visit: http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/media/storage/paper410/news/2008/04/14/LifeArts/Learning.Away.From.Home-3321968.shtml

“S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
7490

                                   I N  S E N A T E

                                     April 8, 2008
                                      ___________

       Introduced by Sens. WINNER, VOLKER — (at request of the State Education
         Department)  — read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be
         committed to the Committee on Education

       AN ACT to amend the education law,  in  relation  to  the  provision  of
         special education programs and services to home-schooled students

         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

    1    Section 1. Section 3602-c of the education law is amended by adding  a
    2  new subdivision 2-c to read as follows:
    3    2-C. SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE PROVISION OF EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS
    4  WITH  DISABILITIES PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION AND THE COMPUTATION OF STATE
    5  AID FOR SUCH EDUCATION PURSUANT TO SECTION  THIRTY-SIX  HUNDRED  TWO  OF
    6  THIS  ARTICLE,  A  HOME-SCHOOLED STUDENT SHALL BE DEEMED TO BE A STUDENT
    7  ENROLLED IN  AND  ATTENDING  A  NONPUBLIC  SCHOOL  ELIGIBLE  TO  RECEIVE
    8  SERVICES PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION; PROVIDED THAT SUCH
    9  STUDENT  IS  ENTITLED  TO  ATTEND  THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS WITHOUT PAYMENT OF
   10  TUITION PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION THIRTY-TWO HUNDRED TWO OF
   11  THIS CHAPTER AND HAS AN INDIVIDUALIZED HOME INSTRUCTION  PLAN  THAT  HAS
   12  BEEN  DETERMINED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT
   13  IN WHICH THE HOME SCHOOL IS LOCATED TO BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH  THE  REGU-
   14  LATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THIS
   15  SECTION  OR  OTHER  PROVISION  OF  LAW  TO THE CONTRARY, A HOME-SCHOOLED
   16  STUDENT SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO RECEIVE SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS  AND
   17  SERVICES  ON  THE  SITE  OF  THE HOME SCHOOL; PROVIDED THAT SUCH STUDENT
   18  SHALL BE ENTITLED TO RECEIVE  TRANSPORTATION  TO  AND  FROM  THE  PUBLIC
   19  SCHOOL OR OTHER SITE AT WHICH SUCH SERVICES WILL BE DELIVERED IN ACCORD-
   20  ANCE  WITH  SUBDIVISION  FOUR OF THIS SECTION, IF SUCH TRANSPORTATION IS
   21  NECESSARY FOR THE STUDENT TO BENEFIT FROM OR PARTICIPATE IN THE  SPECIAL
   22  EDUCATION SERVICES PROVIDED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED
   23  IN  THIS  SUBDIVISION, A HOME SCHOOL SHALL NOT BE CONSIDERED A NONPUBLIC
   24  SCHOOL FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSE UNDER THIS CHAPTER.
   25    S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.”

For the original site please visit: http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=S07490&sh=t

Staff writer

The state Senate’s Education Committee received a bill this week that would allow home-schooled special education students to receive services from the local school district.

In January, the state Education Department sent out a memo stating public schools can no longer provide these services - such as speech, occupational and physical therapy - to home-schooled students. The ruling stemmed from a 2006 case currently under appeal by a St. Lawrence County family in federal court.

The proposed bill states home-schooled students would be eligible for special education services only from the public district they would attend, and they must receive the services at school or another approved site, not at home. The district must provide transportation.

The bill will not change any previous rulings that bar home-schoolers from attending other school programs, such as career education or driver education.

About 450 home-schooled children across the state receive special education services from their local public school district.

To see the proposed bill, visit public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menuf.cgi and search for bill S07490. ”

For the original text please visit:

http://www.syracuse.com/poststandard/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-13/1207990797304740.xml&coll=1

“(AP) — LANSING, Mich. - Some families that home school their children are concerned about a proposal in the Michigan House that would have them register their names and addresses with public school districts.

The legislation introduced last month drew some protest Wednesday as part of an annual home schooling day at the Capitol. Opponents say the bill seeks unnecessary oversight and could be a step toward government regulation.

The bill’s sponsor, Democrat Brenda Clack of Flint, says those fears are unwarranted. She says the bill is an accountability measure and could help districts better plan their future building and staffing needs by letting them know how many school-age children live within their boundaries.”

For the original article please visit: http://www.weyi.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=119387

“Introduced by Schimek, 27.

PURPOSE: To examine policy changes that should be pursued in

order to provide further guidance and oversight of Nebraska’s home

schools. The committee shall conduct a study of the following:

(1) Current statutory framework established for the

creation of all types of nonaccredited schools in Nebraska and

how that relates to original legislative intent;

(2) Potential improvements that can be made to existing

statute due to the increased number of home schools, in order to

reflect current trends;

(3) Any data that can be drawn from only Nebraska home

schools to demonstrate how well the state’s home school students

are performing;

(4) Existing case law enabling states to provide

oversight to home schools; and

(5) Proposals that would enable Nebraska to provide

sufficient oversight through the testing of home school students or

other mechanisms in order to evaluate home school students.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MEMBERS OF THE ONE

HUNDREDTH LEGISLATURE OF NEBRASKA, SECOND SESSION:

1. That the Education Committee of the Legislature shall

be designated to conduct an interim study to carry out the purposes

of this resolution.

2. That the committee shall upon the conclusion of

its study make a report of its findings, together with its

recommendations, to the Legislative Council or Legislature.”

The link to the resolution:

http://uniweb.legislature.ne.gov/FloorDocs/Current/PDF/Intro/LR369.pdf

“Written By: Trevor Martin
A poll of 1,000 likely Idaho voters released last week has some damning results for public schools: Only 12 percent of Idahoans say they would send their kids to a “regular public school” if given a choice of any type, and among voters aged 36-55 — the most likely group to include parents who use the state’s educational services for their children — that number dropped to a dismal 4 percent.

Other findings of the poll reveal:

• 45 percent of voters rate the state’s public school system as “poor” or “fair”;

• 66 percent say public schools already have enough funding; and

• 63 percent say the average public school teacher in Idaho already earns enough money, or too much.

 
Given their dissatisfaction with the educational status quo, it should come as no surprise that voters’ support for school choice is strong:

• Among the 88 percent of total respondents who said they would not choose a “regular private school,” all said they would prefer private schools, charter schools, or home schooling; and

• Among all respondents, when asked their preferred choice to provide scholarships to children, 60 percent favored school vouchers; 59 percent said they favor a personal tax-credit system; and 57 percent favor a corporate tax-credit system.”

For the original article visit: http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=23053

“By MEGAN McCALLA

COLUMBIA — Kayla Fox is a smart student. She is 17, lives in Columbia and is immersed in the process of searching for the right university.

Attending college fairs and receiving information in the mail from various universities, she will soon be making a decision that most high school seniors are eager to make: which school to attend.

But Kayla has never been taught in a school setting, and she is not a senior in any high school class.

Kayla has been home schooled her entire life.

Home schooling in the U.S. has begun to catch the eye of universities nationwide. In the past 10 years, the number of children home schooled has increased from an estimated 850,000 to nearly 2 million.

Many are bright, well educated and well socialized, and universities are courting them more rigorously every year.

Colleges in Missouri and elsewhere are beginning to realize the potential of bringing students like these into their institutions….”

For the complete article follow this link:

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2008/04/06/colleges-missouri-are-recruiting-home-schooled-stu/

“ A growing number of American families are choos­ing to homeschool their children. The U.S. Depart­ment of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics reports that approximately 1.1 million chil­dren (2.2 percent of school-age children) were being educated at home as of 2003—29 percent more than the 850,000 students who were being homeschooled in 1998.[1] Another estimate projects that 2 million or more children may be homeschooling.[2]

Families cite common reasons for choosing to homeschool their children, such as concern about the environment at other schools, dissatisfaction with the academic instruction at other schools, and a prefer­ence for providing religious and moral instruction not provided in traditional schools.[3]

The decentralized nature of the homeschooling population limits researchers’ ability to draw conclu­sions about the specific effect of homeschooling on var­ious outcome measures such as academic achievement. However, evaluations of homeschooled students have reported that homeschool students perform well in that academic environment. Moreover, a survey of adults who were homeschooled suggests that home­schooling leads to positive life outcomes, such as higher college attendance and enrollment.[4]

The growing number of students being educated at home is also influencing the American education sys­tem and saving taxpayers between $4.4 billion and $9.9 billion in instructional costs each year….”

To read the footnotes and the rest of this article please visit:

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Education/bg2122.cfm