Homeschool Alliance of North Carolina

“By Carolyn Casey
Rocky Mount Telegram

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Like any typical weekday afternoon Kay Bindrim gathered three of her children around the kitchen table. As the center of the household, the eight seat table used for family meals and down time also serves as a classroom.

While helping her 5-year-old write the letter “M,” Bindrim kept an ear on her daughter using the laptop for a math session on the other side of the table. An hour later, Bindrim was at the table teaching her two oldest daughters grammar lessons while they sat beside her.

Kay and Tommy Bindrim chose home schooling for their children for a long list of reasons, including more family time and flexibility. Reasons that have more and more parents picking the option to home school.

While still a relatively low number of families in North Carolina home school (4 percent) compared to enrolling in public school (90 percent) or private school (6 percent), the amount of parents picking the nontraditional path is increasing. The Christian Homeschool Association of Rocky Mount, the largest local support group, has more than doubled in size in the last three to four years to 140 families.

Home-schooled student statistics for the 2007-08 school year will be released Aug. 1 and the numbers are expected to rise. The N.C. Division of Non-Public Education does not track why more people are home schooling, but said odds are it has to do with the growth of the state as a whole….”

For the complete text please visit: http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/06/29/home.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=7

“David Kahl will soon add a new job title to his household résumé to go along with fun dad, the fix-it guy, the loving husband, the disciplinarian.

And his next assignment just may be his toughest one yet.

The job: Home school teacher.

Kahl, a stay-at-home dad, works as a supervisor and a scheduler for a pair of transportation companies. He says that in between answering phone calls and tracking cargo, he has some extra time on his hands. The master multitasker wants to spend that time educating his 11-year-old daughter, Kyra.

“I have been helping her with her homework ever since she started school,” Kahl said. “I want the best for her.”

During his down time, Kahl, 34, is reading the book “Homeschooling: Take a Deep Breath, You Can Do This,” by Terrie Lynn Bittner.

Usually those taking the deep breaths in home school, however, aren’t dads.

“Moms mostly teach home school,” said Charlene Peavy, spokeswoman for the Georgia Home Education Association. “But it is not unheard of for dads to be the main teacher. When the conviction in your heart is to do it, you are able to do it.”…”

For the complete text please visit: http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2008/06/17/home_school_dad.html

“Home School Opportunities Make Education Sound Act of 2008 (Introduced in Senate)

S 3076 IS

110th CONGRESS 

2d SessionTo amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a tax deduction for itemizers and nonitemizers for expenses relating to home schooling.

June 3, 2008

Mr. VITTER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Home School Opportunities Make Education Sound Act of 2008′.

SEC. 2. ITEMIZER DEDUCTION FOR HOME SCHOOL EDUCATION EXPENSES.

(a) In General- Part VII of subchapter B of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to additional itemized deductions for individuals) is amended–

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  (1) by redesignating section 224 as section 225, and

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  (2) by inserting after section 223 the following new section:

`SEC. 224. HOME SCHOOL EDUCATION EXPENSES.

`(a) Allowance of Deduction- In the case of an individual, there shall be allowed as a deduction for the taxable year an amount equal to the qualified home school education expenses paid by the taxpayer during the taxable year on behalf of each qualifying child of the taxpayer.

`(b) Maximum Deduction- The deduction allowed by subsection (a) for the taxable year shall not exceed the lesser of–

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  `(1) $500 for any qualifying child of the taxpayer, and

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  `(2) $2,000 in the aggregate for all qualifying children of the taxpayer.

`(c) Definitions- For purposes of this section–

A BILL

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

S. 3076…”

For the complete bill text:  http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:S.3076:

“June 3, 2008 - 

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Sen. David Vitter today introduced a bill to provide education-related tax relief to families who home school their children.  The Home School Opportunities Make Education Sound Act would allow home school families to take advantage of tax deductions to help alleviate education-related expenses.

         “Like those who choose to send their children to private schools, home school families pay an inequitable share of education-related expenses,” said Vitter.  “Even as they pay for expenditures related to home school activities, they fund public schools through their tax dollars.  We need to provide them with the same relief offered to private school families, and this bill is intended to do just that, by minimizing the financial burden of these families.”

         Vitter’s bill provides for a deduction of $500 per child with an annual limit of $2,000 for expenses related to K-12 homeschooling activities.  For families that do not itemize their taxes, the bill would allow for a standardized deduction of $500 per child, not to exceed $2,000 in one year.  Families with children who attend private schools are already eligible for education-related tax benefits.”

Here is the link to Senator Vitter’s home page:  http://vitter.senate.gov/?module=PressRoom/PressItem&ID=dbcdcfb0-d6a1-4acb-ae61-cfd76b18c8c0