Homeschool Alliance of North Carolina

“…Another problem Pennsylvania parents are having with the Central Dauphin School District actually involves home schooling. According to the Home School Legal Defense Association, or HSLDA, parents who have chosen to educate their children from home have received unlawful treatment from Central Dauphin School District. The HSLDA reports that four families who are members of the association requested their assistance when they received letters from the Central Dauphin School District informing them they would need to stop homeschooling.

These four families had done everything required by law in order to be a homeschooling family. The official who made the decision that these families should not home school disagreed with their outlined curriculum objectives. However, the problem with this is that those objectives are not supposed to be used in determining a family’s eligibility to homeschool. The school district’s request for the family to submit revised objectives was actually a violation of the law. …”

For the complete text visit: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1063099/central_dauphin_school_district_in.html

INDIANAPOLIS — Democrat Richard Wood promised yesterday that if elected state superintendent of public instruction, he will stand up to lawmakers, the governor and the public to ask for more money for schools.  But Republican Tony Bennett said if he wins on Nov. 4, he’ll stand up for taxpayers and heed concerns about the economy and property tax bills….

The debate also exposed differing views on home schooling. Both candidates said there were two kinds of home schools — those where parents are heavily involved in the education process and where students are learning well, and those where parents are simply trying to avoid attendance requirements or other rules.

To address that concern, Wood said he supports standardized testing for all home-schooled students to ensure they are learning and achieving.

“I think that it would be in our best interest — and I know there are many home-school parents who would disagree — but I believe if we are going to test our students in our traditional schools and our private schools, we should also test our home-school students,” he said.

Bennett did not address the issue of testing during the debate. But later he said he does not favor mandatory standardized tests for home-school students.

“It comes down to the fact that education is still the parents’ choice,” he said. “I believe if parents are doing the right job home-schooling their children, that is their responsibility and that’s their choice. If parents are not appropriately schooling their children, then it becomes the job of child protective services and law enforcement.”…”

For the complete article visit: http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008809260473

by The Associated Press

Monday September 08, 2008, 3:49 PM

“…EDUCATION

McCain: Favors parental choice of schools, including vouchers for private schools when approved by local officials, and right of parents to choose home schooling. More money for community college education.

Obama: An $18 billion plan that would encourage, but not mandate, universal pre-kindergarten. Teacher pay raises tied to, although not based solely on, test scores. An overhaul of President Bush’s No Child Left Behind law to better measure student progress, make room for non-core subjects like music and art and be less punitive toward failing schools. A tax credit to pay up to $4,000 of college costs for students who perform 100 hours of community service a year. Obama would pay for his plan by ending corporate tax deducations for CEO pay and delaying NASA’s moon and Mars missions. …”

for more from this article visit:  http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2008/09/obama_mccain_on_the_issues_1.html