Before I start this article I want to first state that I am a member of
HSLDA(Home School Legal Department Association) and ICHE(Idaho
Coalition of Home Educators). I do not work for these two groups.
I believe one must gather all facts before establishing a conclusion on
a subject. Just because you are linked with an organization does
not mean you can't question that organization on certain beliefs of
their rules. It doesn't mean you have to agree with everything
they say. But, you have chosen to link yourself with this
organization because they stand for what you believe in.
I received an e-mail that is floating around to home schoolers.
It has caused a little bit of a stir among home schoolers. This
e-mail is concerning H.R. 2732. If you don't know about H.R. 2732
there is a link at the bottom of the article for you to click on so you
can view this bill.
When I read the article I talked it over with my wife. We had
believed that the Kasemans had valid points. But, I wanted more
information.
I got a hold of an HSLDA representative and stated to them that this
article had valid points. I told them I was concerned about their
possible stance on this bill and that it could effect my freedom to
homeschool. I stated that I wanted a point by point explanation
telling me if this article has any credibility to it. To me this
sounded serious and if the article was correct than I would have to ask
HSLDA to please quit supporting H.R. 2732. I also stated to HSLDA
that I would have to ask my representative, Larry Craig, to take his
name off the bill as a co-sponsor.
HSLDA sent me an e-mail. I wanted to share that e-mail with
you. You can make your judgement, but I believe that HSLDA is
doing the right thing and that the Kasemans may not truly understand
H.R. 2732 or HSLDA.
Here is their response,
"Thank you for contacting HSLDA about the article in Home
Education Magazine by Larry and Susan Kaseman, in which they
share their concerns over H.R. 2732, the Home School Non-Discrimination
Act (HONDA). I appreciate your input and the opportunity to
respond to these concerns. Ignoring the inexplicable acidity of
the article, it is perhaps best to simply go to the substantive
criticism of the bill as the Kasemans presented it, and look at the
issues one at a time.
The first real objection of the Kasemans regarding the language
of HONDA concerns one of several "findings" at the beginning of
the bill. The finding in question reads: "Education by parents at home
has proven to be an effective means for young people to achieve success
on standardized tests and to learn valuable socialization skills."
In response to this finding, the Kasemans write: "Such reliance
on standardized test scores implies that homeschoolers believe
that such tests are reliable, that they're willing to take such tests
and frequently do, and that requiring homeschoolers to take them would
be reasonable. It also encourages people who think testing should be
required of homeschoolers."
This finding was put in HONDA because of the ever-present allegation
that homeschooling does not and cannot work. Members of Congress
are told this every year by the teacher's unions when they pass
their resolutions and forward them to Congress. This is ridiculous and
it is time Congress publicly acknowledges that fact. Many studies have
examined the academic progress of homeschoolers. The SAT and ACT
college admission test is the classic example. Dr. Brian Ray of the
National Home Education Research Institute, and Dr. Larry Rudner have
also conducted studies on the success of homeschooling. In fact, the
consensus among academic elites is that homeschooled children do well
academically. If a homeschooler does not want to use tests, that is
their right. But we need not fear comparing homeschool scores on tests
such as the SAT to children in other settings. These tests have proven
invaluable both in court and in the public perception of homeschooling.
College Admission and Financial Aid.
The Kasemans take great issue with the provisions in HONDA addressing
the Higher Education Act. The Act governs the ability of college
students to receive government aid in the form of guaranteed student
loans and grants. Under an interpretation of the Clinton
administration, a homeschooled student who is admitted under the age of
18 renders an entire college ineligible to award financial aid. Because
of this, many homeschool graduates, even some already admitted, had
their admittance to college revoked. This is not about whether the
students took any money, but about whether they could be admitted at
all. We have worked to achieve a temporary fix of this interpretation
with the new administration, but this is, and has been, a real problem
for homeschool graduates. Correcting the law will open many more
college opportunities for homeschoolers.
The Kasemans, like the reporter who wrote the Chronicle of Education's
convoluted piece on this issue, have also confused two issues:
admission and eligibility for admission. Nothing in HONDA requires a
college to admit a homeschooler; it merely says a homeschooler graduate
under 18 can be admitted.
The Kasemans state that "Such action is likely to increase the
animosity of some college admissions and financial aid officers toward
homeschooling, making things more difficult for homeschoolers than they
are under the current statute, especially since the Department of
Education's notice clarified the question over a year ago."
Animosity between college admissions officers and homeschoolers
is almost nonexistent. Many, many colleges actively recruit
homeschoolers and college admissions are now commonplace. HONDA is
about applying the law regarding aid consistently. I should add that
the "notice" mentioned by the Kasemans was a direct result of HSLDA's
work on Capitol Hill.
The second objection to the Higher Education Act revision is in regard
to HONDA's changing a label for a section in U.S. code from "students
who are not high school graduates" to a label called "satisfaction of
secondary standards." This is said to be problematic because "It would
be better for homeschool graduates to accept that in one statute they
are not recognized as graduates than to introduce into federal statutes
the idea that homeschoolers should comply with the government's
education standards, something many homeschoolers are working very hard
to avoid."
The truth is that the category "students who are not high school
graduates" is simply a label that currently exists in a section of
United States Code. It has no legal significance, but we at HSLDA have
had it used against us in the Higher Education context via the notion
that homeschoolers are not really high school graduates. Since that
segment of code does not address whether one is a high school graduate
at all (it is an inappropriate label that should not have been there to
begin with), it is useful to call it something else. That "else" became
"satisfaction of secondary standards" and is just a generic way of
saying that somebody has finished school, shown an equivalent, or is
otherwise finished with school - which is all this section was about.
No changes were made to the substance of the section. This section does
not set forth, define, or imply standards, it simply identifies that
completion is necessary before the receipt of federal collegiate aid.
IDEA
The next objection has to do with the Individuals with Disabilities
Act(IDEA), the federal program which pays for the services of children
with special needs. One result of this program is that school districts
are often very zealous in pursuing children in need of services. The
Kasemans frame the issue this way: "HSLDA's proposal is to add several
paragraphs to IDEA stating that public schools are not required to
provide services for families who refuse to consent to screenings and
evaluations. This proposal is a bad idea. Our freedoms are much more
secure when we parents take responsibility for knowing what our rights
are instead of relying on officials to know them. It would be much
better to educate parents, and, whenever possible, officials."
The bill language simply states that IDEA does not require a school
district to pursue screenings and evaluations over parental objection.
This has been a problem because some school districts believe IDEA
requires them to pursue students, including homeschool students, even
if the parents object and no services are sought. In fact, HSLDA is
currently in Court in Missouri on this issue. The Kasemans' solution,
to explain the rights to school officials, did not work. Sometimes the
government does not understand rights. Any family forced to submit to a
government exam of their children, over their consent, when services
are not sought, will appreciate this provision.
The Kasemans also complain, "the proposed paragraphs are likely to be
opposed by special education professionals, social workers, and other
powerful supporters of IDEA. The bill also gives critics of
homeschooling an opportunity to argue that homeschoolers should be
screened since they are not regularly observed by professionals in a
conventional school."
The fact of the matter is that this provision has already passed in the
House of Representatives when the IDEA reauthorization Act passed
earlier this year. HSLDA worked to have this provision inserted. It is
considered non-controversial.
Coverdell Education Savings Accounts
The next objection has to do with provisions in HONDA allowing
homeschoolers to use their own education savings accounts (where growth
on the money is allowed tax free) to pay for homeschool education >
expenses. The issue, so it is said, is that this leads to a federal
definition of homeschooling. This is not true. Education savings
accounts are available to be utilized, right now, by the parents of
children in public, private, and religious schools. The categories of
items, which can be legitimately paid for by education savings
accounts, are the same for all parents. Moreover, the items are not
examined by the government, and no list is turned over. The only
difference, right now, is that parents who homeschool cannot legally
use these accounts unless they are in one of the 14 or so states that
consider homeschools to be private schools. This is about families
using their own money to pay for the education of their own children.
Moreover, if somebody doesn't want to use this tax advantage, they do
not have to.
Privacy of Homeschoolers' Records
A section of HONDA amends the Family Education and Privacy Rights Act
(FERPA) to require that the records of all non-public students,
including homeschoolers, enjoy the same privacy protections as the
records of public school students. This has been a real problem in
several states where some homeschool records are held by the schools
under state law. The Kasemans believe that this subject "needs to be
approached in a much more substantive and thoroughgoing manner. Also,
since this bill would apparently give homeschoolers greater protection
than students enrolled in public schools have, this provision could be
viewed by critics of homeschooling as granting special favors to
homeschoolers."
The Kasemans' critique does not square with the language of the bill.
The bill addresses not only homeschool records, but also any non-public
student's record the school is required to keep. The only differential
treatment is that while some information can be released on public
school students upon public notice, the changes in HONDA require that
the records of the students not in public education be released only on
parental consent. This is a good change to the law.
Byrd Scholarships
The Kasemans object to provisions in HONDA which would allow
homeschoolers who have graduated to be eligible to compete for Byrd
Scholarships. Currently, they are the only students who cannot compete
for these merit based federal scholarships. The Kasemans state the
following: "why raise complex questions about whether homeschooling is
comparable to conventional schooling and risk more backlash and federal
regulation? Also, it is unrealistic for us to think that we can choose
to homeschool and still receive the so-called benefits of attending
conventional schools."
It is extremely unlikely that in allowing a child who has finished
homeschooling to compete for a merit based scholarship will lead to the
kind of federal control the Kasemans fear. This is about what a child
knows, not how he or she learned it.
Work Hours of Teenagers
HONDA contains a provision which allows the Secretary of Labor to
recognize that homeschooled teens aged 14 and 15, are not bound by
traditional school hours for purposes of the Child Labor Laws. This has
been a problem, particularly where states cite the federal law as
prohibiting teen employment during school hours. The only objections
the Kasemans have to this provision are that state law might conflict
and take precedence, and that it might create a backlash to
homeschooling.
The Kasemans objections are very speculative. Many times in the area of
labor, state law takes its cues from federal law. Hence, making it
clear that homeschoolers are not bound to traditional school hours
might in fact clarify the issue. As to public perception, it's likely
that homeschooling will benefit because high quality homeschool teens
will demonstrate the benefits of home education.
HSLDA has worked for 20 years to protect the right to homeschool. We
would not do anything to endanger these gains. This bill is narrowly
tailored to existing law and carefully drafted. It is a good bill. I
urge you to read it for yourself.
To read the actual bill text for HONDA (H.R. 2732) please go to:
<a
href="http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=108_cong_bills&">http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=108_cong_bills&</a>
docid=f:h2732ih.txt.pdf.
To read HSLDA's summary of HONDA please go to: > <a
href="http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000010/200307142.asp.">http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000010/200307142.asp.</a>
And for other articles and information about HONDA please visit our
federal legislation page at: <a
href="http://www.hslda.org/Legislation/National/2003/HR2732/default.asp.">http://www.hslda.org/Legislation/National/2003/HR2732/default.asp.</a>
Sincerely,
Thomas Washburne, Esq. Director, National Center for Home Education Home School Legal Defense Association"
Remember to give your child a hug today, and tell them that you love them.
Bart Buskey, Meridian, Idaho email at:
