Home Education Magazine

HEM's News and Commentary
by Ann Lahrson Fisher, HEM News Editor
mailto:NewsComm@...

March 24, 2003

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HEM's News and Commentary, edited by Ann Lahrson Fisher, is a weekly
feature produced by Home Education Magazine. When forwarding this
publication please include this credit and the following link:
Archives: http://www.home-ed-magazine.com/nc/newscommentary.html
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++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"A 'Defender' of Homeschooling, Properly Regulated"
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ann: Every now and then, today's news demands a hard look at past
conversations and re-evaluation of our thinking. Today is one of
those days.

First, the past conversation for those who missed it. About a year
ago, Stanford University professor of political science Dr. Rob Reich
joined the NHEN-leg list to discuss his views about homeschooling.
That discussion lasted nearly two months, the script of which is some
eighty-five pages long. Read that discussion here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NHENLegClearinghouse/files/ReichPart1.doc
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NHENLegClearinghouse/files/ReichPart2.doc

Two quotes from Reich's opening remarks in the discussion are telling:
"I consider myself a defender of homeschooling, properly regulated."
And
"The real issue is the legitimacy of state authority over children.
And here, I presume, is where we disagree. I believe that, so far as
education is concerned, parents must share authority with the state.
The state is concerned with the education of children for two
reasons. First, the state has a legitimate interest in cultivating
able citizenship. Second, the state has a role in promoting the
independent interests of children, which include, on my
understanding, the right to live a life other than the one their
parents lead."

Ann: Despite these outrageous statements which, incidentally,
survived intact during that long discussion at NHEN-Leg, many -
including me - dismissed Reich as a "flash-in-the-pan" academic.
However, recent news suggests otherwise, that Reich at the very least
has the ear of the media. Today's news: Reich's material is being
read and referenced, just last week, in the article below. And
despite the article's overall positive look at homeschooling
evaluation in Florida, Reich's opinion held sway in the negative
headline.

Jacksonville, FL Times-Union, Sunday, March 16, 2003
http://jacksonville.com/tuonline/stories/031603/met_12017039.shtml
Headline: Home-schoolers tough to test
Subhead: Parents adopt many student evaluations
Reich citations in the article:
"If we can't even know how many kids are being home-schooled, it's
impossible to carry out a study on how they're doing on average,'
said Stanford University political scientist Rob Reich."
And:
"Studies on the academic skills of home-educated students are
unreliable because there's no way to tell if the sample represents
the overall field, Reich said."[..]"States could require
home-schooled children to take annual standardized tests like the
FCAT, an idea Reich supports. If a child repeatedly fails to make
academic progress, Reich suggested the state should step in and force
children to attend public schools."

Ann: Quite a few people have speculated about what Reich would do
when public schooled students fail to make academic progress - would
he step in and force children to homeschool? Fat chance!

Read and evaluate Reich's work for yourself at his website. "Testing
the Boundaries of Parental Authority Over Education: The Case of
Homeschooling" Paper prepared for delivery at the 2001 Annual Meeting
of the American Political Science Association, San Francisco, August
30-September 2, 2001.
http://pro.harvard.edu/papers/002/002021ReichRob00.pdf

A thoughtful discussion of academic criticisms of homeschooling
freedom has started at NHEN Forums:
http://www.nhen.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=342&whichpage=2

Ann: Reich an academic? Oh yes. Political theorist? Most
certainly. A defender of homeschooling? Spare me.

+++++++++++++++++++++
Legal and Legislative News
+++++++++++++++++++++

FLORIDA

NHEN Forums
http://www.nhen.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=291
Headline: Florida Problems
" This thread is to provide a national forum on which to post
information about school district administrators in Florida who
exceed their authority." Ten counties and their violations are
listed. One letter to administrators gives notice that their
violations are being listed on the Forum.

GEORGIA

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Atlanta, GA 3/21/03
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/metro/0303/21homeschool.html
Headline: Home schoolers want a shot at sports
"We think that home schoolers are being discriminated against by not
allowing them access to resources which our taxes pay for."
"A bill in the state Senate [..]-- called the "access bill" by
supporters -- would include extracurricular activities from football
and baseball to ROTC; chess club to concert band. If the bill passes,
a home school student would be allowed to participate in the
extracurricular activities at the public school the child would have
attended. The parents would be responsible for the same expenses as
any other team member's parents and would agree to transport their
child to and from school for the activity."

ILLINOIS - two stories

The Pantagraph, Bloomington, IL Editorial Thursday, March 6, 2003
http://www.pantagraph.com/stories/030603/opi_20030306002.shtml
Headline: Who is making sure children are schooled?
Ann: To summarize here, Illinois' problems, problems that raged last
fall when Regional Superintendent Bruce Dennison authorized truancy
officers to investigate home schooling families, are cooling off
some. Since that time, proposals for voluntary registration have been
dropped "because of a lack of support among home-school groups."
Dennison showed his willingness to discriminate against some families
when he told homeschooling parents that if they belonged to HSLDA
they would not be investigated. A lengthy discussion regarding this
and other important issues can be read at NHEN Forums:
http://www.nhen.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=326&whichpage=1
**
The Illinois Leader, Monday, March 17, 2003
http://www.illinoisleader.com/news/newsview.asp?c=4681
Headline: Roskam Calls Home School Summit
"GLEN ELLYN -- Illinois Family Institute, along with State Senator
Peter Roskam, is hosting an informational forum this Saturday to
discuss current issues related to homeschool families in Illinois and
strategies for protecting homeschooling freedoms."

WASHINGTON STATE - two stories

From Washington Homeschool Organization
http://www.washhomeschool.org/whoWHOforHomeschooling.html
President Mia Anderson announced that "This year 5 bills were
introduced into the Washington State Legislature that would directly
affect homeschooling." All died in committee.
**
From the SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER Thursday, March 13, 2003
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/112378_charter13ww.shtml
Headline: Senate votes for charter schools
"OLYMPIA -- The Republican-controlled Senate voted Thursday to allow
charter schools in Washington for the first time...But lawmakers
voted 26-23 for Senate Bill 5012, sponsored by Senate Education
Chairman Steve Johnson. The bill would allow 70 charter schools over
the next six years, but only five new schools in each of the first
two years." Read the discussion here:
http://www.nhen.org/forum/post.asp?method=Reply&TOPIC_ID=318&FORUM_ID=31

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Charter, Alternative Education, Cyber-schools
and District-sponsored Home Study Programs
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ann: No homeschooling discussion is as contentious these days as the
heated arguments about publicly funded programs offered to
homeschoolers. Are the programs thinly disguised homeschooler
retrieval programs, bent on gathering homeschoolers back into the
public education fold, trampling independent homeschooling freedoms
in the process? Or, are the programs adding sorely needed
educational variety and choice to the options available to all
children everywhere and worthy of every parent's support? Both?
Neither?

Complicating matters further is a point often lost. In most cases,
students who enroll in public school homeschool programs become,
"legally" speaking, public school students. The repercussions of that
fact add grist to the arguments about the definition of
homeschooling, as mentioned in the March 16 update's "A homeschooler
is a homeschooler is..."

To help me sort it out - and I don't have these issues clear in my
mind yet - I seek the type of wisdom that Laura, a parent who uses a
charter school program, expressed in a recent post to
HEM-PoliticalAction. Laura said, "I realize that we are in our great
school situation today because of the independent homeschoolers that
have gone before us as well as all of you today that work so hard to
promote and protect homeschooling. I think that the best way to
preserve the choices we have in education is to protect independent
homeschooling."

Do our homeschooling freedoms lie in the hands of folks like Laura
who truly understand and support the roots of educational options?
Join the discussion at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HEM-PoliticalAction/

However we think about them, the programs are popping up all over.
Here are a few stories.

CALIFORNIA - three stories

http://www.toacorn.com/news/2003/0227/Front_Page/003.html
Thousand Oaks Acorn, Agoura Hills, CA
Headline: School district takes look at home schooling
"...Fraisse said that the home-school program would not only be
cost-neutral, but might even be cost-positive for the district. Such
apportioned funds could be put to use in a dual-use facility such as
a computer lab, which would set aside about five computers for
"drop-ins" such as home schoolers and supply approximately 30
computers for other students, instead of sending home a computer with
every child who decides to home school."
**
California also offers Homeschool-Targeted Charter Schools
From Tri-Valley Herald, Fremont, CA 3/20/2003 Monday, March 17, 2003
http://www.trivalleyherald.com/Stories/0,1413,86~10669~1249823,00.html
Headline: Home-schooling offers families flexibility
Subhead: Fremont charter seeks to combine benefits of independent
learning, studying with peers
"That school is called the Circle of Independent Learning, a
175-student independent study charter school operated by the Fremont
school district. The 5-year-old program brings home-schooled students
of all ages together to take special classes, meet other kids and
develop their own education plans."
"Since COIL opened five years ago, its enrollment has grown by about
20 percent every year..."
**
From L.A. Daily News, Los Angeles, CA Monday, March 17, 2003
http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~20954~1251009,00.html
Headline: Charter schools may grow
State measure would give others authorization, oversight over campuses
"The flourishing charter school movement would get a boost from
proposed state legislation expanding chartering authority to
nonprofit agencies, universities, community colleges and mayors of
large cities, supporters said Monday."

OHIO

The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, OH Tuesday, March 18, 2003
http://enquirer.com/editions/2003/03/18/loc_oh-cybercharters18.html
Headline: Public systems turn to online charter schools
"Districts around Ohio are opening online charter schools to
recapture students lost to independent operations."

Ann: I suppose homeschooling would be an 'independent operation?'
The impact of cyber- and charter schools on homeschooling in Ohio is
complex and has been discussed in some detail during January and
February 2003, at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HEM-PoliticalAction/
starting at message # 459.

FLORIDA

Headline: Blended Schools
http://www.okaloosa.k12.fl.us/stuserv/ci/blended_school_information.htm
"Partnering Public Schools"
"The most recent development in the home schooling world is the
emergence of partnerships between public schools and home educators.
Mary Lou Carothers, Education Program Director, Office of Family
Involvement, Florida Department of Education, stated, "the only thing
the district is required by law to provide for home schoolers is
extracurricular activities. However, the district is within its
legal rights to provide academic courses. Also, the district will
collect FTE for that attendance." Mrs. Carothers went on to say she
encourages the district to work with home educators. "

PENNSYLVANIA

Blairsville Dispatch, Pittsburgh, PA Friday, March 7, 2003
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/blairsvilledispatch/s_122196.html
Headline: Sen. White visits Saltsburg
Subhead (scroll about half way down the page) CYBER SCHOOL COMPLAINT
"Carol Weimer, a member of the Blairsville-Saltsburg School Board,
brought up her concern about cyber schools drawing money away from
traditional the traditional education system." "[..]The schools use
district money to pay for educating students over the Internet, not
requiring them to participate in the traditional classroom."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The "Where Do Those Darned Stereotypes
Come From" Department
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ann: Both of the stories below are positive homeschooling stories,
but what a difference in the tone of the headlines! I wish the media
viewed homeschooling as a reasonable educational choice for parents
rather than as an adversary of public schools. (If you agree, you can
voice your opinion. According to the website, "14WFIE general manager
Lucy Himstedt wants to hear from you!" sburger@... )

14WFIE, Evansville, IN
http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=1169237
Headline: Home Schooling Versus Public Schools
***
Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, MI March 11, 2003
http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0303/11/m01a.html
Headline: Some families give home schooling A+

Ann: This headline seems evenhanded to me.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Homeschool Sports League Activity
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

McCook Daily Gazette, McCook, NE March 18,2003
http://news.mywebpal.com/partners/754/public/news439196.html
Headline: Sargent boys, Omaha girls place first at McCook Homeschool
basketball tournament
"The Sargent boys and Omaha girls captured championships at the
seventh annual McCook Homeschool Invitational basketball tournament
Feb. 28 and March 1." [..] 'The purpose of the event was to provide
a basketball tournament for Nebraska's homeschoolers,' said Emily
Hoffman."
***
Holland Sentinel, Holland, MI Saturday March 22, 2003
http://www.thehollandsentinel.net/stories/031003/loc_031003057.shtml
Headline: Holland area home school team heading to nationals
"Holland Warriors coach John Negley has plenty of confidence in his
home school basketball team. [..] The state championship win sends
Negley's squad into the national home school tournament this week at
Oklahoma City, Okla."

++++++
Finally
++++++

Ann: Please let me know what is happening in YOUR part of the
homeschool world. Are there homeschooled kids and families in the
news? Do you have legal/legislative challenges or successes? Are
homeschooling issues being represented accurately in the media and in
advertising? Are there threats to homeschooling freedoms that
deserve a wider audience? Is something happening today that will
help assure that we - and our children and grandchildren - can
homeschool with the greatest freedom possible? Please share so the
rest of us can learn!

Ann Lahrson Fisher
newscomm@...

************************************************************************
HEM's News and Commentary, edited by Ann Lahrson Fisher, is a weekly
feature produced by Home Education Magazine. When forwarding this
publication please include this credit and the following link:
Archives: http://www.home-ed-magazine.com/nc/newscommentary.html
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