Before we began our homeschooling journey JT was a student in our local public school. There were many issues during those years and I often ended up in conflict with the district. When we decided to leave the district we moved to a public cyber-charter school for two years before we finally found our place as homeschoolers. Since becoming homeschoolers, we have had little interaction with our district and no conflict. Lately I have been hearing from some homeschoolers in other districts that are running into serious issues with their schools and I realize how conflict free our years have been.
If you are considering homeschooling in Pennsylvania, I would highly recommend familiarizing yourself with the PA homeschool regulations. People who have homeschooled in states other than PA often find our regulations to be too strict. Maybe that is true, but because I have never worked under another system, I don't feel that way. Knowing the regs helps me to feel confident in my rights and be aware of what I need to do to satisfy the requirements.
I am thankful to work under a district that has never asked for more than I have provided. In the situations I have been reading about in the PA homeschool Facebook page, many parents are reporting districts that are requesting far more than is required by the regulations. Many times those districts seem to have little knowledge of the regs. Suggestions were made to attempt to educate the districts in a non-confrontational way. But my own experience working to educate the 'experts', from the days when we were sending our son to public school, tells me that they will probably meet much resistance in that attempt. For those parents, I can only say, know the regs, try to be factual when discussing issues with the district, look for help from homeschooling legal organizations, and stand your ground. When parents give in to districts' demands for compliance to their own rules versus the legal guidelines, other parents find it harder to resist these extraneous requests.
As someone who finds rules made for no good reason infuriating and people who push their own ideas of the 'right way to do things' down my throat the most irritating people to deal with, I feel the anxiety and frustration these families are dealing with in their situations. One mom told how the school had sent an attendance officer to her home because she hadn't filed paperwork for her son to homeschool. The son is not yet of compulsory school age, so she is well within her rights not having submitted the forms. When she wasn't at home for the visit, the officer left a business card in her mailbox, a clear violation of federal law! As I read about this, I wanted to march down to her district and slap a copy of the regs on someone's desk. Many made comments on the post with advice to sign up with homeschooling legal groups for help. However, the mom expressed her resistance to do so since the group recommended had a system of beliefs she did not follow. She seemed so sure and in control as she shared how she planned to deal with the district's improper requests. I was happy to see someone so confident ready to fight for her rights, and in a way, my own.
It is good to be a member of a tribe that works as one to protect our right to educate our children in whatever way works best for each us. If you are dealing with issues in your own district, remember to reach out to your community. And remember that your fight is not your own. It is ours together.
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