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Withdrawing from public school

Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 8:56 am
by nancherrow
I'm new to the forum and have a question about withdrawing kids who are currently enrolled in public school that I have not found exactly addressed yet in any posts.

First let me say that I have 4 kids, 6 and under and tried homeschooling last year with my oldest two who were 4 and 5 yrs. I used a hodge podge of curriculum and was in an area of Western PA that has "excellent" school and so did not have much support for hs. Then, last fall we moved to Beaver County and decided to try the public school here. We're not thrilled and want to withdraw the kids and hs-this time for the long haul. (You could say we were "laying out our fleece" for the Lord to confirm this decision.) We are now in a church that has a hs group which I will joyfully be attending. Also, I have kept our membership in HSLDA current.

So, how difficult will it be to withdraw my kids mid-semester? I went to the hslda website for info and I know I have to submit the affadavit, but do I also need to submit what my course plan is? And if so, what should that look like? Anything else? Also, I'm under the impression that since they've been enrolled in the school system that even if they're below the compulsory age I'll still need to follow the PA requirements for next year. Am I right? I'm grateful for any help y'all can give. Thanks!

Alison

In the event the home education program site is relocating..

Posted: Mon Jan 23, 2006 1:34 pm
by Theodore
From http://www.pahomeschoolers.com/act169.html, which in turn quotes PA law:

(2) In the event the home education program site is relocating to another school district within the Commonwealth during the course of the public school term or prior to the opening of the public school term in the fall, the supervisor of the home education program must apply, by registered mail, thirty (30) days prior to the relocation, to the superintendent of the district in which he or she currently resides, requesting a letter of transfer for the home education program to the district to which the home education program is relocating. The current superintendent of residence must issue the letter of transfer thirty (30) days after receipt of the registered mail request of the home education program supervisor.

There's more info to read beyond that, but this section seems to answer your question. As for whether this applies to your children under the minimum age requirement:

Instruction to children of compulsory school age provided in a home education program... (emphasis mine)

Apparently the legal requirements only apply to children of compulsory school age. I suppose you could be nice and submit the paperwork anyway, but I highly doubt they'd have any legal grounds against you if you didn't.

i just pulled my son out of public school

Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2006 8:41 pm
by Juloyes
The hardest part has been figuring out where he is in the curriculum i picked. my son is a first grader, so it's not that big of a deal. It's just been a lot of guesswork. His public school teacher, though a sweet, dedicated lady, didn't prepare him for mid-term of Abeka first grade or for the second grade. I worry about gaps, but this has been the best decision we've ever made for our son. I'm so glad we didn't wait until the end of the school year. In order to smooth things over in a town that can be a bit against homeschooling, we still let him go for two hours in the afternoon for science and art, P.E. etc. That way he can still see his buddies.