going to be HS next year

Having problems figuring out where to start? Let other homeschoolers offer you some advice!

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birdgirl491
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going to be HS next year

Postby birdgirl491 » Tue Mar 14, 2006 5:07 pm

i'm in highschool right now but i'm going to be homeschooled next year. i just want to know anything i can about it so i can share it with my mom too (she's not on the Internet alot). if anybody can help with advice or suggestions that could help me and my mom
~namaste~

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Theodore
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To homeschool through high school:

Postby Theodore » Tue Mar 14, 2006 9:08 pm

If you're still under mandatory school age, there's going to be some legal requirements that need to be fulfilled. What state are you in? Beyond that, homeschooling is basically just covering all the same material at home as you would have in school - only in more detail and on your own schedule. You need to figure out what still remains to be done for your state high school graduation requirements (check with your high school counselor, or Google for it), and you'll also need contact whichever college(s) you'll be applying to, so you can find out if there's going to be any additional course material that has to be covered. Once you actually complete the course material, you will want to take standardized tests (AP, CLEP, DANTES) for at least the core subjects to prove competency. It's easier than keeping a transcript, and you can often get college credit if you score well.

Any other info you need?

birdgirl491
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bad news for me

Postby birdgirl491 » Wed Mar 15, 2006 4:48 pm

i was just told by my school counselor that i cannot be homeschooled at all, ever, because my younger brother had gone to court once on account of truency. this was a major blow, is there anyway around this?
o yeah, and i live in Illinois. by the way, my brother has been truent often because of the school, and neither me, him, or my mom agree with the school's system. so what i'm wondering now is why, because my brother, and not me, went to court for school truency because we completely disagree with the system, I cannot be taken out of school and educated at home?
:cry: :!: :?: :( :| :!: :?: :( :| :cry:
~namaste~

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Theodore
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Re: bad news for me

Postby Theodore » Wed Mar 15, 2006 8:16 pm

See my reply to your mother's post. You should contact Home School Legal Defense Association to make sure, but it's possible the school counselor is correct, and you'll have to wait until the probation period for your brother runs out.

EDIT: I stand corrected.
Last edited by Theodore on Sun Mar 26, 2006 12:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Postby Mom » Sat Mar 25, 2006 12:30 pm

This is NOT correct. Probation officers have been scaring potential homeschoolers for years with this. First of all, your brother's truancy has nothing to do with you. Secondly, they cannot hold you or your brother prisoner forever. Finally, and most importantly, the truancy law applies to students who are not in school. If you are homeschooled, you ARE in school. The law does not specify a public school. Contact the legal association and they will help you out with this - if you end up having to go to court about it, I believe the legal association requires a $100 membership fee, but that is significantly cheaper than a lawyer, and well worth it.

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Theodore
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I stand corrected...

Postby Theodore » Sat Mar 25, 2006 7:11 pm

To quote http://www.chec.cc/Law/law.html:

The Illinois Supreme Court emphasized the right of parents to control their children's education by writing that: "Compulsory education laws are enacted to enforce the natural obligations of parents to provide an education for their young, an obligation which corresponds to the parents' right of control over the child (Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390, 400). The object is that all shall be educated, not that they shall be educated in any particular manner or place."

Department of Children and Family Services no longer has authority in "educational neglect" cases In 1989, Ill. Ann. Stat. Chapter 23, 2053 removed the authority to investigate educational neglect from the Department of Children and Family Services. Truancy investigations will be left to the individual school districts.

...The only information public school officials are entitled to receive is a written statement declaring that the home-taught children are receiving an education equivalent to those in the public schools and doing so in the English language.


I'm a little confused then as to how things work in Illinois. The school district is only interested in keeping kids enrolled in their schools (since that's where the money comes from), so they won't want to let anyone off the hook, but if DCFS isn't running the show, and if homeschools are considered the same as private schools, then how are penalties for truancy assigned and enforced? Is it basically just a campaign of fear, and the people who know better can just switch to homeschooling any time? If so, why are there truant laws at all?

Can you point us to any cases in Illinois similar to this that were decided in the family's favor? This would definitely be helpful for future reference. I found lots of info on Illinois homeschoolers charge with truancy, but very little on people who want to homeschool after being charged with truancy, either in Illinois or anywhere else. Legal precedent is needed!

Incidently, HSLDA may or may not accept your application if you already need legal help. One can hope this is something that can be fixed easily with a lawyerly letter mailed to the school district, however, so you should go ahead and apply anyway. Please post and let everyone know what happens.

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Theodore
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See the other thread on this topic:

Postby Theodore » Sun Mar 26, 2006 1:33 pm

Ok, "mom" has posted some very useful links on the other thread that should hopefully clear this issue up.

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Postby birdgirl491 » Wed May 03, 2006 2:06 pm

Sorry for not replying in a long time. As far as I know, nothing has been resolved as far as the whole homeschool thing. It seems that everybody besides me have completely forgot about it all. Neither my mom or me have heard anything from the school, the truency officer, my brothers public defender/legal people, nobody.
They may think this was just a brief phase I was going through that month, but that's not the case. I still am strongly wanting to be homeschooled/homeschool myself. There are only about 3 1/2 weeks left of school (about 2 1/2 weeks of school days) so I know that nothing can happen this year but what about the next?
I've missed about 2 days since the last time of posting but i've had 4 detentions in that time for being late.
My brother and I constantly dread going to school.
I'm still wanting to leave public school, but seeings how nobody has even contacted us once in anyway I have no idea what the situation is. There is usually no way we can contact these people ourselves.
I feel like I'm being kept in the dark about this issue, even though it concerns me.
If anyone can help or give any advice I'd be very thankful.
Birdy
~namaste~

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Theodore
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Point the public defender to the other thread:

Postby Theodore » Wed May 03, 2006 10:00 pm

You need to contact your public defender (the courthouse will be able to tell you how to do that) and point him to the other thread. Apparently, the school system can require that you and your brother attend school, but since homeschool is defined as the same as a private school in your state, they can't force you to attend something other than homeschool if you don't want to. A public defender ought to be able to take things from here once he knows where to look.


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