Filed: December 2005

Nature of Case: The Will County Regional Superintendent’s Office sent a truant officer to contact the Walters family. HSLDA immediately wrote a letter to the school district explaining that the family was homeschooling in full compliance of the law. However, he truant officer was not satisfied, and the family was subsequently charged with truancy.

HSLDA Senior Counsel Chris Klicka discovered that the truant officer had violated a statute requiring written notice of truancy before actual charges could be filed. The truant officer never provided written notice to the family. Klicka then counseled Mrs. Walters to contact the superintendent and prepared her for how to explain to the superintendent that this was just a misunderstanding.

Mrs. Walters met with the superintendent and showed that she had a teaching certificate, lesson plans and plenty of books. She then explained Klicka’s discovery that the truant officer had improperly filed written notice. Upon seeing Mrs. Walters evidence of home education and learning of his truant officers mistake in filing the written notice, the superintendent contacted the state attorney to withdraw the petition.

Status: Dismissed.

Last Updated: January 5, 2007