KENTUCKY
Officials Like Regulations
Home School Legal Defense Association has noticed an increasing number of newspaper articles recently in Kentucky quoting public school officials as being very worried about home education. For example, Laurel County school officials are concerned that the majority of children kept at home are not receiving a quality education, although the officials admit in the same article that some students are progressing quite well in homeschooling. Other school officials have asserted that there are "no standards" for home educators in Kentucky.
Based on these public statements, some people draw the conclusion that Kentucky's home school law must be too lenient and that the state needs to tighten up the law. This simply is not true. Home educators operate as private schools and are required to provide the same quality of education as a traditional brick-and-mortar school must. The current law protects the state's interest in education as it relates to home education.
Public educators simply do not trust home educating parents, despite the fact that the latest nationwide survey of home school students indicates that the average home school student taking standardized achievement tests scores in the 80th percentile, far above the national average for public school students, which is the 50th percentile.
Our statistics indicate that the vast majority of home educators are doing an excellent job of providing a quality education for their children. If there are parents who are using homeschooling as a ruse to neglect their children's education, the state of Kentucky already provides a remedy. These parents can be prosecuted for educational neglect.
Nevertheless, we continue to hear rumblings from department of pupil services officials demanding home school legislation. Some lawmakers even believe that a bill needs to be introduced in the next session of the legislature to address the "problem" of homeschooling.
Home educators need to be organized and in contact with support groups and state organizations so that they can mobilize quickly and with significant numbers to oppose any legislation that would reduce the freedoms of Kentucky homeschoolers.
Attorney J. Michael Smith of HSLDA is working in conjunction with the two state home school organizations in Kentucky—Christian Home Educators of Kentucky and Kentucky Home Education Association—to discourage any efforts to introduce new home school regulations in the next legislative session. HSLDA will keep members informed should it be necessary for the home school community to mobilize against proposed legislation.
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