Arkansas
Moving Right into Legal Trouble
When a Home School Legal Defense Association family moved from Cabot School District to Ashdown School District, they encountered unexpected difficulties with the new school superintendent. He insisted that the family provide documentation verifying they were home schooling at their previous residence. Upon moving to Ashdown, the parents had submitted a written notice of intent to provide a home school and a signed waiver on the form prescribed by the Arkansas Department of Education, but the superintendent considered this insufficient.
HSLDA wrote the Ashdown Superintendent, pointing out that § 6-15-503(a)(2) of Arkansas Statutes Annotated sets forth the procedure for parents who establish residency within a school district during a school year. They are required to “give written notice to the superintendent of their local school district of their intent to provide a home school for their children and sign a waiver acknowledging that the State of Arkansas is not liable for the education of their children during the time that the parents choose to home school.” There is no requirement that parents provide any information from the previous school district where the home schooling began. Accordingly, the new residents had provided all information and documentation required by Arkansas law in their move to the Ashdown School District.
Home schooling families encountering difficulties in transferring from one school district to another should contact HSLDA for assistance. — Dewitt T. Black
