Hawaii
Educational Neglect Charges Threatened
In May, a Kailua Intermediate School official threatened a Home School Legal Defense Association member family with educational neglect charges unless they filed a notice of intent to home school with the Kalaheo High School principal by June 12, 2000. The student in question was completing eighth grade at home. Her parents had notified the intermediate school of their daughter’s home school enrollment when she began sixth grade, and they intended to notify the high school principal prior to beginning her ninth grade home instruction as required by state law. Upon receipt of this threat, the member family contacted HSLDA.
Hawaii Administrative Rules § 8-12-13 states that a parent must provide the local public school principal a notice of intent to home educate “before initiating home schooling.” No annual notification is required, but parents must resubmit the notification when a child is transferring from one local public school to another for reporting purposes. There is no deadline for the notice of intent to home school except that it must be provided “before initiating home schooling.”
HSLDA informed the official that the threat against this member family was completely unwarranted and without any legal authority. We also cautioned the official against attempting to impose unauthorized requirements in violation of the family’s civil rights. June 12 came and went without any legal action against the family. — Dewitt T. Black
