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Home School Legal Defense Association is representing a member family in Pope County charged in May with truancy in a juvenile court petition filed by the local prosecuting attorney. This single mother had placed her 5 year old son in a public school kindergarten at the beginning of the 2001-2002 school year, even though he was eligible for a kindergarten waiver under Arkansas law because he turned 6 after September 15. After becoming dissatisfied with the public school, the mother withdrew her son to start homeschooling in the spring of 2002.

At that time a public school official informed the mother that she did not need to file any documents with the district in order to start homeschooling. This was incorrect. The school official should have told the mother that she could either file a notice of intent to homeschool or sign a kindergarten waiver that would have exempted her son from the compulsory attendance law for the remainder of the school year.

Although the parent in this case did not follow the letter of the law, the fact remains that her son did not have to be enrolled in public school or a homeschool because of his age. Additionally, during the time the public school officials contend this child was truant, he was being taught by his mother at home. HSLDA's defense of this single parent and her son is based on the application of equitable principles and the fact that the State of Arkansas does not further its own interests by prosecuting this family.