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IDAHO

Legal counsel pays off

The Lakeland Joint School District superintendent of schools sent a letter to a local Home School Legal Defense Association member family, demanding that the parents fill out an "Intent to Home School" form so that the children would not be considered truant.
While homeschoolers in Idaho are required to provide instruction "comparable to public schools," nothing in the law states that homeschoolers have to fill out paperwork for the school district.

When the family contacted HSLDA, we assured them that they did not have to submit any paperwork to the district. After the family communicated this to Lakeland, the situation was resolved.

Another district told an HSLDA member family that testing was required of homeschoolers. The family contacted HSLDA, and our legal staff assured them that this was not a requirement. Once corrected, the district superintendent backed off from his request.

Even in states like Idaho, where there are almost no requirements for homeschools, it is always wise to be prepared with legal counsel.