Previous Issue Current Issue Next Issue About Search Archives Advertising VOLUME XX, NUMBER 3 - disclaimer - May / June 2004 FEATURES The Best Preventative Medicine What are mandatory reporters? Quick tickets to a social services investigation DEPARTMENTS Freedom watch Same-sex marriage: Not a tangential battle Across the states About campus "Intelligence" takes on new meaning Active cases Members only Wanted: Words from the wise Around the globe Netherlands victory Canadian Supreme Court affirms parental rights Presidents Page Not in vain ET AL. HSLDA social services contact policy/A plethora of forms HSLDA legal inquiries Prayer & Praise On the other hand: a Contrario Sensu  «   LEGAL/LEGISLATIVE UPDATES   »  ACROSS THE STATES CA · DE · FL · ID · IL · IN · IA · KY · LA · MI · MO · NJ · NM · NY · ND · OH · OR · RI · SC · SD · TN · TX · VT · VA · WA · WV · WI · WY KENTUCKY "Voluntary certification" Kentucky homeschoolers have had to resist many direct legislative attacks over the last 10 years, but House Bill 610 adds a new twist to regulating home education. Representative Kathy Stein has introduced a bill that would offer "voluntary certification" to homeschoolers. It would also empower the Kentucky Department of Education to draft regulations defining minimum standards for such "certified" homeschools. Even though homeschools would be able to choose whether or not to receive "voluntary certification," Home School Legal Defense Association strongly opposes this legislation. For the past 20 years, Kentucky homeschoolers have legally been "private schools," a designation that has enabled homeschoolers to resist unwanted state regulation. But HB 610 would introduce the term "homeschooling" into Kentucky law for the first time, isolating homeschoolers from other private educators in a divide-and-conquer strategy. HSLDA will be closely monitoring this dangerous bill. — by Scott W. Somerville