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MARYLAND

Talbot retreats from intrusive demands

A Talbot County school official demanded student attendance records, lesson plans, and a calendar of the school year indicating days spent in study from a Home School Legal Defense Association member family. The official hinted that he would not accept future portfolios that did not include this information.

When this member family called HSLDA for advice, we immediately sent a letter to the official reminding him that the homeschool regulations do not require homeschoolers to provide any of the information he had demanded. Furthermore, the additional requirements violated Code of Maryland Regulations Title 13A, A4 10.01.01 F, which states that "a local school system may not impose additional requirements for home instruction programs other than those in the regulations."

The Talbot County Homeschool Coordinator wrote back to HSLDA. She assured us that the official in question had been "updated" on the legal requirements for homeschoolers, and that the school district "will no longer request lesson plans and attendance records from homeschool families."

— by Scott A. Woodruff