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NEW YORK

District requests "application"

Recently a Home School Legal Defense Association member family in the Minisink Valley Central School District was contacted after they submitted their notice of intent form for the 2004–05 school year. The school district insisted that the family fill out an Application for Home Instruction Form and return it.* Realizing that this form was not legally required, the family contacted HSLDA Attorney Thomas Schmidt for assistance.

The Application for Home Instruction Form, among other things, demanded the student's date of birth; a telephone number; the "period for which home instruction is requested"; and the "background, credentials, and experience of parents/guardian and/or tutor." For the credentials of the parent, the school district wanted all formal education, degrees earned, and applicable occupation and life experiences to be included on the form.

Schmidt immediately informed the school district that under New York law a parent is not required to submit an "application" in order to teach a child at home. Instead, A4 100.10 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education states that to begin home instruction, a parent simply needs to submit a notice of intent. Since no application is required under state law, there is no need to notify the school district of when home instruction will start or stop during the school year.

Schmidt also pointed out that A4 100.10 only requires the child's age, not date of birth or phone number. As for the credentials of the parent, there is no provision under New York law that would require parents to provide information on their education level in order to be eligible to teach their children at home. In fact, the Revised Questions and Answers on Home Instruction, published by the New York State Education Department, specifically answers this question. The answer to question 8 says, "State law does not require any specific credentials for the person(s) providing home instruction."

We do not expect any further difficulties from the Minisink Valley Central School District in regard to a parent's right to teach his or her child at home. No parent in New York is required to "apply" to the resident district to homeschool a child.

— by Thomas J. Schmidt