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MINNESOTA

Mounds View demands documents

Minnesota law authorizes superintendents to request a home visit from homeschoolers, but the law provides an alternative for families who value their privacy. Parents can provide a copy of the documentation required by Minnesota law in lieu of a home visit. This law is designed to deal with specific cases where a family has been accused of failing to provide an education for their children. While Minnesota law is far from perfect, this particular provision causes little trouble when it is properly used. If parents really are educating their children and keeping the records required by law, they can prove their innocence with a minimum of trouble.

Unfortunately, not all school districts understand the purpose of this law. Mounds View Public Schools continues to demand that every homeschool family turn over every piece of paper referred to in the Minnesota statutes. Thus, instead of treating the required documentation as private records that are to be made available for review only in particular instances, Mounds View wants to collect every homeschool's paperwork for public school files. Despite years of protests and patient refusals, Mounds View has yet to change its position.

In a letter that Carole Nielsen, homeschool liaison for Mounds View Public Schools, continues to send to families who stand on their rights, she states, "Your file, including written curriculum documentation refusal, is complete for the 2003–04 school year." Law-abiding families who know their rights are not "refusing" to provide any documentation required by Minnesota law. Home School Legal Defense Association stands behind our courageous members in Mounds View who are protecting their privacy despite the district's demands. We are confident that the pursuit of liberty will yield good fruit!

— by Scott W. Somerville