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Not double the fun

When a Cape Girardeau family was anonymously reported for truancy, Home School Legal Defense Association stepped in. Social services and a juvenile officer took part in the ensuing investigation, but all claims were dismissed on February 7, 2005, after the juvenile officer found the family's homeschool logs were in good order.

On March 30, another anonymous truancy report was filed against the family.

Missouri law does not require daily attendance as do some states, but it does require a total of 1,000 hours of instruction over the course of a full year. With suitable planning, a family could do no school at all from February 7 to March 30 and still fully comply with the law. It is preposterous for any agency to even consider opening a second truancy investigation only 50 days after a family was vindicated in a first one.

After we explained that it is impossible for a family to violate the law with a hypothetical 50-day period of no schooling in the middle of the year, the social worker dropped the case.

Naturally, the family was teaching the children during this time and keeping good records. Subjecting the family to a second investigation in such a short period, however, would have been nothing short of harassment. The family will complete their 1,000 hours on schedule.