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Harrison County admits error

Homeschool families in Harrison County recently received a confusing letter from the homeschool coordinator's office.

It said, "This letter is just a reminder that your child's assessment is due in my office by June 20, 2005." Alert families caught this mistake and called HSLDA. The law states that the assessment must be sent to the school district by June 30.

The letter also said a "nationally accredited assessment" is an option for the year-end assessment. The homeschool law allows a parent to use a "nationally normed standardized achievement test," not a "nationally accredited assessment."

HSLDA called the homeschool coordinator to see if the erroneous date was a simple error or an attempt to pressure homeschoolers into submitting test results early. The homeschool coordinator acknowledged that the correct date was June 30, and was apologetic for sending out the letter with the wrong date. She said she would work to correct this error. She also thanked HSLDA for pointing out the correct wording for the testing assessment option.