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County Orders Graduate Back to School
A Home School Legal Defense Association member family in Harlan County received a letter from the local director of pupil personnel (DPP) ordering them to enroll their daughter in school within 24 hours. If the family did not do so, the DPP threatened to contact the county attorney and pursue legal action against them for truancy.
The Franklins* were shocked at the tone of the letter and the threats made by the school official. Not only was their daughter over 16, which is the compulsory attendance age in Kentucky, but the Franklins had notified the school district at the beginning of the 2005-2006 school year that their daughter had just graduated from their homeschool program.
Since the 24-hour deadline had already passed by the time the letter arrived, the Franklins immediately contacted HSLDA. Staff Attorney Thomas J. Schmidt faxed a letter to the DPP, emphasizing that the Franklins' daughter was no longer subject
to Kentucky law since she was above the compulsory school age and had already graduated from high school.
At Schmidt's insistence, the district dropped its outrageous demand.
— by Thomas J. Schmidt
* Name changed to protect family's privacy.
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