Legal / Legislative Updates

KANSAS

Prosecutor Calls For Registration

“It has been reported to me that your children are not attending school,” began the letter from Barber County Attorney Richard Raleigh to the Mike Adams family (name changed to protect family’s privacy).

Raleigh proceeded to inform the family that the Barber County Community Corrections office had discovered that the family had not “registered as a home school.” Raleigh noted that the Adamses had registered in the past, but wondered if they had forgotten to register for the 2007-2008 school year. He wanted them to “take care of the matter,” i.e., register again or provide some explanation for not doing so.

Members of Home School Legal Defense Association, the family called HSLDA for guidance. In response, staff attorney Scott Woodruff wrote a letter to Raleigh, explaining that the family had registered as a private school 13 years ago, and that they kept their address up-to-date with the state.* He also told Raleigh that private school filings do not “expire,” so there is no need for homeschoolers to file every year. Finally, Woodruff gave Raleigh the name and phone number of the Kansas Department of Education employee who could confirm the family’s filing.

Months have passed with no further communication from Raleigh’s office. We have taken the county attorney’s silence to mean that the office acknowledges the Adamses’ full compliance with Kansas law.

— by Scott A. Woodruff