Across the States
Parents Voice Their Opinion and ODE Listens
Two regulations important to homeschooling parents were up for legislatively mandated five-year reviews in 2008. Before reviewing Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) 3301-34 (known as the homeschool regulation) and OAC 3301-35-08 (the “-08” regulation), the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) accepted public comments. Homeschoolers and parents who form private schools in the Buckeye State sent an overwhelming message, inundating the ODE with nearly 9,000 comments!
As a result, the ODE recommended only technical changes to the homeschool regulation, preserving what has become a very workable solution for Ohio homeschoolers. While the ODE’s enforcement of the -08 regulation has created much controversy in the past several years, that regulation will remain unchanged.
As of this writing, nearly all of the -08 administrative hearings that were underway last year as a result of the controversy have been resolved. Home School Legal Defense Association is pleased to report that Ohio parents still have a choice of options for complying with the compulsory attendance law. For more information on Ohio’s regulations, please visit www.hslda.org/OH.
— by Michael P. Donnelly
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