Across the States
Random Portfolio Reviews Averted
For many years, Florida homeschool law has allowed school districts to inspect the portfolios of homeschoolers with only 15 days written notice. Unfortunately, some school districts over time have misapplied this law by randomly harassing innocent families.
Recently, a Broward County school official told a Home School Legal Defense Association member that the county was planning to “randomly notify 100 families” that they must submit a portfolio of academic work for each of their children for the school district to evaluate.
In a separate incident, the district contacted another HSLDA member family who had just begun homeschooling. The family’s child had been threatened by a bully at the public school and had developed extreme anxiety, causing absence from school. The parents had obtained doctors’ excuses for the days of school the child missed, decided to begin homeschooling the child, and then properly notified the district. Refusing to deal with the bully, the district nevertheless demanded that the family come in to have their portfolio reviewed by a panel as allowed by law.
The family contacted HSLDA, and we informed the school district that it was not appropriate to impose this portfolio review on a family who had only homeschooled for a month. The school district responded by canceling the portfolio review.
Meanwhile, HSLDA Senior Counsel Christopher Klicka alerted HSLDA members in Broward County that they might be contacted as part of the announced plan to do random portfolio reviews.
Some of these families contacted the school district to express their opposition to this practice. It seems that this pressure from concerned homeschoolers was effective: one member reported that the district had changed its plans and now stated that it would not do any random portfolio reviews.
— by Christopher J. Klicka
