KANSAS
As Districts' Budgets Tighten, Homeschoolers Feel the Pinch
Way out in western Kansas, the land is as flat as the head of a drum. Unfortunately, school district budgets are stretched just about as tight, and this has resulted in some districts cracking down on homeschoolers. Why? Because funding is based on enrollment, and families who home school cut into the districts' budgets. According to a county superintendent, school districts lose $5,000 for each child who is taught at home. One school district in the far western part of the state realized it needed to hire a new fourth-grade teacher, and shortly thereafter sent a criminal accusation against a home school family to the local county prosecutor.
Home School Legal Defense Association expects matters to get substantially worse this September because of an article which appeared in the Kansas Association of School Boards Journal last winter. This article recommends that superintendents turn every homeschooler over to the prosecutor. If even a substantial fraction of Kansas school districts do so, Kansas may experience its worst litigation year ever.
We urge HSLDA member families to "be strong and of good courage," as we prepare for the beginning of a new school season. Please encourage homeschooling families who are not members of HSLDA to retain competent attorneys, if at all possible. And please pray. God has been gracious to Kansas homeschoolers in years past, and will be gracious in the future. If we all hang together, we will not hang separately.
