| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
< BACK TO ARCHIVE |
| Date: From: Subject: | 1/8/2007 1:42:01 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Rhode Island--West Warwick Retreats from Time-on-Subject Demand |
|
====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== January 8, 2007 Rhode Island--West Warwick Retreats from Time-on-Subject Demand Dear HSLDA members and friends: When the local public school superintendent demanded that a West Warwick family tell him how much time each of their four children was going to spend on each subject, the Kanes called Home School Legal Defense Association for help. Nothing in Rhode Island law requires families to file this information, but the out-of-date written policy for West Warwick demanded daily time on task charts for "all academic subjects." HSLDA attorney Scott Woodruff sent a detailed letter to the superintendent explaining why this demand was not lawful. The superintendent brushed it aside and said the demand was authorized based on a vaguely worded "FAQ" answer on the website of the Rhode Island Department of Education. He said he planned to ask the school committee to reject the Kanes' homeschool plan at its next meeting. Woodruff flew to Rhode Island to speak on behalf of the family at the school committee meeting. Many homeschool families attended the meeting as well as a show of support. Woodruff explained to the full committee why the time-on-subject demand was not lawful, and asked them to appoint a task force to revise their outdated policy. The committee agreed to appoint a task force to revise the policy, but refused to accept the family's homeschool plan. They gave the family some additional time to work on the issue. After consulting with the Kanes, Woodruff wrote a letter to the superintendent a few days later stating the approximate total amount of time per day the children would attend the home instruction program, but firmly refusing to itemize how much time they would spend on each subject. This was well justified. Rhode Island law requires that homeschool students attend for a period approximately equal to public school students, but it does not mandate how they must spend this time. The superintendent promptly wrote back and said he would accept this and recommend that the school committee approve their plan. By way of epilogue, plans to revise the problematic policy are moving forward, and Woodruff has contacted the Department of Education to ask that they revise the vaguely worded FAQ that appears to be at least partly at the root of the problem. We thank the many families who stood for freedom and attended the school committee meeting to support the family. Scott A. Woodruff HSLDA staff attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> What do you look like when you get out of bed? It's hard to look our best all the time. HSLDA works to present homeschooling in an engaging, dynamic, and informative light to the public news media. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1104 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. Box 3000 Purcellville, Virginia 20134 Phone: (540) 338-5600 Fax: (540) 338-2733 Email: info@hslda.org Web: http://www.hslda.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- How To Subscribe: - Subscribe to the HSLDA E-lert Service at our website: https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/elert/account.asp?Process=Subscribe - Or send an email with name and complete mailing address to: subscribe@hslda.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscription Information: - You subscribed to the HSLDA E-lert Service as: ##ToAddress## - To unsubscribe from the HSLDA E-lert Service send an email from the email address you want to unsubscribe to: unsubscribe@hslda.org - To change your email address or make other changes to your subscription, visit the HSLDA E-lert Service account web page at: https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/elert/account.asp ---------------------------------------------------------------------- POSTMASTERS: This message is being sent to the most recent address we have for our subscribers. If this is an invalid email address or you have other problems, please reply to webmaster@hslda.org. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: This is considered a private and confidential message from HSLDA to its bonafide HSLDA E-lert Service subscribers. HSLDA cannot attest to the authenticity of copies posted, forwarded, or sent by any party other than HSLDA. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: Please do not reply or otherwise use this email address; hslda@hslda.org is for broadcast purposes only and is not intended to receive incoming messages. We cannot reply to any email sent to this address. If you have comments or questions, please send email to info@hslda.org or call HSLDA at 540-338-5600. HSLDA members can also email staff directly through the Members website at http://members.hslda.org/contact.asp. Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
