| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
< BACK TO ARCHIVE |
| Date: From: Subject: | 1/11/2011 4:30:12 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Florida--Please Attend Lee County School Board Meeting Tonight |
|
====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Florida--Please Attend Lee County School Board Meeting Tonight Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: As some of you may know, the Lee County School Board is considering some changes to the school district's policy on home education. While they are not contemplating prohibiting homeschooling, several of the changes to the policy are very concerning. HSLDA generally is opposed to school board policies relating to homeschool requirements, especially when Florida statutes already address home education. More details on the specific concerns with the proposed policies are below. We have contacted the school board and voiced our opposition, and several local homeschool leaders will be testifying against these changes. While HSLDA and other homeschool organizations, including Florida Parent Educators Association (FPEA) and Homeschool Education Foundation (HEF), have requested that this policy be pulled from the agenda, it does not appear that this will happen. You can be a tremendous help by coming out to show your support of home education and your opposition to these policy changes tonight at 6 p.m. The meeting will be in the Board Room at the Lee County District Office in Fort Myers on 2855 Colonial Blvd. If you want to comment on the home education policy tonight, you may be put on the list to speak if you notify the parliamentarian in writing of your name and issue you wish to speak on before the beginning of the meeting. Public comment is limited to 1 hour, and you will only be permitted to speak for 3 minutes. More information can be found here: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=9990 . The time allowed for public comments on the agenda will be at the beginning of the board meeting, just after the special presentations. BACKGROUND The proposed Lee County School Board changes to Home Education Policy 4.27 can be found here: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=9991 (pages 146-150). HSLDA has the following major concerns about the proposed policies: The Lee County Home Education policy at (1)(a) states that "[t]he notice [of intent to homeschool] must be filed within 30 days of beginning a home education program...." This is not in line with Florida Statutes 1002.41 which states that the notice "shall be filed within 30 days." While "shall" and "must" can be interchangeable, this is not always the case. Since the Florida legislature has used the term "shall" and the courts have not defined what "shall" means in this context, it is inappropriate for the Lee County School Board to interpret state law to mean "must." An additional concern about the difference is that "shall" can be interpreted as advisory, whereas "must" could prohibit a parent from filing for a home education program if they fail to submit their notice within the first 30 days. Of even greater concern is the proposed changes to (1)(b) which reads "[t]he portfolio shall be submitted to the Superintendent or his/her designee upon request within 15 calendar days of the request...." Under Florida Statutes 1002.41 a parent shall make the portfolio "available for inspection by the district school superintendent, or the district school superintendent's agent, upon 15 days' written notice." Thus, under Florida law, a homeschool parent must have a minimum of 15 days written notice before they are required to submit their portfolio. However, the Lee County School Board policy requires the portfolio to be submitted within 15 days of the request by school officials. The proposed Lee County policy states in (2)(f) that the Superintendent or their designee is to "Make school attendance enforcement referrals to school social workers when a parent/guardian of compulsory school age students fails to comply with the requirements of the Home Education Program." While there may be some situations that warrant referral to the school social workers, mandating reports for any misunderstanding between parents and home education officials is not a good idea. The policy is also unclear as to what "requirements" it is referring to. Does is mean that if you fail to follow state law or, more likely, does it mean if you fail to follow all of the Lee County School Board Home Education policy that you will be reported to the school social worker? Due to these troubling proposals we are asking that you attend the Lee County School Board meeting tonight at 6 p.m. If you are able to make it and are interested in doing feel free to get on the public comment list to raise the concerns above. Thanks for all of your efforts on home school freedom! Sincerely, Thomas Schmidt HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Can you look at the clouds and tell the direction of the wind? An interesting phenomenon of wind is that it can blow in multiple directions at the same time, at different heights from the ground. But usually there is a prevailing wind. HSLDA watches the gusts and monitors the prevailing trends of change in the legal climate of home education. So no matter which way the wind is blowing, we're there to protect your family. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1938 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== 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. ====================================================================== | |
