| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 8/26/2011 11:59:04 AM Home School Legal Defense Association Florida--Update on Miami-Dade County Unlawful Demands |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== Florida--Update on Miami-Dade County Unlawful Demands Dear HSLDA Members and Friends: As many of you may have already heard, Miami-Dade school officials have been making unlawful demands of many home education programs across the county. The Office of Attendance Services has told every family who files a notice for a child in a home education program to visit the office and "register" their child in person using the Miami-Dade Home Education form they have created. These parents are also being told that they must bring a certified copy of their child's birth certificate. These demands are clearly beyond what is required under Florida law. Home education parents are only required to notify their district school superintendent in writing that they have established a home education program and include the name, address, and birthdate of each of their children. Once that is done a parent is in compliance with Florida law; nothing is required from local school officials to acknowledge the filing. HSLDA has written to Miami-Dade County Public Schools on behalf of our member families, vigorously protesting the unlawful demands of the district. We have received a response from Charlene Burks, the administrative director of the Office of Attendance Services. Ms. Burks states that "requesting documentation that a person is a 'parent' who resides in Miami-Dade County does not violate the statue" and they are merely requesting "confirmation that the person is in fact a parent living in this District." As this response indicates that Miami-Dade is going to continue to make unlawful demands on home education programs in the county, we are evaluating possible preemptive legal action against Miami-Dade County Public Schools. In the meantime, we suggest that every parent provide their written notice with the required information to the school district superintendent. The notice can also be mailed using "delivery confirmation" so you have evidence that it was received. Any family who has received contact from Miami-Dade officials after filing their notice demanding that they come down to the office and bring their child's birth certificate should contact HSLDA. We will write a letter on behalf of your family asserting that you have complied with Florida law and are operating a valid home education program. We will send a letter on behalf of any family that requests one from us, regardless of whether you are a current member or not. We believe it is important for all families in Miami-Dade County to stand together and resist the unlawful harassment from school officials. If you want HSLDA write a letter on behalf of your family we ask that you email us at Miami@hslda.org the following information: > Parents' full names > Students' names you filed for (for which information is being requested by Miami-Dade) > Address > Contact phone number in case additional information is needed > Approximate date home education notice was filed > Optional: you can also email us a copy of your notice if you desire We believe these unlawful demands are related to the Barahona case and are more likely to have come out of the Nubia Report than the more recent Miami-Dade grand jury report on this situation. If you are unfamiliar with the development of this situation over the past few months and what we have previously written about it, you can view our articles on the grand jury report http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=12026 and the Nubia Report. http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=12027 . Please feel free to forward this email to your homeschool friends in Miami-Dade who might not be members of HSLDA or signed up for our free e-lerts. We will continue to monitor this potentially dangerous situation and notify you of any updates. If you are not yet a member of HSLDA and would like to join and help us fight for homeschool freedom in Florida, please visit http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=12028 . If you would like to be put on our free email list to receive vital e-lerts you may sign up at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=7919 . Thanks for all of your efforts for home school freedom in Florida! Sincerely, Thomas (Tj) Schmidt HSLDA Staff Attorney ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> "I saved my entire membership fee with one discount" "When I called Liberty to find out what kind of discount we could get, they told us we would 10% off our car insurance and 5% off our homeowner's insurance. What we will save is more than double what it costs to join HSLDA. With one child getting his driver's license this year, the savings will be a real blessing!" More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1108 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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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. ====================================================================== | |
