June 26, 2006
Morgan County Demands Records From Everyone
Homeschool families in Morgan County were recently surprised to receive a letter from the local public school just as they finished up their school year. The Director of Pupil Personnel (DPP) had sent a letter to every homeschooling family in the county demanding a copy of their attendance records and year-end testing. The DPP had also attached a “notice of attendance” form to be returned by each family. As Home School Legal Defense Association members, Mr. and Mrs. Keeton knew that something wasn't right and quickly contacted us for help.
HSLDA immediately contacted Morgan County Schools and informed them that homeschool parents were not legally required to provide any of the documentation that they requested. Homeschool parents in Kentucky are not required to conduct any year-end test or evaluation for their children. There was simply no legal basis for the DPP to demand this information.
While Kentucky law does require homeschool families to maintain attendance records, the “Best Practice Document” does not require parents to submit these records. The only time a parent should be required to submit any of the homeschool records they must keep would be if they failed to submit their notice of intent within two weeks from the beginning of the school year or when there is some evidence that the family is not conducting a bona-fide homeschool program.
HSLDA Staff Attorney Tj Schmidt also explained to the DPP that the notice of attendance form that had been sent requested more information than was required under Kentucky law. For instance, the form requested information on the curriculum the parents would be using, the grade level and date of birth of each child, and the family’s telephone number.
We expect the DPP to drop these demands and the homeschooling families in the community to be left alone.
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