School District Creates Unauthorized Requirements

When a Home School Legal Defense Association member family contacted Old Forge School District about conducting a home education program for their children, the school district sent them a packet of information containing many unauthorized requirements for their program. These requirements included the following:

• The home education program had to meet the curriculum requirements prescribed for public school students;
• The parents had to submit an instructional plan to be approved by school district officials;
• The parents had to permit home visits by school district officials to monitor the instructional program;
• A Notification for Home Education form had to be completed and submitted to the school district containing such information as the birth dates of the parents, the percentage of instruction to be conducted by each parent, an explanation of the reason for “seeking home education,” and approval of the superintendent for the homeschooling.

HSLDA Senior Counsel Dewitt Black sent a letter to the superintendent, citing all of the deviations from state law and informing him that homeschooling families are not required to comply with any of these unlawful requirements. HSLDA also provided a copy of Black’s letter to all member families within Old Forge School District so they would be advised of these unenforceable requirements.