Home Schooling in New Jersey
March 28th, 2007It appears that Home Schooling in New Jersey is almost correct in its approach:
The laws regarding in homeschooling in the state of New Jersey are far more lenient than other states. The main requirement is that you provide an equivalent academic education as the local public school system.
This is a problem because in the future, some busy body could use this part of the legislation as a lever to bring in evaluation.
It is not required to notify the school board. However, it is recommended to avoid dealing with truant officers and the issue of truancy. Save yourself headache; write a letter.
Truancy, as I have said before, is the condition of a child being absent from school without permission. By permission, we mean the permission of the parent OR the school. If a child is away from school with the permission of the parent, then the child is not a truant and you are under no obligation to prove that that you are not a truant especially if you are walking with your children in the street.
Truancy officers should be provided with a list of truanting children each day. This should be made from a list of children who are reported as missing from school, where the parent has also been informed by telephone and reporting that Johnny is out of school without permission. Then you have a list of bona fide truants that can be searched for. This is not rocket science.
If someone is not registered at a school, then they cannot be put on the list of truants. Problem solved. If a truancy officer or police officer encounters someone that they think is a truant, all they have to do is call the parent. In any case, the list of truants should come with descriptions so that the police do not bother people who are not truanting but are instead minding their own business.
What is completely unacceptable are the bogus fishing expeditions and checkpoint charlie tactics being used to catch truants, as we have seen with the recent Liverpool Street Station case.
The state has no right to evaluate your curriculum; if asked, the public school is required by law to provide you with a copy of their curriculum. Be prepared to pay for copying costs.
The state has no right to administer any tests to any homeschooled students.
Good, and good. This part of no right to evaluate could be seen as contradicting the first part of equivalent education, but it seems to be working.
And of course, the big thing in New Jersey, dates back over a year in the case of DYFS (Division of Youth & Family Services) where kids under the DYFS supervision where homeschooled and starved. Unfortunately, homeschooling is being blamed, not the failure of DYFS to keep check on those under the office’s care.
If DYFS shows up on your doorstep demanding to come in and inspect, you have the right under the fourth amendment to refuse. DYFS needs to show probably cause; an anonymous tip does not count.
This is how they do it, get a cause célèbre to get everyone whipped up and then change the law. Thankfully, at least for the residents of the USA there is a written constitution protecting parents in their own homes.
This is exactly what the brain dead journalists and busybodies in the DfES are trying to do with the Gloucester case
To help fight any allegations, there is the Home School Legal Defense Association. The HSLDA was formed by two lawyers to defend the rights of homeschoolers.
To be done.
Also, to facilitate ease of teaching, many curriculums are available on the market. Abeka is one such company, along with Alpha Omega Publications. Options include workbook programs, CDRom programs, online courses, and more. The students progress at their own pace.
It is recommended that you track your children’s hours.
We now have a great tool to do this with.
You will probably find, with most children, that not as many hours are required. For one thing, you don’t need to change classes, no locker time, no bussing time, no time for attendance, morning announcements, group potty breaks, etc. And the class doesn’t stop for the slowest student. You have limited students and can proceed at the pace they need, concentrating on aspects that are difficult for them and picking up the pace for those that acquire easily. Not to mention, you don’t need to spend time concentrating on teaching what will be on the state assessment tests or reviewing after a long break or the summer.
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More reasons why Home schooling is best.
This is what we should have in the UK; freedom to educate without interference. In return, the parents of this island will supply the UK with best citizens imaginable.