What Is The Home School Legal Defense?
Many parents think that homeschooling is a simple process of educating their child at home, as they see fit. While homeschooling does give a parent the freedom to teach their child in a unique environment and it also affords parents the chance to meet the individualized learning style of their child, it doesn't put you on an educational island. There are standards that must be met in your child's education, whether they are learning from home or in a public school setting. Occasionally the interpretation of these standards can come into question, causing discord between parents, school districts, colleges, and even the court system. The Home School Legal Defense exists to help solve legal dilemmas that home schooling families may face.
What Legal Issues Does The Home School Legal Defense Address?
The Home School Legal Defense has intermediated between schools and parents on many issues. Their goal is to protect the constitutional rights of parents to educate their children, while assuring school districts that a homeschooled child's education will not be subpar.
In this pursuit, the Home School Legal Defense has dealt with many homeschooling issues such as how parents and schools can accurately report and account for earned school credits, the legality and constitutional allowance of home schooling, and how to ensure the physical and mental well being of a home schooled child.
The Home School Legal Defense has often helped schools and parents settle their issues out of court, resulting in a better school parent relationship that allows parents to teach their children from home while taking advantage of all of the wonderful resources local school districts offer.
How To Join A Home School Legal Defense Association
There are more than one group of Home School Legal Defense associations out there. If you are interested in joining a group, the first place to look is for one that works at your local or state level. A local group will be more up to date on issues that directly affect your child and school district. When researching a group, make sure that you look over the types of legal issues they have tackled in the past and discuss with them the types of issues they are fighting or supporting in the future.
Most Home School Legal Defense groups charge an annual fee to become a part of their association. This fee can vary from group to group, so it pays to shop around.