BellaOnline Forums Education Homeschooling Letter from HSLDA Re: New Admin. and Homeschool

I received this letter by e-mail from HSLDA today. It is a commentary on what we're likely to see happen in homeschooling in the near future under the new administration.
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Dear HSLDA Members and Friends of Homeschooling:

Since the election of Barack Obama as U.S. president, HSLDA has received more than a few calls from both members and nonmembers. Some are quite concerned about the future of homeschooling under an Obama presidency.

First of all, let us always remember that �God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind� (2 Timothy 1:7). He also instructs us to be wise, plan, and be prepared in everything we do.

Despite HSLDA�s efforts prior to the election to get an official statement from the Obama campaign regarding their position on homeschooling, we received no response.

So where does that leave us?

We do know that the Democratic Party has an official position of supporting public education. The National Education Association (NEA), which is the national teachers union, is a major supporter of the Democratic Party. We know that the NEA�s position is that every child should be either taught by a certified teacher or supervised by one. Additionally, their position is that the curriculum used by all homeschoolers should be approved by the state, and children should only be able to continue to be homeschooled based upon systematic evaluation by the state.

It is important to remember that under the United States Constitution, the federal government has no authority over private and home education. This is not to say that they will not attempt to exercise authority in these areas. And whenever private educators accept grants and benefits, there are conditions to receiving those benefits, including being subject to regulation.

Just because the federal government has no constitutional authority over home education, however, doesn�t mean that federal bureaucrats or legislators might not attempt to impose some form of regulation over private and home education. We saw this back in 1994, when the reauthorization of the Secondary and Elementary Act (H.R. 6) contained an amendment which would have conditioned funding to the states for public education to require that all teachers be certified in every subject area they teach. The homeschool community rose up; over a million phone calls were made to the U.S. Congress, and the amendment was defeated. During that process, Representative Dick Armey from Texas introduced an amendment which stated that the federal government and Congress have no authority over private and home education. This protective language was passed by the House of Representatives.

With your help and the help of homeschoolers all across America, we will vigorously resist any effort on the part of the federal government to regulate home education. Obviously, this will take resources�which come from our membership�and we would encourage our current members to continue standing with us, and encourage others to join us.

An immediate concern to watch is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Although we do not know what Barack Obama�s specific position on the treaty is, we know that future Vice President Joe Biden has publicly indicated that this UN Convention should be ratified by the United States.

It does appear that we will soon have the challenge of keeping the UN Convention from being ratified by the U.S. Senate, ratification requiring a two-thirds majority to pass.

Should the UN Convention be ratified, it would impose the United Nation�s view of children�s rights on America. Under the U.S. Constitution, treaties become the Supreme Law of the land, taking precedent over state laws and state supreme court decisions.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is not in the best interest of parents or children, as it would undermine the parental authority that our laws currently recognize. For further information on the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child visit ParentalRights.org.

To summarize, homeschoolers should not live in fear, but we do need to be wise, and we will need to be vigilant to protect parental rights and homeschooling freedoms in the future. We stand prepared, with your help, to do that as we�ve done for 25 years.

Michael Smith
HSLDA President

I have been reading stuff EXACTLY like what you have posted for the past 15 years. I do home school and have never felt threatened or like I won't have a choice to home school. As a matter of fact, where I live, Elko, NV there are so many people that home school around here that "the evil doers" (don't have any idea what you would call them and this seemed appropriate) have given in and there are 3 new schools that offer public home schooling...connections academy, virtual academy, and there is another one but the name escapes me at the moment, all very good schools. And a new charter school is being built here for those who want their child to get out of the public system. I think it is letters like the above that create more hysteria than is really necessary.

What does HSLDA stand for?

HSLDA is the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (www.hslda.org). Its one of two national lobby groups/associations for homeschoolers. They're a decent watch dog group in the sense that they at least try to alert folks to what's going on/what's being talked about at the federal level.

CrochetQueen, the online and charter schools you mentioned are public schools, subject to the No Child Left Behind rules and whatever else the feds and your state can come up with. They provide options, but its still public school.

Though, like you, I don't agree with everything HSLDA puts forth; its still important--as a homeschooling parent of two--to stay up to date on what's going on and what's being talked about.

Lynn, to me charter, online or public are not bad ways to educate at all. I have been using SOS and trust me there are things in that program that are not all that great but here is where I as a parent get to supplement my childs education. Just exactly as I would if he were doing public school. It doesn't matter if your child is in public, home school or ???? As the parent we are still in charge of our childrens education don't you think ?

I didn't say they were bad options. But, charters and the onlines you mentioned are public schools; and that means that the state and the feds are directing academic content and progress for your child. If it works for you, that's great. I live in a state where I'm not required to follow state/federal guidelines - homeschooling is private schooling and I fully direct my child's education.