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Special Yearend Message from Tim Lambert
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Dear Friend, |
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This fall seems to have been one of the busiest we
have ever experienced in terms of dealing with local
school districts on behalf of home school families.
We are often called upon to intervene with officials
who insist that parents come to the schools and sign
withdrawal forms. In September alone, on nine
different occasions we interceded in such
situations.Some of these officials are simply uninformed or misinformed; others seem to be more aggressive about demanding actions that parents are not required to perform. For example, a member family who had homeschooled since 1996 received a visit at their home in September. Comal ISD officials explained to them that a complaint had been made that one of their children “was not reading well enough” and that the school officials wanted to review their curriculum. The family declined to allow the officials to do so but instead responded with the recommended letter of assurance. The officials responded with two letters titled “Court Warning,” one of which explained that a complaint had been made that they were not following a curriculum that meets the basic educational goals of reading, spelling, and grammar. Based on that complaint and the parents’ refusal to provide any type of proof of curriculum, the district threatened that, if the children were not enrolled immediately, they would file charges for “Parent Contributing to Non-Attendance.” In our letter, we explained to the official that the family had clearly met the requirements set forth by the TEA about cooperating with an inquiry by the school district and that public school officials have no authority to review the curriculum of home schools or to set performance standards for their students. We also stated that a complaint by a neighbor hardly constitutes evidence that the family is not homeschooling. We closed by expressing that, should the school district pursue charges of contributing to non- attendance or truancy against this family, we would have no choice but to “defend our members and to file suit against Comal ISD in Tarrant County for the violation of a Texas Supreme Court decision [Leeper v. Arlington] and to seek all court costs and attorneys’ fees.” In response, we received a phone call from an assistant superintendent who said that the attendance officer believed she had authority to threaten legal action because the neighbor making the complaint, an elderly man, was willing to testify in court that he did not believe the daughter of the family was reading at grade level. We pointed out that the man had no contact with the young girl other than through exposure with his grandchildren, and we doubted that he was qualified to determine the reading level of any child. The official acknowledged that the attendance officer was off- base and that, as a result of our letter, she was concerned about losing her job. The official then said that she would remedy the situation, and our member family has had no further contact with school officials. We received an unusual response to an intervention from Vidor ISD officials. We had written our usual letter to the district, giving them correct information, because they had told parents that their child would not be withdrawn until they came to the school and signed forms. The mother, after receiving multiple calls, referred the principal to our office, trying to stop the district’s harassment and being concerned that they might take some action against her family. The principal called our office and, in an agitated tone, demanded to know why we advise parents to not sign school withdrawal forms. The staff explained that parents who go to school offices often encounter uninformed personnel who may seek to require the presentation of curriculum or make other unlawful demands. We explained that such situations can become confrontational and we recommend that parents withdraw their children via certified mail to avoid potential conflict and to document the withdrawal. The principal followed up with a letter challenging our facts. In our second response, we pointed out to the principal that this situation was a good example of the problems home schoolers could have with school districts. We explained that we do not take lightly the harassment of home school families by school officials who demand of them actions that are not warranted or required by law. We told her that, while she might be disturbed that our association “feels that the home school community needs to be protected from public educators,” we could assure her that the family in question did not feel that she had “no hard feelings to any parent who makes the decision to homeschool their child,” in spite of her assertion to the contrary. I reminded her that any action taken against this family could result in legal action against her and/or the district. Neither we nor the family have heard anything else from the school. We communicated with the district attorney’s office in Denton County, requesting them to prosecute Pilot Point ISD officials for knowingly making false claims to CPS (Child Protective Services). While we have had no response from the district attorney’s office, we do believe the request has had a chilling effect on the school official involved, and we have decided to use this approach in the future as we become aware of other instances in which school officials or others use CPS allegations as a weapon against innocent home school families. We worked this fall on behalf of families who had problems with military recruiters who challenged qualification for enlistment because of the young persons’ status as home school graduates, in spite of their high scores on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. We called our contact at the U.S. Department of Defense and forwarded the information that was shared with us, along with the contact information of the recruiters; the situations were resolved. God is good! We also wrote letters to the Bryan office of the Department of Public Safety (DPS) regarding their treatment of home school families seeking to obtain driver licenses, permits, or ID cards. Officials in that office told a parent that a Verification of Enrollment (VOE) form signed by the home school parents was not acceptable as a school document and that a third form of identification was necessary to receive a photo ID. After sending a letter for that family, we received messages from four additional home school families who reported similar difficulties with that office’s refusal to accept the VOE for documentation of school enrollment and of their requirement of additional information about home school curriculum. In spite of assurances from DPS Chief Judy Brown that all driver license field offices had received confirmation that the department will accept the VOE as proof of school enrollment from students participating in a home school program, the staff continued to violate this policy. Therefore, we wrote another letter noting that there appeared to be a consistent pattern of targeting home school families who were engaged in parent-taught driver education. We copied these letters to the supervisor of the Bryan office, as well as the officials with DPS in Austin and legislators representing that area of Texas. We received a phone call the following week from the captain in Waco who oversees that office. He told us that he had explained the policy to the staff and that the situation was remedied. He asked us to call him directly if any other home schooler in the area who had problems. In late September, we were contacted by a father in San Antonio who had been told by a college official that his son could not qualify for Texas residency for in-state tuition because he was a home school graduate. He was forwarded an e-mail from officials at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board which said that, “for the purposes of residency, home-schoolers are treated the same as graduates from non-accredited private high schools who have the option of pursuing a GED (which would meet the ‘equivalent of a high school diploma in this state’ requirement) or basing residency upon the parent’s status.” In response, we sent messages to the offices of the governor, lt. governor and the chairmen of the Texas House and Senate Education Committees explaining that we were deeply concerned that the Higher Education Coordinating Board had apparently taken the position that a high school graduate of an unaccredited private school, including a home school, cannot qualify for residency without taking a GED. We said that the Texas legislature has been consistently removing arbitrary statutes and policies that discriminate against high school graduates based on where they attended school or who their teachers were. This has been a non-controversial process, because there is no evidence that would link school accreditation and student performance. Finally our letter said, “It troubles the home school community to see agency policies that appear to violate what has been the spirit of the legislature to level the field for all high school graduates in Texas. I look forward to working with you and anyone else to resolve this issue.” In October we received a message that had been forwarded from the Deputy Commissioner of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board which stated, “Staff has reexamined the issues involved in determining the residence status of home schooled students and has concluded that students who successfully complete a home school program and who meet the other residency requirements set forth in TEC 54.052(a)(3) are to be considered Texas residents. Simply stated, students who successfully complete a course of study at the secondary school level in a home school program can utilize that achievement to meet the requirement set forth in TEC 54.052(a)(3)(A) ...This change in policy is effective immediately; we will examine potential clarifying amendments to our rules in the near future, with Board action possible in January.” We are very grateful to the elected officials who responded on behalf of the home school community of Texas to deal with this discriminatory issue quickly and effectively. God is good! Our fall travels included time spent in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio before Election Day, encouraging home schoolers to remember that our freedom to homeschool in Texas was fought for in the 1980s by many godly parents who relied on God to win the battle for them, and He did so after a legal struggle of almost ten years. In the course of time, we have learned that we must be vigilant to continue to fight for that freedom during campaigns when candidates are running for office and during the legislative sessions, during which our freedoms are always at risk. We continue to strongly urge home schoolers to be actively involved in the election process every cycle to educate candidates about home schooling and to work for candidates who support our freedom. We attended an annual national conference for Christian state home school leaders, which is always a great encouragement as we meet with leaders from other states, fellowship and share with one another, and learn from each other. However, we always come away from that meeting with an appreciation for home schooling in the great state of TEXAS! We also held our annual Leadership Retreat for Texas home school support group leaders in New Braunfels and were encouraged as we met with dozens of home school leaders for a time of encouragement, instruction, and refreshment. As we near the end of the year, we are amazed at the many ways that God uses to help us resolve the issues that Texas home schoolers face in the day-to- day process of teaching their children at home and raising them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord! We are also encouraged as we see officials who were elected with the help of home school families come to the defense of home educators on a regular basis. In that regard, please pray for us as we seek to accomplish what are perhaps the most ambitious projects we have ever tried to do. Let me explain. Last year we began a project to film a documentary of the modern home school movement in Texas. We have interviewed over twenty pioneer home school leaders who began to teach their children in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Our goal is to record for posterity the amazing and inspiring stories of these courageous families who believed that God was calling them to teach their children at home and were willing to fight the state of Texas in order do so. It is the story not only of courageous families but also of the incredible work of God as He opened doors and met the needs of each and every family involved and gave them victory. We hope to finish this project within the year and make available to the public and the home school community this inspiring story. We need to raise another $20,000 to finish this project. We are also partnering with the Family Rights Foundation in a Continuing Legal Education seminar, approved by the State Bar of Texas, to train attorneys on the legality of home schooling in Texas and the defense of innocent families who are under investigation by CPS. Our goal is to hold these seminars around Texas and offer them for free to attorneys in exchange for their agreement to be part of a database of lawyers who will provide help at no charge for families who are under attack by CPS. Our projected budget for this project is $50,000, and our first seminar is to be held in Houston this month. Please pray for us as we seek to establish a network of hundreds of attorneys in Texas prepared to defend innocent families. We are extremely excited about what God might accomplish through these projects and the blessings they could be. However, we cannot do this without the prayers and financial support of the home education community in Texas. Would you please prayerfully consider making a generous, tax- deductible contribution to THSC before the end of the year to help us accomplish these projects for the defense and inspiration of Texas home schoolers? We thank you in advance for your prayers and support that will make these projects-even our work as a whole-possible. Without people like you to participate in this way, it would not be possible for us to accomplish this work to which our Lord has called us. May our Lord richly bless you and your family! In your service,
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P.S. For those who help us by yearend by joining, renewing or giving $100 or more, we would like to express our gratitude by sending you a gift: a choice between one of our home school T-shirts (We now have 3 different styles!) and a 20th anniversary edition of the Handbook for Texas Home Schoolers. It will be our way to say “thanks” for your support of these efforts! Another way for you to help sustain this vital work for the home schooling families of Texas is to join THSC Association. Members can participate in the ever-expanding benefit package that includes legal assistance with problems related to home schooling and many helpful discounts. There are several ways you can donate and/or join and receive your gift: 1. On-line: (Be sure to include your choice of gifts in the Special Instructions box!) Join
Application/
Order Form (888) 200-
4903,
orders only,
please.
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Contact Information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
email:
staff@thsc.org
phone:
806-744-4441
web:
http://www.thsc.org
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