THSC is joining the Family Rights Foundation in offering a Continuing Legal Education seminar on Defending the Family against CPS.

Responding to the urgent need for advocacy and the legal defense of families against false Child Protective Services (CPS) allegations, Texas Home School Coalition has launched an effort to build a network of attorneys who are willing to help. THSC is therefore offering FREE registration in exchange for an agreement to handle one pro bono CPS case that is referred by THSC or the Family Rights Foundation. This seminar is approved for continuing legal education credit by the State Bar of Texas.

THSC president Tim Lambert, Family Rights Foundation president Chris Branson, and Paul Stuckle, attorney at law, will be the speakers at this important event. The seminar will be held Friday, November 10, 2006, at the Houston Hotel Marriott, 5150 Westheimer in Houston.

There have been several postings over the last few weeks regarding a family, the father of which spent a week in jail for refusing to put his children in public school. Although the family has fled the country, authorities still threaten to find and remove the children from the home. The following headlines link to three separate stories covering this chilling series of events.

8/28/06 Home School Family in Germany Flees
Deutsche Presse Agentur

by Jean-Baptiste Piggin, Hamburg: A German couple who are determined to educate their six children entirely at home have fled the city of Hamburg after the father, Andre R, 44, was jailed for a week for refusing to enroll his offspring in a public school. The R family are evangelical Christians who believe that public schools are a bad moral influence on children. Father R has a university degree in teaching, so he thought he could teach his five daughters and one son their reading, writing and arithmetic at home.

8/31/06 German home-school family flees to Austria
Expatica.com

HAMBURG – A German couple who are determined to educate their six children entirely at home were believed Wednesday to have taken refuge in Austria after the father, Andre R, 44, was jailed for a week for refusing to enroll his offspring in a public school.

9/06/06 German Parents Wanting to Homeschool Turn to EU Court
DEUTSCHE WELLE

by Jabeen Bhatti: A Hamburg family wanting to homeschool their children have been forced to flee the country in what lawyers say is not a unique case in Germany. Parents are now turning to the European Court of Human Rights for help.

THSC Association is happy to announce the addition of Worldview Academy Leadership Camps to its growing list of benefit providers for its members. Worldview Academy is offering THSC Association members a $30 discount off the cost of a camp registration. The camps are week-long programs designed especially for home schoolers who desire to become bold leaders in Truth and Grace. Students, age 13 and up, are trained in three main areas - worldviews, apologetics and evangelism - as well as servant leadership.

The final camp of the season will be the week of October 1-6, 2006, at T Bar M in New Braunfels (click on graphic for details). It is still possible to register, so take advantage of this generous discount now!

FEAST (Family Educators Alliance of South Texas) Sports would like to host an annual state fast pitch softball tournament in San Antonio, in early- to mid-April of 2007. If you have a home school team and are interested in participation in this exciting opportunity for your team, please contact Tod Nash, FEAST Sports Softball and Baseball Commissioner, at tnash1@satx.rr.com. He can also be reached at home, (210) 349-1704, or on his cell, (210) 885-1478. This will be a great chance for your girls to fellowship with other home schoolers from around the state and compete on a large scale!

Have you joined Texas Home School Coalition Association yet? (Click on the graphic for more information.) THSC Association is continually looking not only for more member discounts to add to its Member Benefit Package but also for ways to make joining more manageable.

It has gotten even easier to budget for your membership now! We still offer $15 off the annual membership price of $85 for members of local home school support groups. In addition, an auto-renewal option gives another $5 in savings. The new budgeting tool is our monthly payment plan. You can now spread your payments throughout the year. The base price still includes the discounts.

To learn about the new options or to join, you can call our office at (888) 200-4903 and speak to our friendly, helpful staff or send your questions by email to staff@thsc.org. You can download, print, complete, and mail or fax your application and order form. Mail completed application to THSC, PO Box 6747, Lubbock, TX 79493 or fax to (806) 744-4446.

If you would like to join or renew your membership, you can still join online, but the payment plan options are not yet available at the web store.

Home school student Kyle Beck is a 15-year-old contributing writer for the Fauquier Times- Democrat. His commentary, that begins below, was posted at TimesCommunity.com on September 5, 2006. Read excerpts from his entertaining piece:

“First Day of (Home) School

“Ahh, the first day of school, the buses roll by and the smell of pancakes fills the air. "Wait a minute! The buses are rolling by? Oh no!"

“No worries for me, I'm homeschooled. Yep, that's right, homeschooled. But before you put this down and run far, far away, screaming for your life, just hear me out. That's better.”

THSC Association responded by fax to correct a school district concerning demands it made of an Association member family, with regard to withdrawal of a child to homeschool.