Back to school is just around the corner and with is comes requests and demands for home schoolers to register....Oh, no! Oh, NO! indeed! For veteran home educators, this may seem old hat. But for new home schoolers, the "threat is in the mail" type of letter can be unnerving. Usually this request is to secure more federal tax dollars thru the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) federal program. The primary thing you need to know as a home educator is that you don't have to tell the school district ANYTHING. If you have ALREADY filed a voluntary declaration per 167.042 (FHE recommends you do not, and if you have, that you discontinued filing any future declarations), the district should already have access to all the information they need for this year. If you have never filed one, don't, and you can't be required to do so. These "declarations" provide the only counts the districts can legally use, according to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). Withdrawal letters (in FHE’s format) don't count. And the districts have no legal mandate or authority to "know the status of every child in their district." So, if you get such a letter, phone call, or see a notice in the paper (the latest trend is to put an ad in the classifieds claiming home schoolers have to contact the school), don't respond or answer questions. If you are an HSLDA member, call them first. Then call FHE and let us know which school district (district number, name of persons making the contact if known) is involved. This is the statute which applies to the optional “Declaration of Enrollment”, RSMo 167.042: “For the purpose of minimizing unnecessary investigations due to reports of truancy, Armed with information about your rights, you can enjoy the fall, instead of the fallout! |
Need Some Answers??
3/18/2020 8:42:00 PM by: FHE
Thank you for making the 2020 Homeschool Day at the Capitol a success!
3/4/2020 1:10:00 PM by: FHE
2020 Homeschool Day at the Capitol - Jefferson City, MO
1/27/2020 11:01:00 AM by: FHE
SAVE THE DATE--2020 FHE HOMESCHOOL DAY AT THE CAPITOL- Jefferson City, MO
1/6/2020 5:19:00 AM by: FHE
Attention!!
10/18/2019 12:38:00 PM by: FHE
"Declaration of Enrollment" Requests
7/2/2019 6:33:00 PM by: FHE
2019 FHE High School Planning Parties
5/30/2019 1:54:00 PM by: FHE
4/2/2019 HB 1139 Update
4/8/2019 1:18:00 PM by: FHE
Attention!!
3/27/2019 5:46:00 PM by: FHE
Thank you for Attending!
3/9/2019 5:34:00 PM by: FHE
2019 FHE Rally at the Capitol Rotunda - Jefferson City, MO
2/2/2019 9:54:00 AM by: FHE
Update regarding the Cooper County (Bunceton) R-IV School District Homeschool Policy
8/20/2018 3:38:00 PM by: FHE
FHE High School Planning Parties
5/17/2018 3:59:00 PM by: FHE
Missouri Homeschool Coops/Support Groups
4/20/2018 6:21:00 PM by: FHE
New FHE Facebook Pages
3/12/2018 5:28:00 PM by: FHE
2018 Capitol Rally Thank You!!
3/7/2018 5:42:00 PM by: FHE
2018 Capitol Rally
2/8/2018 12:47:00 PM by: FHE
Brian D. Ray, Ph.D., from NHERI will be speaking in Missouri in February
1/14/2018 12:02:00 PM by: FHE
2018 Missouri General Session convenes January 3, 2018
1/1/2018 1:00:00 AM by: FHE