NHEG - EDGuide - MAY- JUNE 2020

www.NewHeightsEducation.org
www.NewHeightsEducation.org
home education program and planned to start teaching her two children using
more traditional textbooks and curriculum materials.
When she didn’t hear anything from her local school officials, Amber sent a
follow-up email to the home education contact a week later, thanking several
teachers and asking for confirmation that her home education notice was
received. Amber understood that everyone was probably still scrambling
to adjust to the coronavirus crisis, so she was pleasantly surprised to get a
response a short time later.
Unfortunately, the message was really just the first in a series of bureaucratic
roadblocks.
At-home Enrichment
The home education contact informed Amber that teachers would begin
rolling out programs for all public school students soon, but that this delay
did not prevent parents “from providing enrichment for your children.” Amber
was encouraged to “give [the] school the opportunity to provide education for
[her] family.”
After Amber replied that she was really going to be homeschooling her
children and that she had no intention of doing virtual school, the school
official confirmed that the notice of intent had been received. The official
added that while the district staff couldn’t process Amber’s home education
notification until her children were withdrawn from their previous school,
“[we] are working as quickly as possible to assist students and families.”
However, Amber was appalled by the email she received the next morning.
The home education contact stated that “according to upper leadership,
all students will stay with current Palm Beach County Schools until further
notice, according to the Enrollment and Withdrawal Procedures for the Virtual
Continuity Support Plan.”
“My jaw dropped,” Amber said. “I realized they were trying to tell me that my
children would not be withdrawn, and that I couldn’t homeschool.”
Keeping Kids Enrolled
Amber’s experience is not isolated. Willamette Connections Academy, an
online public school in Oregon, recently posted a message on its website
declaring “the Oregon Department of Education has advised that no students
are able to withdraw or enroll in any schools during the school closure.”
The message cited a recent executive order by Governor Kate Brown, an
order which we believe the Willamette Connections Academy misinterpreted.
What the governor actually did was to freeze the enrollment status of all
public schools for funding purposes. The order does not legally prevent
parents from pulling their children out of a public school and homeschooling
them.
Regardless, HSLDA will continue to support the legal right of parents to
withdraw their children from public school in order to begin homeschooling.
Though this right is precious at all times, it is especially important during
crises that parents remain empowered to do what is best for their kids.
That’s why we were so prompt in helping Amber.
She realized the message from public school officials wasn’t right, so she
immediately enlisted the help of a local homeschool support group. Having
already joined HSLDA, she also reached out to us.
Sending a Message
As soon as I got the information from Amber, I contacted Palm Beach County.
I requested that public school officials send us their Virtual Continuity
Support Plan and their justification for denying a the fundamental right of
parents to educate their children. I made it clear that there was no legal
authority for the district to make such a declaration.
Florida Parent Educators Association (FPEA) and Cheryl with Palm Beach
County (PBC) Homeschoolers, Inc. also sent information to Palm Beach
County, pointing out that public school officials could not prevent parents
from withdrawing their children and homeschooling them.
After learning from an online homeschool forum that several other parents
had encountered this problem, Cheryl told me: “I strongly believe that parents
should have the right to choose something other than the public school’s
program, especially when that program isn’t working well for their children.
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