Homeschool Regulation

Home School Regulation

Holly is a girl who’s main focus in her life is her music and theater. She has rehearsal until late at night, and sometimes during regular school hours. Going to school is an inconvenience for her, but she still needs an education, so home schooling is her best option. Since she is in a constant social setting, she has no problems with communication or interacting with her peers. She passed high school and is now attending Carnegie Melon University. Lauren, on the other hand, is home schooled because her parents thought it was in her better interest. She tried to get social interaction by participating in her local high schools musical. She did not make many friends and people looked at her like she didn’t really belong. Lauren did not know how to approach people in a friendly manner, or have a nice conversation with any of her peers. There are many positive factors to home schooling, however; there are an equal amount of negative outcomes as well.

Over the past decade home schooling has grown increasingly popular. Now that it is legal in all fifty states, support has been growing for students opting to study at home. Families feel that home schooling gives them the flexibility to teach their children as they deem fit, allowing them to customize education plans and meet their child’s individual needs. Unfortunately, not all parents’ have their children’s best interest in mind. States vary dramatically in the amount of regulation they place on home schooling. Most states have minimal requirements for home schooling leaving parents to educate their child in whichever way they choose if they choose to educate them at all. Without regulation, there is no way of making sure that children are safe, or that they are receiving the education that will later enable them to become successful individuals both academically and socially. Children deserve a quality education and it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that they are receiving one. Although parents have the constitutional right to educate their children at home, uniform regulation within each state is necessary to ensure that the safety, academic, and social needs of children are being met.

It is a constitutional right for parents to be able to educate their own children. Many parents feel that because of this constitutionally protected right, they alone should be able to fully control their child’s education. Because of the Home Schooling Legal Defense Association, home schooling is legal in all 50 states; however, the amount of state regulation varies (Mur 53). Parents choosing to home school their children are protected by their constitutional and home schooling rights and are responsible for the safety, academic and social upbringing of their children. Robert Zieglar, a spokesperson for the Home School Legal Defense Association feels that any regulation is too much. He claims that because of the constitutionally protected parental right, parents should have full control over choosing how to educate their children (Mur). Parents find the role of the government in their child’s education to be invasive and disruptive. Many home schooling parents feel that they have the full capabilities to educate their child as they see fit under their constitutional right.

Not only do parents feel it is their right to educate their child at home without government intervention, but they also feel that without financial support from the government, the government should be allowed no role in their children’s education. Charter schools do not receive funding and they do not have to abide by any regulations so people who home school feel that they should not either (Mur). Many parents also feel that the public schools offer little to no financial support, so it is also unnecessary to report to them. Without any financial support, home schoolers feel that the right to home school their children should remain their own.

For the safety of home schooled children, the government needs to make sure that parents are not abusing their right to educate their children at home. Shared responsibility between the parents and state can help to prevent abusive situations at home (Williams). Because these children are isolated in the privacy of their home, they are at a disadvantage in that they are unable to contact outside adults if issues are occurring within the home. Within a public school setting, children receive the benefit of having a teacher who sees them daily for a year as well as other trusted adults with whom they are able to confide in. Home schooled children should be able to receive the same benefits while allowing their parents the right to educate them at home. It should be made mandatory that children have several adults in their lives, aside from their parents, with whom they are able to confide in and who see the child on a regular basis. This simple measure could aid tremendously in preventing abuse and neglect from occurring within home schooled families. There should never be an instance where a child is abused because of a parent’s right to keep them at home.

In addition to a child’s safety, it is also extremely important that the government makes sure home schooled children’s social needs are being met. Many home schooled children are highly involved in various extra curricular activities, play groups, and support networks; however, there are many home schooled children who are not as fortunate. Social skills are key to a successful future. “Children in public schools have to deal with many different personalities and temperaments which helps them to acquire the skills to interact with the diversity of people in the world at large” (Mur 42). Learning to get along with other people is a skill that all children, home-schooled or not, should learn, just like math and reading. Not only do children need to learn to get along with others, but they need to learn to be around different kinds of people.

Different states have different rules and regulations about home schooling. In some states, such as Texas and Michigan, no record keeping or testing is required. The subjects are limited to reading, spelling, grammar, math, and good citizenship. In other states, such as New York and Vermont, there is a rigorous outline in which home school parents need to follow. The subjects the children are required to take are those that a public school student would be required to take also. The record keeping is intensified to attendance, number of hours being taught, and material covered (New Hampshire).

According to Jodie Fantoni, a parent who home schooled two children, keeping a portfolio is something that helped