If HS became illegal, wwyd?

[Anglyn]

Seriously, first california, not NJ. Im getting worried about precidents here.

If it were outlawed in your state, wwyd? Move? Continue illegally? give in and send them to ps? What?

[Dar]

??? Homeschooling is not illegal in California and never has been... ditto for New Jersey, AFAIK.

There was one recent case in California that could have created legal problems for homeschoolers, but it was all dealt with very efficiently and quickly, and nothing changed...

Dar

[Kontessa]

As Dar said, CA was a bump in the road and it is the same as it was before. Not wonderful like Laws in some states, but still possible.

Lets assume though the idea that Tomorrow it would be considered illegal to homeschool my child in this state no matter what I try.

We would do all we can to move. NOT easy considering my husbands job! How could you hide it? Not let your child out? Quit church and girl scouts and dance and not let your child out of the house to play with friends in the afternoons and weekends?

I do not think it would be right to pull the child away from the world and no way I could lie or ask my child to lie and carry that burden. Lies are heavy things that can eat you and break the best parts of yourself.

Better to try and move!

[mommy68]

Originally Posted by Dar

??? Homeschooling is not illegal in California and never has been... ditto for New Jersey, AFAIK.

There was one recent case in California that could have created legal problems for homeschoolers, but it was all dealt with very efficiently and quickly, and nothing changed...

This is what I thought as well.

I don't believe it will become illegal anyway. And I also do not have anything against school outside the home, but I don't like the public schools in our particular zone so we'd likely use a private school if we ever had the need.

[vintagetroll]

living in the bible belt I don't even worry about it here. There would be alot of angry voters, and it would probably scoot through the courts pretty quick because for alot of people its a freedom of religion issue. I think the powers that be know they can't get rid of it, so rather than trying to ban it some states just like to monkey around with the requirements.

Florida is a state that has umbrella schools too. I think most states would be hard pressed to regulate all private schools to make sure kids are sitting in seats, so even if they banned regular homeschooling then there would be private schools willing to take up the paperwork.

[Peacemamalove]

We would move if we had to ..I don't see it happening as others said there would be so many people agianst it .

[SagMom]

Originally Posted by Anglyn

Seriously, first california, not NJ. Im getting worried about precidents here.

If it were outlawed in your state, wwyd? Move? Continue illegally? give in and send them to ps? What?

Hsing is legal in NJ. That's never been threatened. Legislation has been proposed to regulate hsing but that is currently sitting in committee with no action and little support. It was introduced in response to an out of state news story about abuse/neglect of a truant child, so it doesn't have very good footing, imo.

I don't see any risk of hsing being outlawed--but to play along:

One of the few reasons we live where we do is hsing freedoms. So, moving would be an option for us. I imagine we'd also look for other options within legal bounds -- maybe joining a cover school or a part-time free school, or hiring a tutor. We'd consider going underground, depending on the consequences. But I think the legislature would have quite an uprising on their hands if they attempted to outlaw hsing.

[ALittleBitCrunchy]

I would enroll my son in public school and fight to have it made legal again, but he would do okay and we'd just adjust. My daughter...I'd try for a medical exemption for a few years. If it wasn't possible, I'd go to school with her. All day, every day.

[earthmama369]

Fight like hell to make it legal again, enroll the kids in school, and abuse the absentee policy to its fullest extent to continue our homeschooling fun. Drive the school insane with our disregard for busy work and standardized testing results, especially if it got in the way of our evening and weekend plans. Take advantage of any programs, equipment, and field trips we might not have had access to as homeschoolers.

[purslaine]

Look for loop holes - like cyber-schools through the ministry or private schools.

If that were to fail - I would research what the penalty was for HS illegally. If it were simply "send them to school" I would HS until orderred to stop/facing charges.

I doubt I would have to lie about anything. If they were enrolled in an umbrella school, I would simply state the name of the school when asked.

It would be very unlikely we would move. My DH has an excellent job with the Feds. My children would probably prefer to go to school than give up their house and friends.

[elizawill]

if homeschooling became illegal in my state, i would raise cain and fight back big time. however, i don't *think* that's ever going to happen. homeschooling is not only growing, but it is also a huge mass market now. it definitely would effect a lot more than just homeschoolers, it would also effect a million dollar industry, ykwim? therefore, a lot of companies would be fighting right along with us. just my thoughts.

[LionTigerBear]

Hypothetically, I would probably found (probably with the help of other interested homeschoolers) a new private school that would serve our needs and have extremely flexible hours/"attendance" requirements (whatever was the minimum necessary to satisfy laws), and not charge more than cost for membership (I mean enrollment ).

In the meantime I suppose I would enroll them in whatever school seemed to best fit our philosophies, that we could also afford.

[tayndrewsmama]

We'd sell the house and trade in our travel trailer for the fifth wheel we've been eyeing up. Home sweet home would just be a bit smaller and much more portable.

[ahdoula]

I think *someday* in the future the regulations against homeschooling will make it very difficult to do it legally. I expect in the next 50 years there will be national legislation for it. That being said, HYPOTHETICALLY: there would likely be religious loop holes and other loop holes that we would find to make it happen still. We wouldn't ask our children to lie, nor would we choose a public school. There's always Canada.... lol!

[waiting4it2snow]

We'd move or live off the grid or sue.

It is ridiculous to me to imagine the government having the right to FORCE us to hand our children off to strangers for their "education" if we, the parents, object. I feel it is fundamentally unconstitutional. As much as I would want to fight, I also know this time is precious and goes by quickly so we might just decide to take the path of least resistence and move to a different state. (We would like to live off the grid as much as possible once we are land and homeowners anyway.)

[waiting4it2snow]

Originally Posted by ahdoula

I think *someday* in the future the regulations against homeschooling will make it very difficult to do it legally. I expect in the next 50 years there will be national legislation for it.

I agree, though, that there will be regulations - or attempts to regulate... especially as the unions are threatened by our growing numbers.

Originally Posted by LionTigerBear

Hypothetically, I would probably found (probably with the help of other interested homeschoolers) a new private school that would serve our needs and have extremely flexible hours/"attendance" requirements (whatever was the minimum necessary to satisfy laws), and not charge more than cost for membership (I mean enrollment ).

New York's Albany Free School anyone? Definitely a plan - a parent-led co-op private school with minimal fees. Love it!

[tayndrewsmama]

Originally Posted by waiting4it2snow

I agree, though, that there will be regulations - or attempts to regulate... especially as the unions are threatened by our growing numbers.

I don't even understand why any homeschooler or unschooler would be a concern for the unions now. All you hear day in and day out now is how there isn't enough funding for the children that are in schools now. How would that be any better if they try to force more students into the system? They already get our tax dollars as it is. It's not like they would get more money from taxes if there are more kids. There's no education tax surplus fund hiding anywhere.

[momtokea]

I guess my kids would just go to school. But, really, I'm not worried it's going to happen. Homeschoolers around here are a loud bunch. A few years ago they tried to change our regulations and we all rallied at the local gov't building. I think they (the government) and the rest of society were shocked at how many of us there were. They must of thought they were affecting a couple of families, but when they saw there were hundreds of us they backed down.

I do worry that the regulations may become more strict as there are more and more homeschoolers. "Okay, you can homeschool, but you HAVE to do it our way." And college entrance may become more difficult as there are more and more homeschoolers applying.

[milehighmonkeys]

What would the state do if HS were outlawed? I don't think they could handle the surge of kids that would needs desks. Seriously. I doubt it will become outlawed. Some states may decide to place more restrictions on it, but that's a different thread. Ya know, for a free country, we have no idea what equality really is. That's another thread, too.

[onlyzombiecat]

We would comply with the law and deal with it or move somewhere else.

Assuming there were legal options like virtual schools we would try that.

I really don't believe that homeschooling ever will be illegal while my dd is school age. I think some places might add more restrictions in response to the growing number of home educators.