November 2008

 

Dear Home School Friend,

 

Greetings from the Texas Home School Coalition! I am writing today to bring you up-to-speed about what has been going on that impacts the Texas home school community and to invite you to join with us in our efforts.

 

THSC had a busy summer of travel to the different book fairs and conventions in the state, as well as sponsoring our own State Convention and Family Conference in August.  We had approximately 3500 people in attendance, and we had very positive feedback from those attendees who participated in such things as workshops and shopping for adults, our Teen Staff Program, the Children's Program, and for the first time, a Special Buddies Program, co-sponsored with Texas' Special Kids.

 

Fortunately, while we were busy with the conferences, we had the typical summer slow-down in the number of problems with school districts and other official entities; however, such activity picked up in the fall.  Every new school year brings a fresh crop of officials who either do not know or choose to ignore the state's limited mandates regarding home schooling.  We are pleased to broaden the understanding of government institutions or officials who attempt to place unwarranted burdens on the backs of home schooling families in Texas.

 

However, before we detail those situations, I want to update you concerning attacks against home school families in Germany.  As you may know, I was asked to be an expert witness in a criminal case there against one home school family.  The defense's strategy was simple: in addition to handling the regular criminal case, there would be testimony to the underlying prejudices against home schooling that are still strong in Germany.  We hoped this testimony would carry some weight with the criminal and appeals courts.  I had originally planned to go to Germany for the trial in July, but it was postponed, and there has as yet been no new date set. 

 

We asked Texas home schoolers to help us support this effort by contributing to the family's legal expenses, and as a result we were able to send several thousand dollars toward the first round of legal costs.  This case is very important because the state has already terminated the parental rights of these parents, although it has not yet taken the children.  Now the national government of Germany is prosecuting the parents for "intentional neglect," based strictly on the fact that they homeschool.  If they are convicted, they could be sentenced to up to two years in prison. 

 

Please continue to pray for wisdom for the attorneys involved in this and other cases, for favor with the courts, and-perhaps more importantly-for public opinion in Germany to move to favor these persecuted families.  We continue to communicate with these families and help them in any way that we can.  Please also pray for home schoolers in Germany and for wisdom for us as we seek to help them.

 

Closer to home, during the early fall the Association worked with three families having problems with Child Protective Services (CPS).  One family's daughter had been removed from the home "primarily" because CPS did not believe the family was really homeschooling.  We wrote to the caseworker, her supervisor, and CPS officials in Austin, reminding them that it is outside of their purview to determine whether or not a child is being "properly" homeschooled and that home schooling is not a valid reason to remove a child from the home.

 

In both of the other CPS situations, the families had foster children whom they were in the process of adopting.  They wanted to homeschool the children in order to bond with them more quickly and so the children would not have to be pulled out of their schools once the adoptions were finalized.  We urged the officials in both cases to consider what was best for the children, reminding them that in previous cases the courts had no problem with foster parents homeschooling their charges; we also pointed out that the commissioner of DFPS had approved waivers for such families in the past.  During the court hearing of one of those cases, several references were made to the family being a member of a "larger" home school organization (i.e. THSC Association), and the judge ruled the family would be allowed to homeschool the children, much to the consternation of the CPS officials.  God is good!

 

In November we wrote letters on behalf of a home school family who had a police officer, without permission and with no court order, enter their home at the direction of a CPS worker.  The worker also visited the family a few days later, asked the family questions about their home schooling, and wanted to review their curriculum.  We wrote to the CPS worker to tell her that she had no authority over home schooling and to the police officer to tell him that we were encouraging the family to seek legal counsel in regard to his illegal entry of their home.  We then referred the family to a list of attorneys trained by THSC Continuing Legal Education (CLE) seminars to help such innocent families with CPS.

 

I continue to serve on the Parental Advisory Committee for Child Protective Services.  After several meetings were canceled this year, we finally met in October, and the committee made its annual recommendations to CPS.  Thankfully, I was successful in getting a number of proposals into this year's report.  This report will now be forwarded to the committee that has oversight of the agency and is responsible for setting its policy.

 

The committee's recommendations include the following:

• CPS should ensure that all staff receive CPS Policy Handbook updates to maintain consistency across the state through the policy alert system.  Many caseworkers do not seem to be aware of their agency's own policies. 
• CPS should develop specific agency policy that requires staff to return telephone calls within seventy-two hours, addressing the complaint of not being able to get calls from caseworkers, which we hear from many families who are under investigation by CPS.
• CPS should establish a policy to remove from the record the names of parents who have been investigated on abuse and/or neglect allegations and given the disposition of "ruled out."  While this is required by statute, it is often ignored by the agency, and in some cases they simply refuse to do so.
• CPS officials should be required to forward allegations that appear to be knowingly false and malicious to prosecuting authorities for investigation and possible action.  This happens on a frequent basis and amounts to the use of CPS as a weapon against innocent families.   

 

THSC is proceeding with our efforts to educate attorneys around Texas about how to defend innocent families against CPS by hosting the last Continuing Legal Education (CLE) seminar of the year, scheduled for Austin in December.  The Association is also working with some of these attorneys to develop legislation to address some of the excesses of CPS workers in these situations.

 

From the first of August to the end of September, we were contacted by seven families who were having trouble withdrawing their children to homeschool.  Besides requiring the families to complete unnecessary forms, Bowie High School in Austin wanted one family to supply the start date for its home school, Monterey High School in Lubbock threatened fines and legal action if a child was not enrolled by a certain date, New Boston ISD demanded that a family complete the school's home school form and provide documentation of successful completion of the academic program, and the Spring Branch ISD police department tried to require an "Exemption Questionnaire" from a family.  All of the families we helped had followed the Texas Education Agency's requirements for informing a school district of their decision to homeschool-apparently, the schools in question did not receive the memo.  All situations were brought to satisfactory conclusions.

 

Other issues requiring our intervention this fall involved verifying either the status of students as being homeschooled or their status as home school graduates.  These verification letters were written to the Social Security Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, Pop Warner sports league, a probation officer, and private companies.  We remain committed to stand with home schoolers when their freedoms or rights are at risk, and very often we are the only ones willing to address these issues on behalf of these families.

 

In August I met with the director of the driver license division of the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).  We discussed the legislative agenda that we have developed in response to continued efforts to repeal or limit parent-taught driver education.  We also addressed the recurring problem many home school parents face with DPS offices about what is required in the course of providing parent-taught driver education for their children.  The DPS officials sent an agency-wide memorandum to clarify the statewide policy, so we now have the written official position of DPS to help alleviate the problems.

 

In October, THSC sponsored its annual Leadership Training Conference for leaders of home school groups in Texas.  This event helps to meet our goal of strengthening the home school community by encouraging and equipping local leadership.  We believe that these leaders, trained and educated, are a vital part of the success of home school families across the state.

 

Finally, we have been busy with political activity through THSC PAC.  We contacted many candidates and used our questionnaires to educate them regarding our legislative agenda and the issues important to the home school community in Texas.  In addition, we worked with a number of candidates whom THSC PAC endorsed, by writing letters and making recorded phone calls to be sent to those in our database and encouraging the home schoolers in their districts to work in their campaigns.  This is not only a great educational opportunity for families, but it also enables us to lay the groundwork to address in the legislative session issues important to home schoolers in Texas and prepare for any attempt to limit our freedom to homeschool in Texas. 

 

This year's elections resulted in a mere one-seat majority for Republicans in the Texas House of Representatives, and the campaign to choose the speaker of the house is in full swing.  If Democrats, who are strongly supported by and responsive to teacher unions, gain leadership in the Texas House, it could negatively impact our legislative agenda.  We experienced this problem for many years in the early days of the modern home school movement.  Currently New Jersey home schoolers are facing a legislative effort to reduce home school freedom in that state.  This action follows attempts in Michigan, the District of Columbia, and many other states.  We must stay vigilant lest we, too, face such a challenge unprepared. 

 

Nationally, we face Democratic control not only of the presidency but also in very large margins of both houses of Congress.  The national Democrat Party is closely aligned with the NEA (National Education Association), whose agenda is very anti-home schooling.

 

Fourteen years ago in a similar setting, a Democratic congressman from California introduced legislation (the infamous HR6) that would require every teacher to be certified in every subject that they taught in order for the state to continue to receive federal education funds.  This proposal would have effectively outlawed home schooling in the United States.  Home schoolers and their allies flooded the U.S. House with over a million phone calls in opposition to this proposal. 

 

THSC was in the forefront of that fight, traveling the state of Texas to give people information and using our fax network (then the most effective mode of rapid communication) to get the word out.  God protected the home school community; in spite of the majority control of Congress at that time, due to the pressure we were able to bring to bear, only one person-the author-voted for that legislation. 

 

This same position was taken by President-elect Barack Obama in his campaign.  We will watch Congress for any effort of this kind and take action immediately to oppose it.  Should that happen, we will notify Texas home schoolers, as we did in 1994.  We now have the advantage of having an e-mail network of thousands who can help us spread the word and defend our freedoms.

 

We will continue to be vigilant to any threat against home school freedom, whether at the local, state, or national level, and to do whatever we must, with your help, to protect our freedom to teach our children at home, free from government interference.

 

Thank you for your continued prayers and for your financial support in our ongoing battle to protect home schooling and our efforts to serve home schoolers in Texas.  Because you have been there for us, we have been able to be there for the home schoolers of Texas.  We are humbled and encouraged by your support. As you can see, we have a tremendously challenging job in front of us.  We have a dedicated staff, and we are committed to keeping Texas the freest state in the union in which to homeschool.  In fact, we are committed to expanding that freedom in the upcoming legislative session. 

 

As you know, we live in uncertain economic times-we need your help!  We receive much of our support in the last quarter of the year.  That support enables us to accomplish our goals of promoting home education and expanding home school freedom in Texas and to stand in the gap when home schoolers are under attack.  Would you prayerfully consider contributing a yearend gift to help us do this work?  Your becoming a member of our Association would be another way to help us fight these battles.  We will be very, very grateful for whatever you can do to help us defend home schooling in Texas and beyond!

 

May God bless you and may you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!