claims of alleged abuse/assault/bullying in public school

The following are excerpts from letters we have received from parents interested in receiving help and information on homeschooling in Indiana. Specifics have been removed for privacy. We are publishing these posts in an effort to portray to the general public and the media, a more balanced picture of why parents are transferring their children out of their local public schools to educate them at home.

March 2009
White County

...after many times of our son's music teacher saying things like, "I don't want to see your face!" or "I don't want to hear you breathe!" enough was enough. She left him in an aditorium unsupervised. I went to his principal & was assured she would deal with it. I told her he was NOT going back into a classroom with this woman teaching it.

Today I was told that after speaking with the superintendent & his assistant that my options were to put my son back in this class or do an accredited music homeschool program, or they would call CPS & a truancy officer if I take him out of school once or twice a week during music class.

February 2008
St. Joseph County

My stepson has been diagnosised with ptsd, adhd, depression and anxiety. The school is telling us they are unwilling to deal with him any longer due to his behavior. He is 5 yrs old and in kindergarten. His teacher and vice principal are saying they are tired of dealing with him because they no longer can deal with putting up with his outbursts and disruptive behavior. He is currently on medication and under the care of a doctor. My wife and I have two other kids to care for and are unable to fully home school him and would not be if the school had not told us we had no other alternative. I would like to know what our rights are in this situation and what can be done.

[This was a case where the parents were told they had no other choice but to homeschool. Unfortunately, these are also the kinds of cases where school employees or others involved in the case, call out CPS on the parent. it's a catch-22 situation, especially if the parent is wanting help from the public school, and it is denied. -ed.]