public school is hassling me about homeschooling or transferring

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.

January 2009
Warren County
Yesterday I gave a letter of transfer to my daughter's public school stating my husband P.O. Box as the address to send the records. I was told that until she's back in school she would be marked truant and that the new school, by Indiana code, has to request her records. [This is not true. See The Indiana Code in English on the IHEN.org site. -ed.]

I guess my concern is that now that we'll be homeschooling I will have township superintendents breathing down my back. [This is also not the job description of public school officials, as they have no jurisdiction over private schools, including homeschools. -ed.]

June 2008
Rush County
My daughter was a senior in high school and was all set to graduate except she had not passed the ISEP and had taken a remediation course but they would not grant a waiver as she set out a semester to have a baby. So they recommended we "transfer" her to home school to get a diploma.

April 2008
Lake County
My 7th grade daughter is in the process of being expelled. Our school district -- Xxxxxx -- does not offer any alternative schooling. I am looking for resources to continue her education.

Johnson County
The school refuses to release our daughter [to homeschool] without conducting an exit exam with us, her parents. [There are no requirements in Indiana State Law that requires a student to take an exit exam before transferring to a private school (or homeschool.) See The Indiana Code in English on the IHEN.org site. -ed.]
Followup:
I appreciate the phone chat this afternoon. Directly following, I emailed the Superintendent, making note that I may have no choice other than contact IDOE's home schooling liaison. He returned the call and we made an appointment for Monday morning to do the transfer. No EXIT INTERVIEW! Thanks for helping clear up how we should approach what has been a difficult situation.

February 2008
Howard County

My son is now 13yrs. and in 7th grade. When he was starting school, head start, his teachers and the school suggested that i have him tested for ADHD and sure enough he tested out to be the "all star kid" fitting every discription they had for ADHD. I didnt want to have to give him medication nor did I want for him to be dependant on meds. However I reluctantly, after taking advice of my mother, put him on the meds. I thought it would help him in school, his school career goes something like this.....he was held back in first grade, and since then he has not made the grades to pass from one grade to the next, being "bumped" to the next grade to 7th grade now. I guess I'm woundering what I would need to do to start homeschooling him, hopefully it's not too late.

January 2008
Vermillion County

Hello, I read with interest your intro to new homeschoolers, and your concern for those 'forced' into home-ed by school officials.

We are 10-year homeschool veterans. I have recently counseled a family in just such a situation - the foster daughter was expelled for the entire school year because of her partnership with two friends to leave a bomb 'threat' in a restroom.

The friends were only suspended for a short-time. Foster Mom came to me for help. The school district told her that she "had to home-school" or she would be charged with truancy. BUT, that the homeschool days would not count towards the girl's school career. That is, when returned to public highschool, she would have to "start where she left off..." in 8th grade.

I thought it strange that the school district would single out this girl to expel for an entire schoolyear, then order the foster mom to homeschool, yet assert that the homeschool days would count nothing when/if the girl returned to public school.

Delaware County

I really need info ASAP. The school is only giving me another week or so to get my daughter into a homeschool program. Can you or someone else with info call me real soon?

[This parent was aparently told that she was to report to her public school with proof she was homeschooling, or she would be reported for educational neglect. I believe the school was also kicking the daughter out, but not wanting to have a "dropout" or "expulsion" on the school record, they were somewhat forcing the parent to homeschool. She was helped and told the school employee that he was overstepping his authority. -ed.]