Comments for Illinois Homeschool Freedom Watch http://ilhomeschool.wordpress.com for homeschooling families and advocates in Illinois Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:04:12 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on About Illinois Homeschool Freedom Watch by deborahwrites http://ilhomeschool.wordpress.com/about/#comment-84 deborahwrites Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:04:12 +0000 #comment-84 In Illinois, a homeschool is legally the same as any other private school. Just as a diploma from a Catholic school or a Montessori school would be "legitimate," so is your homeschool diploma. In Illinois, a homeschool is legally the same as any other private school. Just as a diploma from a Catholic school or a Montessori school would be “legitimate,” so is your homeschool diploma.

]]> Comment on About Illinois Homeschool Freedom Watch by Renee http://ilhomeschool.wordpress.com/about/#comment-83 Renee Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:50:33 +0000 #comment-83 I am homeschooling my daughter, we are useing a online program. She will have completed her required work for the online program June of 2010 and will receive her diploma. Will she need to take any state test in ill. in order for her diploma to be legit? I am homeschooling my daughter, we are useing a online program. She will have completed her required work for the online program June of 2010 and will receive her diploma. Will she need to take any state test in ill. in order for her diploma to be legit?

]]> Comment on About Illinois Homeschool Freedom Watch by Susan http://ilhomeschool.wordpress.com/about/#comment-77 Susan Sat, 24 Oct 2009 11:44:16 +0000 #comment-77 Dear JoAnn, Possibly, and without knowing all details, this could be turned right side up if you did as Deborah suggested, and contacted an IL pro-homeschool attorney to help with this. In Illinois, educational neglect is under the Regional Office of Education/school system authority, and DCFS is separate from that process. For HSLDA to participate in a process with a phone call and then leave you hanging is so unfortunate. It should have been all or nothing. I have found that many of these authorities will immediately back down if over-compliance demands are called on by others for what they are. Bullying. But I see that you have a court order involved in this, so it appears to be more complicated. You need help and support. You have it, if you want it. I assume that you're in IL, since you mentioned DCFS. Best wishes to you and your family. Dear JoAnn,
Possibly, and without knowing all details, this could be turned right side up if you did as Deborah suggested, and contacted an IL pro-homeschool attorney to help with this. In Illinois, educational neglect is under the Regional Office of Education/school system authority, and DCFS is separate from that process.

For HSLDA to participate in a process with a phone call and then leave you hanging is so unfortunate. It should have been all or nothing.
I have found that many of these authorities will immediately back down if over-compliance demands are called on by others for what they are. Bullying. But I see that you have a court order involved in this, so it appears to be more complicated.
You need help and support. You have it, if you want it. I assume that you’re in IL, since you mentioned DCFS.
Best wishes to you and your family.

]]> Comment on About Illinois Homeschool Freedom Watch by deborahwrites http://ilhomeschool.wordpress.com/about/#comment-76 deborahwrites Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:51:06 +0000 #comment-76 JoAnn, What you describe is terrible, and in fact, illegal. You don't need to be a member of HSLDA to be able to homeschool legally. That's why Susan and I started this group. We are available to answer questions and help with matters that don't require a lawyer, but if you need a lawyer, we can put you in touch with one that will work with you pro bono if you can't afford to pay them. If you send us your phone number, either Susan or I will call you to get more information and see what we can do to help you. It sounds like you would rather be homeschooling. JoAnn,

What you describe is terrible, and in fact, illegal. You don’t need to be a member of HSLDA to be able to homeschool legally. That’s why Susan and I started this group. We are available to answer questions and help with matters that don’t require a lawyer, but if you need a lawyer, we can put you in touch with one that will work with you pro bono if you can’t afford to pay them.

If you send us your phone number, either Susan or I will call you to get more information and see what we can do to help you. It sounds like you would rather be homeschooling.

]]> Comment on About Illinois Homeschool Freedom Watch by JoAnn http://ilhomeschool.wordpress.com/about/#comment-73 JoAnn Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:09:28 +0000 #comment-73 I am leaving a warning rather than a comment....be very careful in ur pursuit of homeschooling....from 2001 til 2008 i homeschooled my son...he never attended public school...i checked the laws (or lack thereof) and kept a watch at HSLDA and even contacted the local superintendent as to what needed to be done and i was told there was no requirements for me to submit to the board........Never had a problem....until one unfortunate day when DCFS was called in on a false allegation (yes false)....they couldnt find anything to hold against me with my childrens welfare so they started in on me about my homeschool.........the caseworker DEMANDED i send stuff to the board and i produce a record of what was taught when and for how long...........and even have ready for her to review his spelling list words for the week........i then proceeded to contact HSLDA because i knew everything i was doing was right but when HSLDA contacted the caseworker on mybehalf to let her know i was doing everything i needed to she would not listen......she then came the next day to my house and told me bout the lawyer that contacted her and what was said and proceeded to tell me and my husband that for every action we take she will have a reaction.........well that scared me so i just went with th flow and did what she said and unfortunately becuase wasnt already a member of HSLDA they could not help me out any further.......she then proceeded to get it court ordered to have my son tested to see where he was academically.............i will admit my son is behind academically......thats why i was glad i decided to homeschool......he is very smart.but just takes extra time for him to learn certain things.......i.e., math and writing skills............ but he had always proceeded at a steady pace and never fell behind from where he was...and because his math and writing skill came back below average...it got court ordered for him to go to a public school............so of course he gets enrolled in 5th grade when he was doing mostly 6th grade work at home and he struggled but managed to pass and now that he's in the 6th grade he is failling farther and farther behind and now with it only being october he is already on the fail list and if he doesnt get off it he fails 6th grade and there is nothing that i can do.......its a nightmare getting answers from the teachers....and its frustrating when i have to send him to public school for someone else to teach him but then when he comes home from school i have to reteach him on the topic hes working on cuz they dont (cant or even wont) help him learn in a different way...but my hands are tied.......nothing i can do............so my major warning for all you out there is dont make the same mistake i made............find that money and become a member of HSLDA..........even if its hard to afford....they will be able to help you out a lot and maybe even just get all the harrassment to stop.......just dont turn into who i am now.........a very concerned parent who keeps thinking about that what if ...what if i would of joined when i first found out about HSLDA............the what if is i would be homeschooling cuz there was no actual legal proof that my homeschooling was the cause of my sons grades...its just who he is...its how he learns....and the government forgets the reason a lot of us choose to homeschool is because our children learn in a different way than what the "average" child learns God Bless you all and hope you all have an excellent homeschool career I am leaving a warning rather than a comment….be very careful in ur pursuit of homeschooling….from 2001 til 2008 i homeschooled my son…he never attended public school…i checked the laws (or lack thereof) and kept a watch at HSLDA and even contacted the local superintendent as to what needed to be done and i was told there was no requirements for me to submit to the board……..Never had a problem….until one unfortunate day when DCFS was called in on a false allegation (yes false)….they couldnt find anything to hold against me with my childrens welfare so they started in on me about my homeschool………the caseworker DEMANDED i send stuff to the board and i produce a record of what was taught when and for how long………..and even have ready for her to review his spelling list words for the week……..i then proceeded to contact HSLDA because i knew everything i was doing was right but when HSLDA contacted the caseworker on mybehalf to let her know i was doing everything i needed to she would not listen……she then came the next day to my house and told me bout the lawyer that contacted her and what was said and proceeded to tell me and my husband that for every action we take she will have a reaction………well that scared me so i just went with th flow and did what she said and unfortunately becuase wasnt already a member of HSLDA they could not help me out any further…….she then proceeded to get it court ordered to have my son tested to see where he was academically………….i will admit my son is behind academically……thats why i was glad i decided to homeschool……he is very smart.but just takes extra time for him to learn certain things…….i.e., math and writing skills………… but he had always proceeded at a steady pace and never fell behind from where he was…and because his math and writing skill came back below average…it got court ordered for him to go to a public school…………so of course he gets enrolled in 5th grade when he was doing mostly 6th grade work at home and he struggled but managed to pass and now that he’s in the 6th grade he is failling farther and farther behind and now with it only being october he is already on the fail list and if he doesnt get off it he fails 6th grade and there is nothing that i can do…….its a nightmare getting answers from the teachers….and its frustrating when i have to send him to public school for someone else to teach him but then when he comes home from school i have to reteach him on the topic hes working on cuz they dont (cant or even wont) help him learn in a different way…but my hands are tied…….nothing i can do…………so my major warning for all you out there is dont make the same mistake i made…………find that money and become a member of HSLDA……….even if its hard to afford….they will be able to help you out a lot and maybe even just get all the harrassment to stop…….just dont turn into who i am now………a very concerned parent who keeps thinking about that what if …what if i would of joined when i first found out about HSLDA…………the what if is i would be homeschooling cuz there was no actual legal proof that my homeschooling was the cause of my sons grades…its just who he is…its how he learns….and the government forgets the reason a lot of us choose to homeschool is because our children learn in a different way than what the “average” child learns
God Bless you all and hope you all have an excellent homeschool career

]]> Comment on Educational Rigor Prevails: Indian Prairie School District Homeschool Policy by Maryland Gifted Student Denied Homeschool Work Credit « Illinois Homeschool Freedom Watch http://ilhomeschool.wordpress.com/2009/09/19/educational-rigor-prevails-indian-prairie-school-district-homeschool-policy/#comment-61 Maryland Gifted Student Denied Homeschool Work Credit « Illinois Homeschool Freedom Watch Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:14:15 +0000 http://ilhomeschool.wordpress.com/?p=296#comment-61 [...] Related post:  Educational Rigor Prevails: Indian Prairie School District Homeschool Policy [...] [...] Related post:  Educational Rigor Prevails: Indian Prairie School District Homeschool Policy [...]

]]> Comment on Educational Rigor Prevails: Indian Prairie School District Homeschool Policy by Kudos to the Illinois Association of School Boards « Illinois Homeschool Freedom Watch http://ilhomeschool.wordpress.com/2009/09/19/educational-rigor-prevails-indian-prairie-school-district-homeschool-policy/#comment-43 Kudos to the Illinois Association of School Boards « Illinois Homeschool Freedom Watch Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:26:36 +0000 http://ilhomeschool.wordpress.com/?p=296#comment-43 [...] Educational Rigor Prevails: Indian Prairie School District Homeschool Policy [...] [...] Educational Rigor Prevails: Indian Prairie School District Homeschool Policy [...]

]]> Comment on Don’t Write These Laws on Our Children by AHA Citizen Journal » Blog Archive » Don’t Write These Laws on Our Children http://ilhomeschool.wordpress.com/2009/08/28/dont-write-these-laws-on-our-children/#comment-39 AHA Citizen Journal » Blog Archive » Don’t Write These Laws on Our Children Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:20:45 +0000 http://ilhomeschool.wordpress.com/?p=180#comment-39 [...] A Review by Susan Ryan, Illinois Homeschooler [...] [...] A Review by Susan Ryan, Illinois Homeschooler [...]

]]> Comment on Bureau-Henry-Stark Counties: Homeschool Problems Resolved? by Don’t Write These Laws on Our Children « Illinois Homeschool Freedom Watch http://ilhomeschool.wordpress.com/2008/11/04/bureau-henry-stark-counties-homeschool-problems-resolved/#comment-37 Don’t Write These Laws on Our Children « Illinois Homeschool Freedom Watch Fri, 28 Aug 2009 22:28:03 +0000 http://ilhomeschool.wordpress.com/?p=43#comment-37 [...] (Unless we’re transferring from the public school to homeschool.)   Mr. Kunzman asked HSLDA founder Michael Smith, about homeschooling’s future potential: “So would the ultimate [...] [...] (Unless we’re transferring from the public school to homeschool.)   Mr. Kunzman asked HSLDA founder Michael Smith, about homeschooling’s future potential: “So would the ultimate [...]

]]> Comment on Chicago Public Schools-Homeschool citations by Don’t Write These Laws on Our Children « Illinois Homeschool Freedom Watch http://ilhomeschool.wordpress.com/2008/12/17/chicago-public-schools-homeschool-citations/#comment-36 Don’t Write These Laws on Our Children « Illinois Homeschool Freedom Watch Fri, 28 Aug 2009 22:26:01 +0000 http://ilhomeschool.wordpress.com/?p=147#comment-36 [...] Chicago Public Schools-Homeschool citations [...] [...] Chicago Public Schools-Homeschool citations [...]

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