Homeschool Leadership Forum

A few weeks ago we went to the Homeschool Leadership Forum in south LA.  It was a great time with wonderful lectures and wonderful people!  The retreat center we were staying at was awesome!  The girls had a great time!

One of the topics we discussed was the law.  Our Louisiana advocate was there to tell us what all was going on in our state.  I was amazed (and enraged) at the tricks that are trying to be pulled on us in this very homeschool friendly state!  The board of education changed our forms we fill out every year to register with the state so we could do it online instead.  Sounds like a win/win—easier for us, and far less work for them.  Our advocate woman had met with them beforehand and was surprised how well the meetings went and how “easy” it was to come to an agreement on the online form.  After she signed off though, they added one thing at the end of the form.  We have to click a box that states we will comply with bulletin 741.  I did this and clicked the box, thinking it was nothing more than agreeing to abide to the laws of the state.  That was NOT the case however!!  In this bulletin, we are handing complete control over to the board of education regarding our private school (homeschool)!!  worse yet, is they can amend this bulletin at any time and not tell us they are doing so!  So, in effect, they can limit our choice of curriculum, or anything for that matter, and we would have signed over that right just by clicking that little box!!  Sneaky!! 

We have since rescinded our application, and done with the old way through the mail with a letter stating that until that is fixed, we will not agree to any forms online!  Scary!!  I thank God for advocates that are fighting for our right to continue to homeschool!  I have been sheltered to such things to a degree—but now that we are serving on the board we are learning a whole lot, and our right to homeschool is being attacked!!  Subtlely right now—but not so subtlely in other states or other cases (2 families in our area are going to court to fight to keep being aloud to homeschool—and it should be a no brainer, but the state is fighting to remove this right!).