I was concidering Home Bound because of my 6 yr olds medical condition, but after reading this I'm scared?

Question

Considering Public School Programs: In general, HSLDA has found that it is better if families do not use the services offered through their local public school. We have observed that many families have found themselves mired in legal difficulties as a result of their involvement in public school services.

If your family is currently receiving public special education services, you may want to establish a goal to meet all of your child’s special education needs eventually through private sources. We are aware that many families have previously enrolled their child in their local public school’s special education program and, now that they are homeschooling, they would like to retain these free public services. We understand that as a matter of economics and ease of access, free public school services are very attractive. We also understand, however, that regulatory strings may come attached to these programs. The longer family uses these programs, the tighter strings of control becom

Answer 1

Well, think about this.  Why does your husband think that your child needs to be public schooled?  Is is because of socialization?  Because if that is the problem  there are many other ways to socialize a child without having to go to public school.  Think about joining a local homeschooling group in your area.   They usually have a lot of other families homeschooling for all different reasons.  Try doing a search for your local homeschooling group.

Answer 2

It seems to me that with your hubby making the choice he has made that Home Bound is probably the best choice for you at this time.  You can always withdraw your child later if it becomes an issue and begin homeschooling at that time.  While ideally it might be better to go independently, this is not an ideal world, some people can't afford the special services their children need, or in your situation can not agree with their spouse about homeschooling.  Home Bound is still probably a better choice than sending him to school.  You won't have control of materials and such, but at least you can take care of his medical issues.  I wouldn't worry, besides the HSLDA article is mainly talking about families who are legally still homeschoolers but are getting ancillary services through the school.  With Home Bound you won't fall under the homeschool laws anyway, so the school is less likely to give you trouble.  The worst that could happen is that they would refuse at some future date to let your son continue in the Home Bound program, if that happens then you could consider other options at the time, worrying about it now won't help.  So don't get too worried about it.

Answer 3

I would put my foot down and homeschool the kid.  It just causes problems if you bow before the throne of public education. You don't need someone who doesn't even love your child to tell you how to educate him.  HSLDA is right.  Stay away from the public school trough.

Answer 4

What this is basically saying, is that please understand that Home Bound comes with strings.  It will require you to teach your child according to the school's scope and sequence as well as lesson plans, whether your child is ready for that or not...and if you try to go outside that, the school can bring legal repurcussions (depending on the state you're in).  

They're honestly just trying to alert you to any potential problems before you meet those problems head-on.  If you're fine with the school scope and sequence, as well as with any evaluations they require, there really shouldn't be a problem.  If, however, you feel that the school would try to interfere in ways that aren't acceptable to you, it may really be a better idea to homeschool independently.

Since your husband is pushing for the school option, I would suggest giving it an honest shot (after researching it and getting the specifics in writing).  If it doesn't work, there's nothing to stop you from pulling your son from it and privately homeschooling him.  You can do that at any time, and you don't need the school's permission.

One thing though - I really would suggest keeping documentation from your doctor that being in a classroom just plain is not feasible for your son.  I'm not familiar with his condition, but keep your medical documentation up to date in case the school tries to come back at you for any reason.  

Not knowing which state you're in, it's difficult to reply with specifics; each state has their own homeschooling laws, and the board of ed in each state responds a bit differently to homeschooling.

But basically, all the article is saying is that before you go through the schools, know exactly what you're getting yourself into and make sure it's a situation that's acceptable to you.

Answer 5

HSLDA are fear-mongers. read this:

http://hsislegal.com/

Answer 6

you might want to check into homeschooling instead of  home bound my son has crohns and we were going to use  home bound but they only do a couple of hours a week not enough try www.k12.com it will take away all your fears of homeschooling it is awesome my son can work at his own pace and do much better than public .  schools good luck in whatever you choose

Answer 7

I can see how this could scare you, but i still don't think your son should have to go through the teasing and humiliation he may receive at school because of his condition, look more into the homeschooling program and find out what kind of strings may be attached and just thoroughly look into it, i still say it's best to home school  him for awhile, but this is a decision you have to make, whatever you think is best for him.

Answer 8

Look for a good charter school in your area.  If you can find one that supports personal choice learning all the better.  Personal choice learning allows your child to learn the required material in a way that best suits him.  Also, there are choices as to where the material is learned.  Some home, some school, some special programs such as using the YMCA swimming pool for PE.  There are a whole world of options for you and your son out there.

Answer 9

HSLDA likes to make things sound worse than they probably are, imho, especially to make things in favour of homeschooling or their understanding of homeschooling.

They made a judgement call on my province's homeschooling laws, a judgement I found atrocious. They are supposed to be changing it or may have already changed it since our laws changed minutely, but it wouldn't surprise me if they kept their judgement in the description. When they have descriptive things like you read, they will use language that will encourage you to be on their side of things.

Don't be scared. Home-bound isn't even the same thing at all as homeschooling. You are agreeing to do the public school work at home, end of story. It's kind of like correspondence. What they are describing is being a homeschooler yet using special education services like speech therapists and the like--some schools may place requirements on getting the services and get in the way of the family's homeschooling.

Answer 10

They're honestly just trying to alert you to any potential problems before you meet those problems head-on.

If you're fine with the school scope and sequence, as well as with any evaluations they require, there really shouldn't be a problem.

If, however, you feel that the school would try to interfere in ways that aren't acceptable to you,

it may really be a better idea to home school independently.

Answer 11

I would *not* base your HS'ing decisions (whatever method you use to educate at home) on what HSLDA says.

As someone else posted before me, check out the HS Is Legal site.

HSLDA is trying to "corner the market" on the definition of "pure" homeschooling and thing Big Government is out to get everyone.

The truth is, at least from what I've experienced, is that virtual schools (one of their main "beefs") can be incredibly helpful for many families.  They are a great "bridge" between using a public school and educating your children at home.  While many HS'ers don't want to be told what curriculum to use, those who don't mind the oversight and direction can find it very helpful.  I've seen virtual public schools (or charter schools) help so many of my friends.

Anyway, continue to research and take the HSLDA info with a grain of salt.  They are not the definitive word on all things homeschool...though they come across that way.