What laws force the homeschool online companies to report dropouts?

Question

What accountability is there (if any) regarding home schoolers who dropout?

Are the companies who are "teaching" high school kids online obligated to report their non-attendance or performance within the first semester they quit?

If there is no law protecting the education of these kids, how can anyone say "no child is left behind?"

Are there any checks and balances for these kids? Surely we don't leave the accountability to the parents alone?

Answer 1

LOL hsmom!!  "We're just supposed to pop those puppies out"     That was good for a chuckle tonight.    

I concur with her answer so I'll just leave it at that.

Answer 2

There's no accountability for any dropout, so I don't understand the question. If they aren't doing their work, the parents will receive notice of their grades and all that from the school. If it's a private school, the fees are probably all paid and they won't do more than that; these kids would be private school students, not homeschooled students. If it's an online public/charter school, then they may do more because they are considered public/charter school students, not homeschooling students. If they are 16, they are likely allowed to drop out so there's no problem.

Really, I don't see how this is your problem, your responsibility. One might suspect that your high level of concern would indicate these children are family members.

As for the "no child left behind", you realize that, first of all, the NCLB has to do with public schools? Private schools don't have to be a part of it in any way. Second, do you know how many public schooled children are still falling through the cracks, dropping out or graduating without even having a proper education? Why are you so panicky about these 2 online schooled kids?

Answer 3

At the link below is the homeschool answer to your NCLB comment ...

Answer 4

<gasp!!>  Leave accountability for raising children to parents?  Who would ever think of such a thing?  We're just supposed to pop those puppies out and hand them over to the state at birth, right?

Guess what - nobody reports public or private school dropouts (as long as they are of legal age, which is 16 in most states), why should online schools be held to reporting their dropouts?  (Especially since the students are paying for the service, and could easily just have switched to either another service or actual homeschooling - like offline.)  NCLB does not apply to online schools, unless they are a public charter school.

Sorry, but laws "protecting" education haven't been able to do much of anything with the institutions that they do apply to...I see no reason to let them into my home.  No thanks.

Maybe you could check the stats on homeschooling before you start rattling off stuff like that?  Homeschoolers tend to get higher scores on standardized tests and college entrance tests, and they are often actively recruited by universities for their strong academic ability and responsibility.  Looks to me like schools need to handle being responsible for themselves before they go anywhere near my home or my child.

Answer 5

The great thing about homeschooling is "No Child Left Behind" doesn't apply, as that law is only for public schools, and homeschools usually count (for legal purposes) as private schools. The same goes for any online school that charges tuition. They don't have that silly broken law holding them back from reaching their full potential.

Yes, accountability for a homeschooler's education is in the hands of the parents alone. Some states require testing or an evaluation of some sort at certain intervals, be it anually, bianually, trianually, or just at certain grade levels. Some states want written notice of a family's intent to homeschool or to terminate homeschooling. A very few (maybe three?) states require that the chosen curriculum be approved by the state, but this is very uncommon. For the most part, when a child is homeschooled their education is the sole responsibility of the parents, and the parents and child work as a team to figure out what will work best and how to reach the child's fullest potential. The system--or lack there of--works.