February 26, 2004
"Dumping" in Louisiana
HSLDA believes that every parent deserves the freedom to teach their own child at home, regardless of race, religion, income, or specialized training. We are glad to help families take responsibility for teaching their own children, even if those children have had problems in the public schools. But we are increasingly concerned about the disturbing trend in a number of states that treat homeschooling as a "dumping ground" for problem children. This problem has now surfaced in Louisiana.
A number of states have established "high stakes" systems that punish school districts when children fail. In some states, the districts are punished for having test scores that are too low. In other states, they are punished for having dropout rates that are too high. Creative school officials have learned to evade these accountability systems by turning their problem cases into "homeschoolers." Instead of allowing a child to drop out, they hand him or her homeschool paperwork.
HSLDA encourages local support groups to shoulder the responsibility of helping new families homeschool, even if they have very limited resources. Ordinary parents who love their children can get excellent results, even where traditional classrooms have failed. But we also ask local support groups to be on the lookout for "dumping" in their district. If you find that your district is turning real truants into fake homeschoolers, please insist that this practice stop. If your district will not respond to your polite request, let HSLDA know. By working together, we can preserve homeschooling in Louisiana!
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