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Bureaucrat SMACKED DOWN After Warning Homeschooling Parents They ‘Must Follow’ Common Core

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Photo Credit: Reuters The Home School Legal Defense Association says it has successfully intervened in the case of two New Jersey parents who decided to homeschool their child instead of utilizing the Westfield, N.J. public school system.

According to the homeschooling advocacy group, the trouble began earlier this school year when the assistant superintendent of the Westfield Public Schools sent a letter to the parents warning them that they have no choice but to abide by New Jersey’s Common Core standards.

The letter ordered the parents to present a “letter of intent” to school district officials and an outline of their proposed curriculum. Then, the letter reportedly said, the parents had to hope the superintendent would accept their curriculum and allow them to continue homeschooling their own child.

The parents responded by contacting the Home School Legal Defense Association. In a letter of his own, Scott A. Woodruff, an attorney for the organization, schooled the assistant superintendent on New Jersey homeschooling law.

Read more from this story HERE.

In One State, More Children Homeschool Than Attend Private Schools. Why That Shouldn’t Shock You.

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Photo Credit: Ken Harper / Creative CommonsIn North Carolina, the number of homeschoolers has now surpassed the number of students attending private schools.

That statistic may seem shocking if you’ve been a stranger to the growth of the homeschooling movement, which has rapidly increased in recent decades.

In 1973, there were approximately 13,000 children, ages 5 to 17, being homeschooled in the United States. But according to the National Center for Education Statistics, as of the 2011-2012 school year, that number has grown to almost 1.8 million or approximately 3.4 percent of the school age population. Other sources report numbers well over 2 million.

In the Tar Heel state alone, homeschooling has increased by 27 percent over the past two years.

Those are pretty impressive numbers for a movement considered “fringe” not that long ago and that has only been legal in all 50 states since 1996.

Read more from this story HERE.

Texas Judge Orders Home Schooled Children Removed from Christian Parents Home

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Photo Credit: WND

Photo Credit: WND

A controversy has erupted in Texas after a judge ordered children removed from the home of their Christian homeschooling parents – over the homeschooling itself – even though the Texas Home School Coalition notes the state doesn’t allow that.

A 2005 memo from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services notes that,”Whether parents choose to homeschool their children or send their child to another private or public school is not relevant to the CPS investigation. When CPS staff investigates a family for abuse/neglect, the investigation must focus on the occurrence, or risk, of abuse/neglect and not on the child’s educational setting,” according to the Texas Home School Coalition.

However, of the allegations brought against Trevor and Christina Tutt, who had four biological children and three foster children removed by Child Protective Services several weeks ago, all have been about the educational setting.

According to a report this week at Christian News, social workers were brought in when a child temporarily in the Tutts’ care, a four-year-old with autism, and an eight-year-old, wandered a short distance from the home in September.

A police officer found the children before Tutt, who was searching nearby, and the subsequent report attracted the attention of CPS.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama Admin. Wins Appeal to Force German Homeschooling Family to Return to Persecution

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Photo Credit: WNDAn appeal is planned for a family of homeschoolers the Obama administration wants to deport to their home country of Germany to face persecution from education officials there who seek fines and jail for such individuals.

The word comes today from officials with the Home School Legal Defense Association, who have been arguing on behalf of the Romeike family since they fled Germany in 2008 and were granted asylum in the U.S. in 2010 by Immigration Judge Lawrence O. Burman.

The Obama administration was unhappy with that decision and appealed, and the grant was rescinded by the Board of Immigration Appeals in 2012.

A panel from the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently heard arguments on the dispute, and ruled today that the asylum request should be denied.

“We believe the Sixth Circuit is wrong, and we will appeal their decision,” said Michael Farris, HSLDA founder and chairman. “America has room for this family, and we will do everything we can to help them.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Homeschool Parents Have One Shot to See Son Again

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Photo Credit: WND

Swedish parents Annie and Christer Johansson have launched what may be their last hope to see their son again – with an appeal to the Supreme Court of Sweden to overturn a lower court’s decision to end their parental rights over homeschooling.

Michael Farris, the chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association, says it’s among the most brutal cases he’s ever seen.

His parents haven’t seen Domenic Johansson for almost three years. He was abducted by armed Swedish police officers operating on the orders of social services agencies from on board Turkish Air Flight 990 on June 25, 2009. He was seven at the time.

The family was in the process of moving permanently to India, Annie’s home country, but the armed officers were ordered to board the jet and seize the boy – because he was being homeschooled.

The seizure took place even though school was out of session. WND reported last December that an appeals court panel in Sweden had imposed the “death penalty” on the homeschooling family, granting the state full custody of Domenic.

Read more from this story HERE.

Ron Paul Launches his own Home-School Curriculum

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Photo Credit: AP

Former Republican congressman and three-time presidential candidate Ron Paul has launched his own K-12 home-school curriculum to provide an “education in liberty like no other.”

The curriculum, which includes courses on “the economics of the Austrian school,” provides its K-5 program for free, meaning that students and families will be able to learn under Ron Paul for six years “without spending a dime,” according to one of the curriculum’s high school teachers, Ludwig von Mises Institute senior fellow Tom Woods.

“Here, students learn the basics of Western Civilization and Western liberty — how it was won, how it is being lost, and how it will be restored. (Not can . . . will.),” RonPaulCurriculum.com declares.

“Students also learn the basics of American history, the United States Constitution, and American geography. They get two courses on free market economics. They get two courses on government, including a how-to course on reclaiming America, one county at a time.” The curriculum also provides courses in science and mathematics.

The curriculum for grades 6-10 should be available by September 2, and the entire K-12 curriculum is expected to be completed by December 2015.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama Admin Wants to Deport Christian Homeschoolers

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Photo Credit: TownhallThe Romeike family fled their German homeland in 2008 seeking political asylum in the United States – where they hoped to home school their children. Instead, the Obama administration wants the evangelical Christian family deported.

The fate of Uwe and Hannelore Romeikie – along with their six children – now rests with the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals – after the Dept. of Homeland Security said they don’t deserve asylum. Neither the Justice Dept. nor the Dept. of Homeland Security returned calls seeking comment.

“The Obama administration is basically saying there is no right to home school anywhere,” said Michael Farris, founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association. “It’s an utter repudiation of parental liberty and religious liberty.” The Justice Dept. is arguing that German law banning home schooling does not violate the family’s human rights.

“They are trying to send a family back to Germany where they would certainly lose custody of their children,” Farris told Fox News. “Our government is siding with Germany.”

Farris said the Germans ban home schools because “they don’t want to have religious and philosophical minorities in their country.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Legislative Proposal to Rebate Alaska Property Taxes for Private and Home Schoolers

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This legislative proposal will permit boroughs to rebate a portion of a parent’s property tax if he or she is either homeschooling their children or enrolled them in a private school.

But first we have to determine what’s fair.

Let’s say, for example, that 70% of your property taxes go toward funding your local public school district. But out of your own pocket, without any exogenous financial assistance, you’re also paying for your child’s enrollment in a private school.

You’ve paid for your child’s education, twice. Is that fair? Why or why not? If it isn’t fair, how much of that 70% should go toward your child’s education? All of it? Part of it? Why?

If you’re separately paying for your child’s non-public education, are you still obligated to pay into the public school system? Why?

What if you’re homeschooling your children and forsake employment in order to provide your children with a quality education? In some cases, that means that the homeschooling parent paid three times for the cost of an education, if you include the sacrifice of income.

During the latter half of this month, we’ll conduct a teleconference comment session in regards to our legislative proposal. If you would like to participate, please RSVP to [email protected] and we’ll reply with the date, time, and telephone number.

Our teleconference will focus on the issues that support the equitability of the proposal. In other words, we’ll try to ascertain what is considered to be a fair amount and who should qualify for a rebate.

We’ve formed an independent committee that is chaired by Mrs. Nicole Gates. Her committee will consolidate the input and feedback, evaluate the morals, ethics, values, and principles of each issue raised, and submit their recommendations that will be incorporated into the proposal. Please contact [email protected] if you’d like to serve on that committee.