FACT SHEET- LEGAL OPINION

                                YOUR DOCUMENTS NEEDED                                                                                                                                                                                          April, 2000

The FACT SHEET - LEGAL OPINION represents the first phase of an effort within Ohio to inform the homeschooling community regarding the facts, issues and impacts of this legal opinion AND   the need to empower ourselves as Ohio homeschoolers to deal with the challenges that arise within our state.

It appears that there is a need for more than just educating Ohio homeschoolers about their rights, responsibilities and opportunities.  Another component would be to educate the superintendents regarding their burdens and obligations under the home education regulations...as they stand....not as they would wish them to be.

Homeschoolers around Ohio have been reporting excesses for many years; and many homeschoolers have worked personally with families in their districts to help them solve their notification problems, or other homeschooling issues.  Some districts are willing to work with homeschoolers; some are decidedly not. The fact remains...the problems persist...the excesses continue...

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

You can send along a copies of any communications you have had with your district in the past,  most especially this past year.  This would include:

            (1)  letters of excusal from your superintendents;

            (2)  copies of the notification forms supplied to you by your district;

            (3)  any rules, regulations, or other documentation sent along to

                   you by your district;

            (4)  letters or communications offering services, testing;

            (5)  letters requesting information from you, or additional data;

            (6)  anecdotal stories about contact with your district;

            (7)  any and all communications, most especially, which show

                  compliance by your district with the home education regulations;

            (8)  any documents, or communications, or anecdotal communications prior to 1989;

            (9)  any documentation, or communications you deem appropriate.

THE PROCEDURE:

            (1)  black out your name and address and personal references;

            (2)  include your school district name and county - if not prominently displayed on the photocopied items;

            (3)  Send to:  S.M. Duncan, 3470 Greenfield Court, Maineville, OH 45039;

                  (Please check back for other document collection sites.)

            (4)  When to send this...NOW.  (See The Timing below)

THE REASONING behind asking for this documentation:

            (1)  Our letters and communications provide evidence - in their own words -  of a misunderstanding on the part of the superintendents who believe theirs is a process of approval as opposed to an administrative filing.

            (2)  Providing this documentation to the Ohio Department of Education as documentary evidence of this attitude should go a long way in helping the department understand the current unrest in the Ohio homeschooling community. 

            (3)  It will be extremely important to provide documentary evidence as well of districts which are complying with the spirit and intention of the home education regulations.

                   WHY include those documents which evidence COMPLIANCE by the superintendents with the regulations?  It makes several  points: (A) strengthens our position that these regulations CAN be complied with as written and understood by long-standing practice and, (B) it validates the provided evidence as being balanced, fair and well-reasoned; it would diminish the weight of the message to provide only a partial picture of how the regulations are being regarded in the state.

THE TIMING:

            The time is NOW....striking while the iron is hot;

            ~ while we have the attention of the ODE due to the recent Fact Sheet;

            ~ while this information will have the most effect (as a  further Fact Sheet outlining the compliance issues-with documentary proof, from around the state of Ohio)

            Please do not wait.  There is something you can do.  As Ohio homeschoolers, we can take this action ourselves, write our letters to the Ohio Department of Education AND collect, collate the information and provide it to the ODE.  This is one way we can empower ourselves on a grassroots level, one way we can take action to protect our homeschooling rights in our state.

4/05/00