Free Republic

England's Oxford University is widely known for producing some of the world's best debaters, such as British Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair. But last weekend, the school's moot court team was defeated by two former home-schoolers from a small Virginia college named after American Revolution patriot and orator Patrick Henry. Matt du Mee, 22, and Rayel Papke, 21, who attend Patrick Henry College, pulled off a victory against their British competitors in the first moot court tournament between one of the world's most renowned universities and the 4-year-old Christian college in Purcellville. Andrew Graham, master of Balliol College...

Homeschoolers in several states are faced with aggressive attempts to take away their freedom. HSLDA and homeschool families are fighting back. The majority of state legislatures have started their 2005 session, and not surprisingly the regulation of homeschooling has been a hot issue. Several states have introduced bills that would restrict the freedom to homeschool. Attempts to Impose State Assessments on Homeschools For example, both New Mexico and South Dakota filed bills that would force homeschool students to take state-selected standardized tests in the public school or under the supervision of a certified teacher. These bills violate a federal prohibition...

This summer, Patrick Henry College Dean of Academic Affairs Paul Bonicelli announced that Journalism will be added as a new major to the academic program. Previously, Journalism was offered as a track within the Government major. Because of the importance of journalism as a course of study in its own right, the major is now being instituted as a stand-alone program. The new major's purpose is to prepare students to be outstanding journalists. Objectives include: Apply a biblical worldview to the study and practice of journalism. Understand how news media interact with and shape contemporary culture and politics. Demonstrate professional...

Tuesday, September 14, 2004 ELECTION 2004Homeschoolershit campaign trailGOP leader: 'By far, the best grass-roots workers in the nation' Posted: September 14, 20041:00 a.m. Eastern By Art Moore © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com As labor unions once again mobilize activists to campaign for Democratic candidates, a small, but increasingly potent grass-roots force on the other side of the political spectrum is emerging from the burgeoning homeschool movement. Students campaigned for GOP candidate Jay Dickey in Arkansas two years ago. The army of eager teen activists is called Generation Joshua, a program launched this year by the Virginia-based Home School Legal Defense Association. Generation Joshua director...

German Family Flees Country to Stop Government from Taking Custody A few weeks ago, a German homeschool family escaped to Central America, just ahead of a judge who wanted to take custody of their school-aged child. A social worker helped the family escape by warning the family of the judge's intent and delaying the paperwork. German Homeschoolers Escape to Austria Another German homeschool family had to flee to Austria. The judge, after being informed that the family had already left (even though he possessed documents including the registration of the child in question at the local school in Austria), went...

Dear HSLDA members and friends: HSLDA Chairman and General Counsel Mike Farris is scheduled to appear on Fox News tomorrow, Thursday, August 5th at 11:40am ET. * The U.S. Department of Education's National Center of Education Statistics estimates that there were 1.1 million homeschool children in 2003. This is a 29% increase from the last NCES estimate of 850,000 in 1999. Everyone agrees that homeschooling is growing rapidly and homeschool graduates are succeeding in all walks of life. Homeschooling is a trend which is here to stay. Mike Farris plans to comment on the growth and success of homeschooling in...

On the evening of July 9 the H family from Tulsa County was minding their own business at home when there was a knock at the door. The mother answered. It was a social worker who insisted on entering the home and interviewing the children. The mother immediately called HSLDA's emergency number which was answered by Senior Counsel Christopher Klicka. Klicka asked to talk to the social worker but the social worker refused. Due to the refusal of the social worker to communicate he began instructing the mother on her rights and also giving her statements to relay to the...

Baptist resolution gets critical endorsementHomeschool organization pushes plan to shun government education Posted: June 9, 20041:00 a.m. Eastern © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com The Home School Legal Defense Association, or HSLDA, has endorsed a resolution before the Southern Baptist Convention that would direct its members to yank their children out of public schools and either homeschool them or send them to Christian schools. As WorldNetDaily reported, the resolution, introduced by activists T.C. Pinckney and Bruce Shortt, asks "all officers and members of the Southern Baptist Convention and the churches associated with it to remove their children from the government schools and see to it...

Despite the hundreds of calls, e-mails and the lobbying efforts of HEAV and HSLDA, Governor Warner removed our high school option in HB 675 and wrote his own option. Senator Potts, the chairman of the education committee, and Senator Houck, a leading Democrat along with the Lt. Governor, all urged Governor Warner to sign the bill, but to no avail. Governor Warner's convoluted amendment is unacceptable, so we are urging everyone to call their Delegate and Senator Monday and Tuesday to kill Warner's amendment on Wednesday. We only need simply a majority in one house to kill his amendments. Governor...

<p>From the HSLDA E-lert Service...</p> <p>A bill that would force New Jersey homeschool children to submit to the same statewide assessment tests required of public school students, and force their parents to give the local school board proof the student had received an annual medical examination, is set to be introduced in the New Jersey legislature this Thursday.</p>

Homeschoolers in Virginia have actively lobbied on behalf of HB 675, which ends the baccalaureate degree requirement. As a result, this bill passed the Virginia House and Senate! We are now waiting for the Governor's signature. The Governor has not stated his official position on HB 675, and HSLDA is encouraging member families in Virginia to send a letter to his office asking him to sign the bill (the bill will become law whether he signs it or not, as long as he does not veto it). We do not know when the Governor will act on this. It could...

Idaho homeschoolers came out in full force and soundly defeated a bill that would have threatened homeschool freedom. S.B. 1233 would have made any home educating parent who fails "to place the child in school . . . or to have the child comparably instructed . . ." automatically guilty of a misdemeanor crime. Currently, the law states that if a parent is suspected of failing to provide comparable instruction, proceedings would be brought against the parent under the same Act under which the juvenile charges were brought against the child. This system has worked effectively for decades by giving...

HSLDA’s Emergency Appeal Denied By Pennsylvania Supreme Court In a situation very similar to the Stumbo case in North Carolina, an over-zealous social worker in Pennsylvania is causing serious legal problems for the Gauthiers, an HSLDA member family. In mid-February, Mr. and Mrs. Gauthier took their infant daughter Isis to the hospital because she was listless and had a slight fever. Apparently because they did not immediately follow the doctor’s recommendation, the parents were reported to social services for possible medical neglect. While their daughter was lying in ICU, several social workers interrogated both parents at the hospital. After Mr....

A revolution is happening in American education. As it grows in size, it should frighten teachers everywhere. Just how bad are American schools? And how deeply do conservative Americans distrust their government? One answer to both these questions is provided by the growth of home-schooling. As many as 2m American students—one in 25—may now be being taught at home. The growth of home-schooling is all the more remarkable when you consider two facts. The first is the commitment of the parents. They give up not just a free public education, but also often the chance of a second income as...

New Jersey--Letters Needed--Cosmetology Board Postpones Decision Dear HSLDA members and friends: On Tuesday, March 9, the New Jersey Cosmetology Board postponed a decision whether to allow homeschool graduate Laura Byrne to take the cosmetology examination she needs for her license. Sherrill Byrne, Laura's Mom, spoke to the Board for about twenty minutes and carefully explained the high school program that Laura had received. She even offered the Board four years worth of lesson plans. Although the Board certainly had enough information to decide on the spot to allow Laura to take the test, they postponed their decision.  The Board indicated...

Dear HSLDA members and friends: In a situation very similar to the Stumbo case in North Carolina, an over-zealous social worker in Pennsylvania is causing serious legal problems for the Gauthiers, an HSLDA member family. In mid-February, Mr. and Mrs. Gauthier took their infant daughter Isis to the hospital because she was listless and had a slight fever. Apparently because they did not immediately follow the doctor's recommendation, the parents were reported to social services for possible medical neglect. While their daughter was lying in ICU, several social workers interrogated both parents at the hospital. After Mr. and Mrs. Gauthier...

College for the Home-Schooled Is Shaping Leaders for the Right By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK URCELLVILLE, Va. — As one of 12 siblings taught at home by their parents in St. Croix Falls, Wis., Abram Olmstead knew he would fit right in at Patrick Henry College, the first college primarily for evangelical Christian home-schoolers. But what really sold him was the school's pipeline into conservative politics. Of the nearly 100 interns working in the White House this semester, 7 are from the roughly 240 students enrolled in the four-year-old Patrick Henry College, in Purcellville. An eighth intern works for the president's...

From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== February 26, 2004 Kentucky--"Voluntary" Certification of Homeschoolers in Kentucky Dear HSLDA members and friends: HSLDA has monitored many efforts to regulate or prohibit homeschooling over the last 20 years, but Representative Kathy Stein has come up with a whole new twist. House Bill 610 would require the Kentucky Board of Education to draft regulations to "establish a voluntary in-state certification process for home schools." It is not clear whether any homeschoolers have requested a "voluntary" certification process, so this proposal is causing homeschool leaders to wonder about the real agenda behind this bill. We...

On February 17 NBC's 'Law and Order - Special Victims Unit' - a legal drama produced by Universal TV Productions - aired a show about homeschooling. It portrayed homeschooling as a cover for child abuse. Needless to say NBC and Universal were unconcerned about offending hundreds of thousands of honest, law-abiding homeschool families. For over twenty years modern homeschoolers have fought successfully against negative stereotypes. Homeschool critics are now desperate and have resorted to equating homeschooling with child abuse - an extremely rare occurrence in comparison to children in the public school setting. Regrettably NBC and Universal have succeeded in...

For 20 years, HSLDA has been on the front lines to protect innocent homeschoolers from being traumatized at the hands of social workers pursuing anonymous tips. On January 28, Chris Klicka, Senior Counsel of HSLDA had the chance to inform Congress of this ongoing problem. He testified before the Subcommittee on Human Resources of the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means. The chairman, Representative Wally Herger, verbally indicated his interest in the issue at the hearing. The Committee was considering ways to reform the child welfare system in light of recent publicized social worker failures involving abused children. Most...