Posted on 10/12/2016 11:45:47 AM PDT by MichCapCon
Wayne-Westland Community Schools has a policy that states that homeschooled students who want to attend a dance such as Homecoming would have to come from an accredited homeschool. That would effectively ban homeschoolers from attending dances held by the district since homeschoolers have no reason to be accredited and the state doesnt require it.
Karen Braun, a nationally recognized homeschooling activist in Michigan, said the school district is putting an unfair and unnecessary burden upon homeschoolers. Braun said parents contacted her and said their daughter, a homeschooling student, was invited to the upcoming Homecoming dance within the Wayne-Westland district. The student, though, was told she could not attend because she was not from an accredited homeschool. Braun posted the news on her Facebook wall. Braun didnt have permission to release the name of the student, so she left out the student's name. The parent provided a copy of a form from the school.
The form, which the school sent to parents, stated that guests had to bring a current picture ID to be admitted to the dance.
It also stated, "Guests from online schools or guests who are homeschooled will need to submit a letter of good standing on school letterhead, including contact information, from a school official/administrator from an accredited program of study."
There are two accreditation programs in the state, but participation is voluntary.
The question of bringing guests to the dance comes up every year, said Wayne-Westland Community Schools spokeswoman Jenny Johnson in an email. We refer students to the dance contract for the guidelines. Those guidelines do not preclude homeschooled students from attending our dances as a guest. Our students safety and welfare is always a primary concern to us. Our practice is to validate who is coming through our doors to ensure the safety of all students.
According to the Michigan Department of Education, any reporting to the state by the homeschool parent is voluntary, as is accreditation. The state only requires reporting for homeschool students if the student is requesting special education services from the local public school or intermediate school district. Nonpublic schools are not required to be accredited.
Braun called the district's policy "absurd."
In an era where a boy can self-identify as a girl and get access to anything the school has to offer, we are going to limit a homeschooler on the basis of accreditation to spend an evening with a friend, she said.
Ben DeGrow, the director of education policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, said in the eyes of Michigan law, homeschools function as private schools.
Private schools dont have to jump through the hoops of accreditation, and it makes no sense for families educating their kids at home to do so, DeGrow said in an email. By saying they only want accredited homeschool students at their social functions, the district essentially is saying no homeschoolers whatsoever. Do they have the same rule prohibiting private school kids from attending, too?
What are her parents thinking?
She’s better off not going.
She probably has friends who attend the school and would like to socialize with them there.
She probably has friends who attend the school and would like to socialize with them there.
She probably has friends who attend the school and would like to socialize with them there.
Sounds like she was asked as someone’s date.
I bet if some confused homo wanted to bring a 35 year old “date” to the dance, they would allow it.
There is nothing good or beneficial at a school dance. Her denial of entry is a blessing.
Homeschooled students should make their own arrangements/events for things like this. If there are no other homeschooled students in the area, a private party should be set up where the girl can invite her boyfriend & other friends to celebrate.
Though I think this is still jackassery on the school district’s part, it’s not as if they’re guarding Area 51.
By the way, this is the same district I posted about a week or so back, when it suspended a student for taking a picture of the dirty water coming from school bathroom sinks.
http://nbc4i.com/2016/09/26/student-suspended-for-taking-photo-of-discolored-school-water
F off the Homecoming Dance and other stupid social norms meant to control and conform.
The kid has what they cannot give, a real valuable education.
Democrats hurt children. It is in their blood.
I wasn’t allowed to go to any dance, ever, and I survived. She’ll live.
Much ado about nothing. Most schools don’t allow anyone but their own registered students to attend. That, imo, is as it should be.
Last Saturday there was a homecoming dance for the homeschooled high-schoolers in the Tampa ‘burbs, and from what I can see, and have heard from a student who went there, it was just as much as any public or private school homecoming dance.
Liberals whine that home-schooled children “can’t socialize like their peers”
Their Solution: Keeping home-schooled children away from their Peers....
Why do not the network of homeschoolers simply hold their own homecoming somewhere? Why do they even want to be at a public school function?
Technically they are not part of the school, so it isn’t really their homecoming. If they just want a party then get the other homeschool kids together for a nice night out dressed up somewhere.
Good grief. I wouldnt let my kid there. They all could organize a much better homecoming on their own with other homeschooling families.
I’ve never understood home school parents who refuse to send their kids to government schools but then pitch a fit when those same schools deny them the ability to go to school dances. Or play on the sports teams. Or engage in extracurricular activities. Or take AP classes. Or...
In Florida, the schools cannot deny homeschoolers access to extra curricular activities.
Homeschoolers pay just as much in taxes as those attending public schools.
It is better for homeschoolers to have NO dealings with the public schools. If they need a prom then the homeschoolers in an area should organize their own separate prom. That way the parents can control their own event.
“Homeschooled students should make their own arrangements/events for things like this”
Many do. There was an article... oh about 12 years back, about a ‘homeschool prom’ in Arizona.
That was the thread where I met my wife. We both posted about how over rated socialization is.
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