Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Homeschool Laws?

I live in Central New Jersey.

New Jersey has no law on the books regarding Homeschooling.  There is no call to register, no portfolio to prepare, no medical exams to prove.

When we first starting researching homeschooling, I was a little taken aback by the lack of legislation for families in NJ who homeschool.  I work best with a plan, so being given a clean slate was very scary to me.

After reading other state requirements and listening to some parents trying to get everything ready to prove what they did in school, I was pretty excited that NJ is a little more laid back.

A few months ago, a child in foster care who was being homeschooled was tragically killed, and the foster parents charged with neglect. I'm not going into the entire sad story, but this case has catapulted homeschoolers onto the NJ legislature, with new laws being proposed to protect children from being homeschooled.  The case is pitting DYFS against homeschoolers.

I'm not sure how I feel about the proposed laws. I can see the validity of having some guidelines, but at the same time, the wording in the proposed bill scares me.

Do you live in a state that is rigidly controlled? What are your thoughts?
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