Legal / Legislative Updates

WYOMING

Prosecutor Over-Exercises Authority

Wyoming’s homeschool law is considered “low regulation,” but some school districts and social services caseworkers still cause trouble for those who want to homeschool.

The Jones family (names changed to protect privacy) is new to homeschooling. When they enrolled their youngest child, Sarah, in public school, she, as many young children do, encountered difficulty being separated from her mother for the long school days. As Mrs. Jones attempted to work through these issues with Sarah and the school, she encountered a level of rigidity and inflexibility from the school that made her rethink how she was handling the situation. Mrs. Jones realized that she didn’t have to force her youngest daughter to go to school and that homeschooling was an option.

Because her daughter was not yet of compulsory attendance age, Mrs. Jones did not file paperwork with the local school board when she began the homeschooling process. Several months later, she was contacted by the school’s social services caseworker and threatened with truancy proceedings if Sarah was not returned to school. When Mrs. Jones explained that Sarah was not of compulsory attendance age, the caseworker was unmoved and referred the matter to the local prosecutor.

The Joneses contacted Homeschoolers of Wyoming (HOW) for assistance, and Debbie Becker, wife of HOW President Ron Becker, suggested they call Home School Legal Defense Association for assistance.

When HSLDA Staff Attorney Michael Donnelly spoke with the family, Mrs. Jones had just received a call from the local sheriff, who stated that he had a complaint to serve her. Donnelly assured Mrs. Jones that there was no legal requirement to file paperwork for Sarah. He then contacted the local prosecutor to discuss the issue.

Unfortunately, public officials are often ill informed about homeschool laws and are quick to exercise judicial discretion when they have no authority to do so. Although she agreed that the law did not require the family to file any paperwork for their under-compulsory-age daughter, the prosecutor still demanded that Mrs. Jones demonstrate that she was homeschooling.

Donnelly continued to point out that the prosecutor had no legal authority to make this demand, and she finally agreed to dismiss the case. Donnelly is following up to ensure that the family is treated fairly.

— by Michael P. Donnelly