A longtime HSLDA member family who have been homeschooling for years contacted us after coming under investigation by CPS.
One of their children has been receiving counseling for emotional difficulties, and after an outburst, CPS got involved to make sure that the other children were safe.
In our experience, investigations like this one sometimes turn into a fishing expedition that delves into topics far beyond those mentioned in the initial report.
Home School Legal Defense Association assisted the family with the initial contact, and then we hired an attorney to sit in on the investigator’s meeting with the parents, their son, and his counselor, to protect the family’s homeschooling rights. We were concerned about keeping the investigation focused on the matter at issue, rather than getting sidetracked.
Due to the state’s COVID-19 restrictions, the meeting in Indiana took place remotely. At the end of the conversation, the case manager complimented both parents’ dedication to providing their children with excellent educations and commented at how impressed CPS was. The case was closed, with no further action recommended.
In a time when a Harvard law professor is proposing a ban on homeschooling, it’s good to see that parents and CPS investigators can agree that homeschooling is a good educational program.