Very recently several homeschooling families brought to my attention official correspondence of a kind I’d never seen before. Once I reviewed it, I understood why it had left them perplexed.

In an effort to help parents navigate Pennsylvania’s complex homeschool regulations, Parkland School District mailed copies of a document intended to provide a comprehensive look at all the reporting requirements for each grade level.

It was a checklist laid out in a grid, with 13 columns descending 37 rows deep (including the blacked-out sections presumably intended as space-holders). And did I mention the footnotes providing further clarification?

An accompanying letter told parents: “You need to supply all of the information in the open blocks in the column below the current grade level. This should be written in paragraph form and supplied to us with the affidavit.”

The tasks parents were expected to document ranged from ensuring kindergartners made adequate progress learning geography to getting 10th-graders screened for scoliosis.

Overreach

As you can imagine, the families who contacted me about the checklist were more than a little confused. They wanted to know if they could be considered out of compliance with state homeschool law if they failed to provide all the documentation the district appeared to be asking for.

I reassured families by pointing them to HSLDA’s summary of Pennsylvania homeschool law.

Then I contacted school district officials to address specific types of information they said they wanted, but that the law gave them no grounds for requesting.

Three things stood out. The district said it needed:

  • The name and contact information for the third-party evaluator who will review the home education child’s work for the year.
  • A copy of each homeschooling parent’s high school diploma or equivalent.
  • The log of days/hours of instruction.

As I pointed out to officials, none of these items are required by state law. And though it’s true that homeschooling parents must keep a log of hours and days of instruction, they don’t have to submit these records. And parents haven’t been required to do so since the law changed 14 years ago!

Resolution

I’m happy to report that I received a positive response from the district the very next day. Officials assured me they would review their correspondence to homeschooling families and ensure it complies with state law.

We appreciate the district’s desire to maintain a good working relationship with homeschooling families. And, as always, we remain committed to advocating for our members and fighting to preserve homeschool freedom in the Keystone State.