District Threatens Families Over Homeschool Paperwork—8 Weeks Past the Deadline

Officials in one New York school district are behind the times in a way that is causing a problem for homeschooling families. We’re working to ensure our members are informed and protected.

Several parents in Carmel Central School District contacted HSLDA recently to say they’d received official correspondence accusing them of having submitted homeschool documents that were deficient. The families weren’t sure how to respond because the letters arrived eight weeks after the deadline.

As I’m sure you’re aware, New York law sets specific dates for filing annual homeschool paperwork—as well as dates by which officials must respond.

Clearly Defined Deadlines

The Individualized Home Instruction Form (IHIP) must be sent to the local district superintendent by August 15 (or within four weeks of the receipt of the IHIP Form). Officials have until August 31 (or 10 days from receiving an IHIP) to reply to families regarding the documents.

Our member families had submitted their IHIPs on time. But the letters they received that claimed their IHIPs didn’t measure up to legal standards bore dates from October and weren’t delivered until November.

So when I contacted the district on behalf of these families, I pointed out that the tardiness of the letters rendered officials’ objections moot. Our reading of the law is that, if IHIPs aren’t responded to within the clearly defined deadline, the families who submitted the documents are considered to be in compliance.

Books Come Under Question

I addressed another issue as well. One of the criticisms the district raised implied that officials have authority to make value judgments about homeschool curriculum. This is not true.

For example, officials told one family that they could not use a certain textbook for teaching multiple subjects (social studies and English/writing). I happen to be familiar with the curriculum and can attest that it is substantive enough for students to earn at least two different high school credits in different subjects. But that’s beside the point.

As I indicated to Carmel officials, New York law states that in checking each IHIP’s list of books and materials, officials are not permitted to make subjective evaluations. They are not supposed to compare what parents want to teach with the course of study offered in public schools.

In other words, it’s up to parents to decide whether their teaching materials suit their students.

As a courtesy, in my letter to officials I included links to information on the internet about the curriculum the district had called into question.