As public school students head back to school, and your homeschool program picks back up, we’re seeing an increasing number of Wyoming public school districts sending overly burdensome and detailed forms to homeschoolers.

An HSLDA member received one such form from Sheridan County School District No. 3. This three-page form included numerous questions not required by law, including a question asking homeschool families to “specify the daily schedule you will follow to teach your children in the upcoming academic year.”

As a general matter, we always recommend that HSLDA member families use our HSLDA forms. These are specifically drafted to only provide the information required by the law. And in Wyoming, our form for HSLDA members is a single-page—not a three-page, invasive document drafted by the public school.

Setting the Record Straight

After hearing what was going on in Sheridan County School District No. 3, we decided to contact officials there. They quickly backed down, assuring us that the district’s form was not mandatory, and that they had received numerous HSLDA forms from homeschool families, and all were perfectly acceptable.

Uinta County School District No. 1 took things even further, sending out a similarly detailed form that was completely unmoored from Wyoming law. When HSLDA called the school district, their representative blamed the State Department of Education, telling us, “I am legally required to get this form from every single homeschool family in my district and send it to the state.”

To which we replied, “why don’t you double-check on that and let us know.”

Reversing Direction

Two hours later, the same school district official called back and took pains to confirm that the district’s form “is not mandatory for homeschool families.” He also volunteered that he knew of a homeschool family who had used our HSLDA form, and that nothing else was needed from this HSLDA member family.

We are pleased that these two school districts have seen the light and now understand that school districts do not have the authority to demand that families use specific forms or that families submit information to school districts that is not required by Wyoming law. 

We wish to thank Homeschool Wyoming for their help in coordinating a response to these school districts. Together, we will ensure that Wyoming school districts do not make homeschool families jump through hoops not required by the law.