You may remember a story that HSLDA reported last January, where we convinced a court to follow the law and require the Ohio Child Support Enforcement Agency to release child support that a father had paid after his homeschool student turned 18.
I thought that was the end of the matter.
But the father objected to the court’s decision and appealed it up a level, to a different judge.
The father argued (again) that his teen’s homeschool program was a sham, complained about evidence that he had accepted without objection at the December hearing, brought up numerous new arguments, and tried to submit copious new evidence. I prepared to head to Ohio again to argue on behalf of our member family.
Then COVID-19 happened (I have a feeling we’re going to be saying that a lot when telling stories about this year!), and everything was put on hold. It took months before we had a hearing, and when we finally did it was by telephone. The judge asked both sides to explain in writing within the next few weeks why the previous decision should be kept or overturned.
So that’s what we did. After hearing from both sides, the judge recently ruled that the homeschool family “met the requisite burden for the obligation of child support to continue past the age of eighteen for” the child. That’s legalese for “Boom! HSLDA wins again for the homeschooler!”
Home School Legal Defense Association works hard to make homeschooling possible for every family, through a pandemic or whatever else the future brings. Please join us as we defend the rights of homeschool families.