The flexibility to craft a customized educational program is a key feature of homeschooling—to a degree that institutional decision-makers sometimes fail to comprehend.

This disconnect temporarily caused a major problem for a homeschooled teen pursuing a unique career path by attending a regional vocational-technical school in Ohio. It took HSLDA’s intervention to resolve the conflict.

Oliver Powell began taking some courses at Delaware Area Career Center this fall. Like his older brother, who recently graduated from high school, Oliver has been homeschooled since kindergarten.

“We definitely prefer it,” said Jean Powell, Oliver’s mom. She feels that home education provided a nurturing environment and made it possible for her sons to interact more with their many cousins in the area who are also homeschooled.

It accommodated their family’s schedule as well.

“I have my own business and work out of my home,” Jean said. “With homeschooling, I was able to do that.”

Discovering Talents

Jean organized a homeschool co-op for students in 1st through 8th grade, which both her sons took part in. But Jean and her husband also encouraged their boys to pursue special interests. Oliver’s brother nurtured a talent for baseball, playing all four years at the local public high school, which is permitted by Ohio law. Oliver’s interests leaned toward the performing arts.

He’s participated in homeschool theater groups, where he’s had the opportunity to act sing, and design costumes. He’s landed roles in several productions, including the musical Captain Hook’s Revenge. Additionally, he plays guitar for his church’s worship band. Early in high school, the teen toured the career center and was impressed by the wide range of vocational training it offered.

The publicly funded Delaware Area Career Center serves several school districts, providing high school courses and adult education. It offers hands-on training for occupations from auto mechanics to wildlife resource management.

Oliver entered the culinary arts program to supplement his homeschooling.

“It’s funny,” Jean observed about her son’s choice. “He doesn’t even cook. He loves theater and loves music, and he thinks culinary arts would be a good career to support his work in those areas.”

Administrative Difficulties

After selecting his vocational training, Oliver also signed up for several academic courses available at the center. Adding these classes apparently sparked the administrative conflict that called into question his status as a homeschooled student.

As Jean recounted, less than two weeks after the semester started, career center administrators contacted her and said Oliver would have to enroll in the local public high school to continue at the center.

Officials cited what they viewed as two legal conflicts. They contended that, because he was taking academic classes and vocational school, Oliver was no longer a homeschooled student, and consequently he could only register at the regional career center through a local public high school.

(Public school students who get training and take courses at the center are still considered pupils at their local high schools. Upon graduation, they receive diplomas issued by their local schools.)

Jean contacted a friend who processes homeschool paperwork at the local high school. The friend assured Jean that the career center officials were wrong, but after much back-and-forth with administrators, the issue of Oliver’s status remained unresolved. So, Jean reached out to HSLDA.

Closer Look at the Law

HSLDA Senior Counsel Darren Jones contacted high school officials in the Powell’s district to discuss the nuances of the law governing the case. He pointed out that Oliver was indeed being homeschooled by virtue of his education being under the direction of his parents. The high school officials agreed with his assessment.

Jones added that once Oliver completed his high school requirements his parents intended to issue him a homeschool diploma, so it shouldn’t be a problem that he bypassed the local high school and enrolled directly in the career center.

After receiving confirmation from more than one official at the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce that his interpretation of the situation was correct, Jones forwarded this information to the career center.

Fifteen minutes after receiving the letter from Jones, the career center contacted Jean to let her know that Oliver was good to go.

Meanwhile, the teen has been thriving in his new program.

“He loves it,” Jean said. “He’s getting straight A’s.”

Jones said he is pleased HSLDA was able to straighten out this unusual situation.

“To their credit,” he noted, “the career center never said it was going to block our member’s son from participating. It looks like officials just wanted to make sure they were slotting everyone in the proper categories. We’re thrilled we were able to dig into the law and protect this homeschool family’s interests.”