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This letter is in response to the letter sent by NHEN to DoDEA on May 16, 2001. The NHEN letter is below.
Click here to see the actual scanned copy.
Ms. Sue Patterson
Ms. Nicky Hardenbergh
National Home Education Network
P.O. Box 40167
Long Beach, California 90853
July 3, 2001
Dear Ms. Patterson and Ms. Hardenbergh:
Thank you for the information that you enclosed about home schooling from the National Home Education Network. It is a helpful addition to our information about home schools.
In response to your inquiry dated June 15, 2001; at this time there are no plans for the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) to hold a Home School Task Force meeting. On June 7, 2001, the Dependents' Education Council (DEC) members tabled proposed plans to look into the possible revision of our home school policy.
It is unfortunate that remarks were made prematurely in Heidelberg about a possible task force. Your continued concern, however, about the educational welfare of our military children is to be commended. If I can be of any further assistance, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Joseph D. Tafoya
Director
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May 16, 2001
Dear _________[this letter was sent to appropriate military commanders]
As members of the Board of Directors of the National Home Education Network (NHEN), we are writing in response to the plans by the DoDEA to hold homeschooling focus groups in both the European Army (USAREUR) and Air Force (USAFE) Commands.
NHEN is a national network that includes thousands of homeschoolers, many of whom have homeschooled for over twenty years. We have access to the accumulated experience of families who have spent millions of hours homeschooling under all varieties of regulations. While we acknowledge the concerns that have led to this investigation, the experience of homeschoolers across the United States supports our conviction that a comprehensive policy that includes increased regulation of homeschoolers is unnecessary and would be both unwieldy and costly to implement.
Because the impetus to regulate home education often stems from two concerns about the welfare of children, we are taking this opportunity to address these typical concerns.
Often, the initial rationale for regulation is the belief that society must supervise parents in order to make certain their children are obtaining an appropriate education. The implication is that, without such regulation, parents would not fulfill this important societal obligation. The evidence, however, supports a contrary conclusion. Even in states with no regulation of home education, parents dedicate themselves to ensuring their children are well educated. There is certainly no coherent justification for regulating all homeschoolers in order to prevent possible educational neglect in a miniscule number of cases. In fact, results of unregulated home education compare favorably with those of highly regulated institutional education.
Additionally, regulation is sometimes considered as an appropriate measure to ensure that parents are not abusing their homeschooled children. Homeschoolers uniformly condemn the abuse of children and support the enforcement of existing laws designed to protect children from such abuse. We understand the military has promulgated strict standards designed to both prevent and to prosecute child abuse. Thus, the mechanisms for preventing child abuse are already well in place in the military.
Attached is a set of questions frequently asked about homeschooling. These questions, with corresponding answers, cover issues raised in the focus groups questionnaire provided by DoDEA, as well as others with which the military appears to be concerned. We have often responded to identical questions from civilian education authorities, concerned relatives, and others, and have provided responses for you that should prove valuable to the upcoming discussions. This information supports our conclusion: there is no evidence that increased regulation improves home education outcomes, and it is a virtual certainty that increased regulation will be an unnecessary and unwelcome imposition on home educating families.
Please study the enclosed materials. We are pleased to provide any additional information and to participate in any further discussions.
Sincerely,
Christine Webb,
Director of Public Relations |
Nicky Hardenbergh,
Director of Legal and Legislative Information |
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For the Board of Directors, National Home Education Network |
View the accompanying FAQ on Home Education Regulation sent with this letter.
Return to the main webpage for Military Homeschoolers
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