Posted by Pauline on November 13 2005 at 07:03:40:
In Reply to: careful on this ... posted by Peter B. Hrycenko on November 11 2005 at 21:22:39:
>>I suggest, depending on the district, to leave the districtīs solicitor or superintendent write the policy on their own for first draft...Should a homeschooler want to guide a district soliciting advice on a written policy, one must be careful to offer only the minimum, so as to reduce bureaucracy and lessen any potential burden on the homeschooled participant as well as the district.
Peter - I agree with the second part of this, but not with the first. It is often easier to shape policy at the beginning of the process, than to come in at the end and try to change it. I think if we have a collection of "good" policies as examples, then homeschoolers *and* school officials will have ideas to draw on. Having a policy can go both ways - it can introduce "bad" conditions of participation, but it can also, if it is a good policy, curb such tendencies in an individual school administrator. (That is, if the policy says "no grade sheets are needed", then the hs parent has recourse when an administrator or coach asks for one.)
Having a collection (hopefully on-line) also makes it easier for the homeschooler advocating for a good policy to say "yes, there are other districts who do it this way - here are examples from district x, y, and z". Since time is often a factor in these situations, gathering policies *before* there is a need will mean that individual homeschoolers can access them promptly and easily when they are needed.
Peter - thank you SO MUCH for your tireless efforts on this issue. My kids donīt do sports in school, but we have done First Lego League and a few other things (gifted programs, etc.) in our district. So nice to know that we now have the right, even if we choose not to exercise it.