Re: Truancy issue after withdrawal

Posted by Howard Richman on April 04 2008 at 13:19:31:

In Reply to: Truancy issue after withdrawal posted by jenn on April 04 2008 at 12:02:28:

Jenn,

I am not a lawyer. You probably should consult one about these issues. Here are my guesses as to the correct answers:

You asked if you can be charged with truancy for truant days before you filed the home education affidavit. I think that you can. Filing an affidavit only affects whether or not you were legal for the period after you filed the affidavit.
You asked "Could I possibly be forced to send him back to public school because of this?" I don´t think so. The school district would have to follow the due process procedures in the PA Home Education Law in order to force your child back into school.
You asked, "What recourses do I have?" I would suggest that if you are found guilty of truancy by the local magistrate, that you appeal the conviction to the local County Common Pleas Court. At your Common Please Court hearing, you should have witnesses to call in your defense to show that you have been doing a good job of homeschooling. The Common Pleas Court judge can reduce your fine if he thinks that your child is now being homeschooled effectively. On the other hand, if the judge and school district think that you are just saying you are homeschooling in order to avoid truancy prosecution, I would expect the judge to give you the maximum possible fine and I would expect the school district to follow the due process procedures of the PA home education law to force your child back into school.

Howard