Alliance for Intellectual Freedom in Education

HSLDA Membership Application Form

The following information was taken directly from a 1995 HSLDA membership application form:

Membership Application

Our purpose is to provide quality. low-cost legal defense for families who choose to exercise their God-given and constitutional right to teach their children at home. The information provided in this application will be used only to evaluate your home school for ACCEPTANCE [editor's emphasis] and to aid us in defending your home school should the need arise. We will treat this information as absolutely confidential.

Instructions

Answer EVERY question and do so as completely as possible....

PARENT INFORMATION

1. EDUCATION. Place the *number* in the blank that indicates the hightest grade level finished by each parent.

ELEMENTARY-------- HIGH SCHOOL-------- COLLEGE -------- GRADUATE SCHOOL
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ------------ 9 10 11 12 ---------- 13 14 15 16-------- 17 18 19 20

___Mother........ ___Father........ ____Other (please explain)

2. DEGREES. Indicate the highest *degree* earned by each person. Do so by placing the appropriate *letter* in the blank.

___Mother........ A. No Degree ........ B. GED........ C. High School Diploma

___Father........ D. Associates Degree........ E. Bachelors........ F. Masters

___Other ........ G. Doctorate ........ NA. Not Applicable

If a college degree has been received, please specify who earned it and his/her major field of study._____

3. EMPLOYMENT SCHEDULE. For each person involved in teaching in your home school, provide inforation about his/her place, hours, and days of employment in the space below. (This includes those self-employed for profit within their own homes.)

Place of Employment: (Check box) In the space below indicate the hours of the day worked: (e.g. 9-5)

Not ............ In ............... Out of
Employed... Home......... Home ... ... M ... T ... W ... Th... F ... Sat. ... Sun.
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Mother ... | ... | ... | ... | ... Mother...... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
Father... | ... | ... | ... | ...... Father...... |... | ... |... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
Other ... | ... | ... | ... | ...... Other ...... | ... | ... |... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

4. INSTRUCTOR. Please indicate below the % of instruction done by each person in a *typical* week of home schooling. (Must add up to 100%)

___Mother ___Father ___Other (please explain)

NOTE: Parents themselves must do *at least* 50% of the home schooling in order to be ELIGIBILE [Editor's emphasis] for membership.

STUDENT INFORMATION

5. SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN. List all school-age children in your home. indicate which ones are being (or will be) home schooled during the current school year, and specify the current grade level of achievement for each. Then provide background information on each child by indicating the years each has been home schooled (if any), the name of the school each child last attended (if any), the years he or she attended the school, and whether that school was public (PB) or private (PV).

*If applying in summer, indicate the grade level of the following year.

If you eventually plan to home school any of the children attending public or private school, please indicate whom and when.

6. PARENT/CHILD RELATIONSHIP. Are any of the children being home schooled the offspring of parents who are divorced? Y or N

If YES, please furnish us with a copy of the divorce or custody decree. (Unless a specific provision limits or prohibits home schooling, divorce will not affect ACCEPTANCE [editor's emphasis].)

7. HOME SCHOOL STUDENTS. Are there any students in your home school who are NOT members of your immediate family?

If YES, list their names and relationship to your family. On a separate sheet of paper, explain the reason why each student listed attends your home school.

NOTE: Normally, HSLDA extends its membership services *only to children who are members of your immediate family.*

HOME SCHOOL INFORMATION

8. STARTING DATE. Please CHECK which of these statements is true of your home school starting date for the current school year and fill in the blank with the appropriate date.

We began home schooling on this date: ____
We plan to begin home schooling on this date: ____

9. PRIVATE SCHOOLS. Are your enrolled in a home schooling program offered by a local private school? (This information is particularly important for residents of Alabama and California.)

If YES, please give its full name, address, and phone number.

10. CURRICULUM TYPE. Do you use a complete curriculum package from a correspondence course?
If YES, give its name: ____
If NO, please list below the subjects covered and books used for each student.

* NOTE: HSLDA does not promote any particular curriculum, nor do we
* recommend one type (i.e. parent-planned or package) over the other.
* Choose what is best for your family.

11. SPECIAL NEEDS. Are you home schooling any children who have special learning needs? HSLDA believes that parents have the right to home school children with special needs and we are committed to helping these families. In order for us to adequately defend this right we need families to inform us of their situation.

If YES, please provide all of the following information on a separate piece of paper:

a. Which child has the disability, what is the disability, who diagnosed it and when?

b. What is the difference between his/her level of achievement and the level expected at his/her age?

c. What public programs are you utilizing to help you meet this child's needs? *If you have an Individual Education Program (IEP) or similar commitment, please provide information explaining this arrangement.*

d. What private help are you currently receiving for this child, if any?

e. How do you plan to accommodate the special needs of your child?

*If you have a child with special learning needs, we will send you a copy of our "Special Needs Policy" explaining what you can do to assist us in defending your home school.*

12. GROUPS. Do you belong to an organization that has a group program with HSLDA?

If YES, please give the full name and address.________ NOTE: We send group program administrators periodic reports (that include your name, membership number and date) confirming HSLDA membership for their group members.

13. CURRICULUM STATUS. Please CHECK the statement that *best* describes the status of your curriculum, and supply the requested information in the appropriate blanks.

a. We have received all of our curriculum.

b. Our curriculum is on order. We expect it to arrive on (date) ___

c. We have received approximately __% of our curriculum. We have yet to receive (what materials?) ________but we expect to receive these materials by ____.

d. We have *not* yet ordered our curriculum. We plan to order it on _____ and receive it on ______

e. We have not yet received our curriculum, but plan to begin home schooling prior to its arrival by using the following materials:______ Our ordered materials should arrive on ______

f. Other (please explain): ______

* NOTE: We cannot approve your application unless you have received your
* curriculum. (During the months when your local school district is not
* in session we will waive this requirement as long as you indicate that
* you will receive your curriculum prior to the commencement of the
* traditional school year.)

14. TIME AND DURATION. Please give the following information on how you plan to operate your home school:

Hours of the day during which your children will be intructed? (e.g. 8:00 am to Noon)

Number of months per year you plan home school.

NOTE: Although the number of hours may vary greatly, we recommend that formal instruction take place some time during typical school hours.

15. Briefly explain your reasons for home schooling.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

16. DAYCARE. Do you operate a day care center in your home?
If YES, please explain on a separate sheet of paper the number of children involved, the hours you have them, and how you plan to operate your home school around your day care responsibilities.

LEGAL INFORMATION

17. CONTACT. Have *you contacted OR have you been contacted by* any local school district, social worker, or any other government official concerning either your children or your home school?

If YES, on a separate piece of paper explain what contact has been made, by whom, and when.

If NO, but you plan to inform then concerning your home school, HSLDA recommends that you *do not* contact them or transfer records from them *until* you receive your acceptance letter and instruction sheet from us. *However,* if your state has a filing deadline to meet, *do not* miss this deadline while waiting for HSLDA to approve your application.

NOTE: IT IS ALWAYS BEST TO APPLY TO HSLDA WELL IN ADVANCE OF A STATUTORY DEADLINE.

18. Has any legal action been threatened or brought against your home school or anyone associated with it concerning its operation?

If YES, describe in detail the nature of the threat or legal action on a separate sheet of paper and attach copies of all correspondence, legal pleadings, etc.

19. Have you ever been investigated for or charged with child abuse or neglect or any other related charges?

If YES, please explain fully on a separate sheet of paper and include copies of any court documents.

20. Have you ever been a member of HSLDA or applied for membership? If YES, when?_____

MEMBERSHIP AGREEMENT

HSLDA Members

We agree to do the following during the full duration of our membership in the Association:

1. Exercise diligence in teaching our childdren in a responsible way.

* 2. Use an organized curriculum and a clearly recognizable program of
* education to instruct our children.

3. Keep minimal records of each child's educational progress.

4. Notify the Association promptly of any threatened or actual legal apers received by us related to our home school.

5. Cooperate fully in the defense of any legal action (threatened or otherwise) which may be brought against our home school and to provide any and all information and assistance to the legal counsel who are appointed by the Association to defend us.

IF your membership was ACCEPTED by HSLDA, the following benefits of membership would be yours, according to HSLDA:

"Quality Legal Representation"

"Court Report Subscription" published six times a year "focusing on legal news and other matters of councern to home schoolers."

"Satisfaction of Helping Others"

"National Center For Home Education" is "designed to assist state home schooling organizations and their leaders by providing services that are difficult for many organizations to provide for themselves: a network for cooperation and communication between state-wide organizations; a source of information on state and federal legislation, noting proposed bills which would impact the home schooling community; and a presence in both the state and federal capitals, promoting legislation favorable to home schoolers. Armed with these resources, state organizaitons are better able to assist home schooling families in their own states."

------------ end of membership application form --------------------

Some parents do not use curriculums, an institutionally designed tool, in their private homes. They teach their children individually, one-on-one, not in groups of twenty or thirty, where a curriculum may be useful.

Some parents do not endorse testing as a valid or useful measurement tool. For some parents testing is seen as invasive and damaging to the learning process. They do not need testing, as they always know the child whom they are teaching, unlike a teacher in a larger classroom setting. They feel that testing interferes with learning.

As you can see, HSLDA's view of home schooling is uniform and rigid. They prefer a very structured educational program, i.e. a curriculm. They endorse testing as a valid tool in their legislative efforts and offer a service to provide annual testing for your child.

Families who choose to "unschool" their children do not fit the HSLDA profile. They do not qualify for protection from HSLDA. Nor can they comply with HSLDA-approved laws.