Homeschools on the Same Base as Department of Defense Schools
By Mimi Rothschild
Families with a military background believe in homeschools because they provide a secure environment for children who are constantly on the move. Homeschools are favorable because they are instrumental in developing family bonds. If a child is in traditional school, he has to constantly cope up with change in environment every now and then because military families are constantly transferred from one province to another in a matter of few years. The homeschooler’s child does not suffer from the anxiety or pressure to adjust to the new alienable surroundings which a typical student faces. One has to admit frequent transfers can hurt the child’s temperament and emotional growth. Thankfully the homeschooler’s child does not have to go through the same anguish.
The overseas Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DoDDS) had certain inconsistencies with regards to a homeschool in terms of participation policies. There were strange norms kept like allowing children to participate in all of the activities only if the homeschooler was enrolled in four DoDDS classes per day. The Home School Legal Defense Association followed blanket policy insisting on every homeschooler to take part in extracurricular activities of overseas DoDDS schools. The HSLDA categorically asked the US House of Representatives Armed Forces Committee to instruct the Secretary of Defense to formulate a specific, lucidly written policy conveying the department’s unstinted support for homeschools. The committee included the directive and submitted the report to the full House as a part of the Defense Authorization Act in the year 2000.
Following the instructions in the report, the DoDEA or the Department of Defense Education Activity has been given the responsibility to ensure that sufficient educational material are available to children of parents who are serving their country in far-off areas of the world. There is a conscious attempt made to see that the homeschooler is given ample opportunity to learn and grow in intellect, even in places where there are less educational resources compared to the ones available in the US.
The family has to abide by the country’s compulsory attendance requirements whether the child is in traditional school or if he is a homeschooler. Military families who send their children to homeschools have to follow the relevant school attendance laws of the country. If you want to send your children to homeschool, then it is not necessary to communicate the request to the base commander. You can get in touch with the HSLDA to know about the right and responsibilities of students in homeschools.
The DoDEA who have taken the neutral stand for homeschools, have voluntarily agreed to provide children in homeschools with ancillary assistance like library access, special education services, allowing them to participate in programs like sports, music, dramatics etc. However students studying in homeschools are obligated to abide by the rules and regulations regarding dress codes, attendance rules and other minimal requisites needed for every extracurricular activity. Enrollment in just one class of a DoD school is enough to participate in extracurricular activities. Children in homeschools can also expect to get loans for educational materials like books and software.
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