Homeschool Advocates Lobby State Legislators
Submitted by Laura Bassallo
On Wednesday, April 10, home school students and their families gathered at the State Capitol in Albany to encourage homeschool friendly legislation within the current NYS education system. Homeschool regulations in NY are the most restrictive in the nation, second only to Pennsylvania. Surrounding states, such as Vermont and New Hampshire, treat home educated students like any other enrolled student in their district. They do not require families to provide additional qualifications in order to participate in programs the school offers, extra-curricular or interscholastic.
Currently, homeschool students in compliance with NYS regulations are not allowed to participate in district sports or other extra-curricular activities. They have also been denied entrance into certain higher education institutions in spite of having completed an approved “substantially equivalent” high school program. NY Homeschool: Loving Education At Home (LEAH) had an independent study done that proved passing these few pieces of legislation would actually save New York State millions of dollars and lessen current administrative obligations.
One of the lawmakers the group met with was 107th District Assemblyman Jake Ashby, who is a sponsor of two pieces of legislation supporting home-schooled students. One would allow these students to participate in inter-scholastic sports as members of their school districts teams. The second would codify the policies with home-schooled students and make it much easier for them to receive Letters of Substantial Equivalency, which are needed for acceptance into most SUNY and CUNY schools.
If you are interested in homeschooling or have questions, please contact a local LEAH representative at leah.org. You do not need to be a member of LEAH, but membership is strongly encouraged as we are able to provide a legal presence for all homeschool families in spite of differing philosophies or creeds.