Leslie Moyers, a home-schooling mom of three children in Tulsa, Okla., recalls such an experience when she started teaching her kids at home (not for religious reasons). An HSLDA staff attorney gave a talk to an umbrella group of home-school support groups, she recalls, "and he used scare tactics about how if the groups stayed inclusive, that could allow homosexuals in. He was able to convince people in most of the groups that membership should be restricted." Subsequently, group officers, and in some cases, all group members, were required to sign statements of faith and submit details about how they home-schooled.

"They even asked group leaders to do home visits to make sure people were doing home schooling the 'right' way," Moyers says. Many who opted out of the groups launched the inclusive HERO support group network.

In other places where inclusive members refuted demands for exclusivity, fundamentalists often started rival "exclusive" groups, a move that splintered home-school unity in many states. Many exclusive groups responded to the call for "biblical separation," which allowed no interactions -- not even children's play groups -- with other home-schoolers. Needless to say, the free exchange of information among different groups and at home-school conferences was greatly restricted. Members of inclusive groups were often branded as "secular humanists" and excluded from gatherings and resource listings.

For newcomers, and home-schoolers in more isolated areas, the exclusivist influence continues to be particularly problematic. "Just starting out in home schooling is really scary," notes Laura Derrick, home-schooling mom of two and spokeswoman for the National Home Education Network. "Newcomers really need support and advice."

Newbies sometimes end up in exclusive groups, because if they contact HSLDA or other exclusive local groups, that's the only contact they'll get. But if they can't abide by the rules, they can risk private or public "confrontations" designed for those who question rules dictating home-school activity, right down to a field trip dress code. "I've had home-schoolers calling me in tears, wondering whether all home-school groups are like this," reports Derrick.

Holly Furgason was one of those newbies, a Mormon member who joined a conservative Christian support group "because it was the only one around" when she began home schooling in New Hampshire. She was initially puzzled when her children were followed by an adult whenever they left the room to play with other children. "Then I realized that the others in the group didn't consider me the 'right' kind of Christian, so they needed to supervise their children when the children were with mine to make sure that nothing 'bad' was said to the kids," she recalls. Furgason now heads an unschooling support group in Houston.

Separatist strategies, as bizarre as they may seem to people like Furgason, make sense to those who sincerely believe they must keep their children from influences they consider evil. "The most significant motivation [for exclusive home-schooling] is what I am protecting them from -- companionship with fools!" writes Jonathon Lindvall in Home School Digest. "Some might call this harsh and reactionary, but I am convinced God has called me to take seriously my role as protector of my family. Not only do I need a good offense to win, but a good defense is also imperative."

And there are plenty of supporters among home-schoolers who benefited from the legal representation of the HSLDA. Maria Elena Kennedy, a Catholic home-schooling mom of three children in suburban Los Angeles, called on HSLDA five years ago, when an anonymous tip that her children were "abandoned" in the backyard brought child protective service workers and police officers to her house. HSLDA lawyers won a $70,000 settlement and a ruling that police officers had violated the Kennedys' civil rights by not obtaining a search warrant before entering the house.

"This can happen to anyone," says Kennedy. "Our membership was well worth it. HSLDA spent thousands of dollars defending us."

Still, many home-schoolers point out that home schooling has been legal in the United States for more than 10 years, making legal challenges like the Kennedys' fairly rare. And critics such as Shay Seabourne, a Virginia home-schooling mom who is active in her state support group, note that most home-schooling litigation involves disputes that go to family court, cases that feature ex-spouses disagreeing about expenses or custody as well as teaching at home.

The HSLDA notes in its membership agreement that it will not take cases involving "divorce, child custody or related domestic affairs." One longtime HSLDA member and divorcing Colorado mom discovered this the hard way after her initial request for help resulted in a response from HSLDA lawyers that they would pray for her and send an information pack to her lawyer. HSLDA finally responded, Seabourne reports, after other home-schoolers protested.

Recent Stories