Homeschooling Mom's in West Tx?

[Shannoniganshens]

This lady was an official CPS worker, that town is very crooked, drug addicts get off with nothing because they turn on other people, people who do abuse their children get their kids for turning in others,it's really sad. She disappeared from there due to her lying and twisted ways of going about business, she lied to a family, the dad was on drugs, but he was seeking help, witch led him to a therapist. She decided to take their children after the therapist said not to unless the father was in contained cause he would kill himself, she assured the therapist she wasn't going to, she did, therapist did record the conversation, he had reasons from believing the father that this woman did twist and lie. She picked up their kids, had a fake signature of the parents saying they released their children. The dad took off down a county road and flipped his car, it didn't kill him, so he hung himself with a rope he found ,in a tree on the side of the road. The weeks to come, everything came out, it was all taken to the supervisor of CPS, she is not allowed to investigate until the case is over. The mother, last I talked to her, said it was going in a good direction, they proved the signatures were not hers or her husbands, I'm not sure what shes going after, but that man was doing his best to clean up for his family, just was hard on him, he'd been addicted since 15 on all kinds of stuff, he stopped cold turkey then the crazy came out of him. Left 5 kids behind. My lawyer gave me the decision to let it go or pursue a case, I chose to leave it be, thats when my ex came after me for my oldest, he called me screaming about they should of investigated me further and he should have his son, I didn't deserve any of my children, this was coming from a man that hasn't seen his son since he was 3 (now 13) pays child support and calls for 5 min on Christmas. So he thought he would take me to court and actually thought he would win, but no one had any proof against me, just against his negligence as a father and his mom, who almost let my son die. Even after all that, his big deal to get child support dropped, better visitation and calling done on his part, he still doesn't follow threw

, we haven't heard from him since.
Anyways, I called THSC and emailed copies of everything , "patiently" waiting ...........again.....my stomach is in knots, every time the phone rings or I hear an email alert I'm jumping up to see.

 

[Shannoniganshens]

I've decided, if all else fails, I'm going to put on my snazzy court outfit, take all my needed documentation along with the Texas Laws on home schooling and smile real big like this guy

if I don't pass out from nerves

 

[PineappleMama]

Ahhh, I knew something sounded a little screwy with that one... sheesh, fraudulent signatures... that's a BIG no no. Negligent homicide as well if I had my say... I hope they throw the book at her, and I hope that family sues the pants of CPS. They let this woman loose on the public, gave her darn near unlimited power and then didn't supervise her at all. Supervision is a major thing, by law, just about everything has to be approved by the super if not by a judge. This was a complete breakdown of the system.

I'd go ahead and have a disposition, all info, etc. on record with an attorney just in case you need it in the future... you just never know... and if five years down the road (after yours is 18 and an adult even) they might decide to be a pain and the info won't be as fresh in your mind. Document document document... but then, sounds like you already know all about that.

Be sure and keep us posted, I'm very interested to hear what THSC has to say on the matter.

 

[Shannoniganshens]

Oh documentation, I"m OCD about it, it got worse when my son was diagnosed, they said write everything down, so he has about 5 journals full , when CPS turned, I wrote everything down, ex and his hoop-la wrote it all down. It's always been my nature, when I was a kid, my mom and I would fight, I'd get grounded, I documented

, brother got in trouble, I wrote it down, compare our troubles , I don't know, just my weird thing, my chickens are documented daily also. Guess it's a good thing, gets on hubby's nerves and the kids, but I think it keeps me sane. You should see my file cabinets in the garage, full of every child's school work,art, drawings, everything is there, since they were born.

I picked up 3 more file cabinets yesterday for our home school.

 

[Shannoniganshens]

It's a mis-communication, the principal is new to the school, so now I'm waiting to see what can they can do. Wooo hoooo!!!! We shall see.

 

[PineappleMama]

Even if the school, the district as a whole, whatever tells you not to show at court do NOT just assume they notified the courts... that can cause a whole new kind of trouble. If they give you notice, in writing, then go ahead and take that with you to the courthouse at the designated time... if the clerk's already heard, no worries... but if they haven't then you'll be there ready to go and you'll have the document showing it was an error too.

SO glad to hear this is going to pan out easier than expected!

Only thing I can think of is that the new Principal is from out of state... MANY states have way different takes on HSing so it'd make sense if they thought Texas was similar... though, you'd think they'd educate themselves on the rules beforehand... do their homework if you will. *shrug*

 

[WriterofWords]

More than likely the withdrawal forms didn't get where they should have been on time. Take your letter from the school acknowledging your letter to them. It's a molehill not a mountain and you are stressing yourself for nothing. I home-schooled my son for many years and I am a teacher in the district he went to, so it looked a bit odd. As long as I notified the district every year that I was still home-schooling there were no problems. By federal law children are required to attend school for a certain amount of days per year; so when they are taken out to home-school those days still need to be met by law. School districts are required to report students who are withdrawn from school but not transferred to another school so that the governing entity of that area can check up on them and make sure they are OK and in a safe and secure environment, not being withheld from school due to abuse. I would be more worried if they did not check up on students who are withdrawn, too many are kept home so the schools cannot report any signs of abuse.
You will be fine, I'm sure of it.

 

[justbugged]

I am so sorry that you have to go through this kind of cr*p just to do what best for your child. The public schools are such a joke anymore. My great-grandfather helped start a public school in Montana back in the 1890's. He would not recognize the schools that exist today. Homeschooling is such a great option these days. The public schools have repeatedly shown that they are not taking care of the children. I know that they try, but it is not the same as a caring parent is capable of doing.

I am blown away with the way you are having school at home. It is way more than a public school is able to do for any child. We chose to homeschool our kids from the second and fifth grades through high-school. My DD just graduated from the UofWashington this spring. My son has 2 years of CC under his belt, and was hired on full time with county road operations department. He loves his job. He is still the youngest guy working there. He is also more capable of working without supervision than some of the older guys.

We chose to un-schooled our kids. I was always worried that they weren't learning enough school like things. But I watch them both succeed in college, so they must have learned something. I was always telling them that if they chose not to learn that I wasn't going to be stupid. That always made my DD mad and she would go do some school work. My DS just didn't care. I kept sane with the fact that they kept testing above high-school levels. I do know that my DD would have been so involved with the social aspect of school that she would have been going to PS just to learn all things that one does not want their kids to learn. Our local high-school has the highest STD rate in the area.


Just hang in there, and I am sure that this to will pass. I know it's hard, but don't be too hard on your sons grandma. She clearly just didn't know what was going on with his health. Yes I agree that all the clues were there, but some people are just not able to figure it out. I put that down to the facts that they were public school educated, and watch too much TV.

 

[PineappleMama]

Quote:
DH is planning to teach so ought to be interesting once he starts for us as well.

As to the law thing, NOT here. Code specifically applies ONLY to schools that get Fed/State aid. That's the whole enchilada. All the attendance rules (not only days, but hours daily too), not to mention Standardized Testing, etc NONE of those apply to any private school in this state because they do not get Fed/state aid. HS is considered in the same lot as Private because HS doesn't get aid either.

Notice of withdrawal is NOT required in Texas, recommended so you don't have hassle, but not legally required. Likewise for a letter of assurance... ours said something like "We're using a combination of online and hands on media to assure a thorough 7th grade education" (2nd grade for DS's letter)... that is a ONE TIME notice, not required every year. Again, In Texas... NOT all states.

I wouldn't be surprised to find that DC passed new laws that gave them power over schools they gave no money to, taking away all state power over yet another area... not surprised at all, but as of this year at least that's not the case. Accepting that aid gives the Fed AND State a cudgel to use against you. They can demand ANYTHING and you have no choice but to comply. Private schools do not have this hanging over their heads, their funds come entirely from private entities so they're only accountable to those entities (parents paying tuition/donations). Likewise for HS, no one is paying for my child's way... my tax dollars are still going to pay for public schools, we just aren't using them. So, from the school's perspective they still get ALL the cash, but there's now more to go around per student because mine aren't their problem anymore, they also don't have to deal with a cranky parent when they fail. That side, all good. Our side, my kids are getting what they need, time needed to learn it, and are HAPPY... all good for us too.

But, the KEY to the Texas Laws on HSing is Bona Fide Manner... you must be actually teaching, not just a sham to keep them home (your example)... that is covered... unfortunately how do you know? HSers are NOT the responsibility of the school, the district, or even the Texas Education Agency (TEA)... not one of them can request ANY info about your curriculum, attendance, NOTHING... so they are 100% ignorant, as per the law. So, how would anyone know if you're Bona Fide? Only way would be if a friend, neighbor, family member, etc called CPS and reported you... then CPS could come in and interrogate... but even then they aren't authorized by the law to check your curriculum/etc.... they aren't trained for that... wouldn't know a good one from a scam... so how the devil does that work? They'd have to find something else to harass you about... no doubt they will, they're REALLY good at that. IE Reason niece couldn't live with us when removed by them? DH made $50/month too little to support a third child. Said in the same day as "Aid services are available to help with supporting a foster child".... so there ya go...

Technically there is no body dedicated to overseeing HSing, or Private schools for that matter, in this state. None at all. CPS could come in, but it'd be on a welfare charge, not education. And their training does NOT include by grade curriculum so they wouldn't have a clue. It includes 4th Amendment Training (look that one up, it's a doozie)... but nothing about education.

I have NO clue how it would go ... and I hope to heaven I never find out... no laws on the books about it means they basically can do anything they want... which is incredibly scary to me.

 

[Shannoniganshens]

Thank you everyone, I'm still waiting "patiently", had to close down early, gave myself a migraine over all this, still not feeling well today. I will still go up to the court date, cause if the district and 1 school can't get papers together and make a phone call or send a fax, who am I to think they actually can get hold of the court, that was mean, I'm sorry. I guess I'm getting irritated, I'm waiting on 3-4 calls and or emails, my impatience with waiting on a return calls, led me to going to finding emails to all these people and sending my copies of the withdraw letter and response + the Texas law. This is just crappy. It's all unnecessary and unfair.
I've done all I can, I'll be off and on today, have to get my kiddos started on their studies, I've got a typing contest to win against my oldest, I'm trying to break him of looking at the keyboard and typing his way, he thinks it's faster and better, so I challenged him.

Pineapple, I'd love to take you up to the court with me, you sound like you would have the room speechless. I'll keep everyone updated.