This is the first in a series where I will analyze the homeschooling laws of all fifty states and since I lived and breathed this particular state’s law, this seemed like the logical place to start.
Overall, Missouri is considered by the wider homeschooling community to be one of the best laws in the nation because it is a state with no accountability to state officials. Hair generally raises on my spine when I hear this because it is indicative of just how much (or how little) a family can get by with.
Section 1
- According to Section 167.031 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, a parent or guardian of a child, between the ages of seven (7) and seventeen (17) years of age, shall cause the child to attend regularly some public, private, parochial, parish, home school or a combination of such schools. Any parent may educate a child at home. The parent does not need a teaching certificate or need to meet any education requirements in order to provide home instruction.
Human nature naturally goes towards delaying putting off what could be done now, until it is absolutely necessary. This is no exception. While little five and six year olds are lined up with their book bags waiting for the school bus ready to engage their minds in learning, the five and six year olds of homeschooling families are not. Because compulsory attendance does not occur until the age of seven, the average family does not begin keeping records until that age. This puts the home-schooled student at a one-to-two year delay before they have even begun their education.
Though one could argue that there is a blessing in the amount of freedom that our country enjoys, the fact that Missouri does not require any educational requirements on the part of the parents only does the children a disservice. Yes, it is beneficial for the parents, but not for the children. As a Special Education teacher, this is alarming for two reasons.
1) The amount of trust that the home educator places on writers and creators of home schooling curriculum; which all too often is written by equally unqualified home educators. Trusting that the home school curriculum is sound, the parents’ that have had no educational training leads them to blind ignorance and only handicaps their children further.
2) Lack of teaching certification. I know this is an intensely unpopular sentiment but this is a serious problem. There is a lot that an educator must learn in order to obtain a teaching certification. Teaching a child is more than browsing through a home school resource catalog, ordering some books, and placing your children at the table to teach them. Educating a child is as much about the education as it is about the child’s development: social, cognitive, physical. Teachers in the State of Missouri, and any other state, must retake their certification exams in order to maintain currency and their job. Just as we wouldn’t want to be seen by a doctor or nurse that was not up-to-date on the latest medical trends, technologies and information neither should we settle for second best when it comes to educating our society’s children: homeschooled or not.
Section 2:
- If a parent decides to home school, he or she must offer 1,000 hours of instruction during the school year, with at least 600 hours in the basics, which will be in reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science. At least 400 of the 600 hours shall occur in the home location.
In the State of Missouri “1,000 hours of instruction” is interpreted as 1,000 lessons equals 1,000 hours of instruction by homeschoolers. This is somewhat of a mixed bag. I have known many home schooling families that were very conscientious about meeting the 1,000 hour requirement, but by that same token, I have also known plenty of families who did not (my own family being one of them. In fact, I would be surprised if I met the 1,000 hour requirement but once or twice in all twelve years of my “education.”). The primary focus of the basics is most heavily laden in the reading and social study concentrations by home educating families with math coming in a distant third. Language arts and science are thrown into the mix whenever time permits. There is usually not an equal distribution of focus on these concentrations among the majority of families as it takes a highly motivated, exceptionally organized individual to appropriate the time accordingly.
The second area where this law falls apart is that 2/3 of the core subjects need to be completed at home, the primary place of instruction. With the rise of home school learning centers across the nation, and the plethora of them in Missouri, more and more home educating parents recognize the value in hiring out the more difficult subjects to teach, especially as their students’ age. Though there is great value and benefit in hiring this out, most families are not conscious of the amount of hours their student is taking at these learning centers and often the totals could be easily above what the law would allow for. Home educating parents need to be careful to follow the law in this area.
Section 3
- A completed credit towards high school graduation is defined as 100 hours or more of instruction in a course. Home school education enforcement and records pursuant to this section, and sections 210.167 and 211.031, RSMo, shall be subject to review only by the local prosecuting attorney.
This was a new statute that was passed in 2009. Prior to this point, scores of home educated graduates falsified their transcripts stating that they had completed the necessary credits in order to complete graduation. Though this is a baby step in the right direction, there is no accountability over this aspect and it still remains a concern that this could be easily interpreted as a “recommendation” based on the law, rather than a literal requirement. Though the threat of coming under the scrutiny of the local prosecuting attorney is enough for a handful of families, this is rarely the case.
Section 4
- A parent who is home schooling a child must maintain the following records:
1. A plan book, diary, daily log, or other written record indicating the subjects taught and the activities engaged in with the student;
2. A portfolio containing samples of the student's academic work;
3. A record of evaluation of the student's academic progress; or
4. Other written, or credible evidence equivalent to a, b, and c.
This is where the law completely falls flat on its face in ensuring Missouri’s children a valid home education. Computer programs, record books and other record keeping tools are out there, but the fact that the law provides for “Other written, or credible evidence equivalent to a, b, and c” allows home educators to interpret the “other” part of this law. In other words, parents rarely keep a thorough accounting of hours earned by children. The key factor here is accountability. With no direct oversight or accountability, parents are fairly free to do whatever they deem appropriate or to put it satirically, whatever they feel like doing. No one but the local prosecuting attorney has the jurisdiction to view a child’s records and samples of work and this was never done when I was being home schooled and have yet to hear of any case where a review of work actually made it that far: usually it was cleared up by Department of Social Services. Coupled with the growing emphasis on the alarming movement of un-schooling, this major loop hole needs to be fixed.
Of additional concern is the lack of requirement to have a yearly evaluation done on the child’s academic progress. Parochial and public schools test periodically throughout the year to measure a student’s understanding of academic content. Lack of testing should be of some concern. I took one standardized test in second grade and flunked it. That was the only test I ever took until I entered college at the age of 27. The solution to correcting the academic discrepancies created by this law- and abused by the home schooling families- is to require a state issued, federally mandated standardized test (such as the MAP test) beginning in third grade for all home educated students. The educator should keep proof of these tests and these are proof of completion of a grade. The same grading scale is universally used for all students regardless of institution and failure of the test is insufficient to move on to the next grade. Tests must be taken every year the student is home schooled and failure to comply with this regulation will result in an insufficient completion of courses and student will be retained until successful completion of the test.
If home educating parents were doing their jobs, this should not leave them feeling threatened.
Section 5
- The school year is defined as beginning July 1 and ending the next June 30.
Pretty self-explanatory. However, if a home educator were to get their information from the
HSLDA website, they state that:
“These requirements must be met within the school term (12 months or less) the parents establish.”
I find it ironic that an organization that claims to give sound legal advice can’t even interpret the law correctly for those they claim to represent.
Section 6
- Children with disabilities attending a home school program may receive special education services provided by the local school district, in accordance with Section 162.996 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, and the State Plan for Special Education.
Across the board, home educators dismantle the theories that surround the special needs and disabilities of students. They promote a lot of misinformation on the amount of pressure that a school district places on its parents to medicate their children and diagnose them, which as an educator in the public school system, is complete bogus and hogwash. If an educator suspects a child to have a learning disability they do encourage the parents to get their child diagnosed but it is for one reason only: red tape. Without the proper diagnosis, the teacher’s hands are tied and the student in question is not qualified to receive special education services. Because homeschooling begins with parents who are proud (believing they can do it better than someone else), they rarely if ever diagnose their children if a learning disability is suspected. And due to their intense fear of the public school system, they will not accept the help and services from the special education department though it would benefit their child tremendously.
Section 7
- Section 167.042 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, states that a parent or guardian may notify the superintendent of schools or the recorder of county deeds, in the county where the child legally resides, of their intent to home school. This is to be done before September 1 annually. Home-schooled students do not register with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
If a child has been in attendance in the local public school system, the family must notify the school district of their plans to home educate their student(s) for that first year. After that point, families are no longer required to notify the district. It is the rare exception for a family to notify the superintendent on yearly basis. I would like to see this be a legal requirement that is enforced throughout the state. I believe that if families were required to report their intentions to homeschool on a yearly basis that it would a) offer more insight into the numbers of individuals that choose to homeschool b) provide more scientific data for research purposes and c) provide a way in which home schooling families can be reached if accusations of neglect and abuse surface.
Special Considerations:
The State of Missouri does not have a mandated curriculum that must be taught. This is understandable considering that to require one would place a lot of strain on state agencies in enforcing the standards among non-accredited parochial schools and home schools.
The State of Missouri also does not recognize home school high school diplomas as being legitimate which is a healthy thing. Often times the support groups that are in the state of Missouri lie to their families by telling them that the diploma that their graduate will receive upon graduation with the support group is legitimate and accepted by colleges. This is not the case. It was not the case for me, and it isn’t the case for other graduates either. Though getting a diploma feels like an accomplishment to a home school graduate, the diplomas are fraudulent and meaningless. The best way to ensure a legitimate entrance into college is to take the GED, ACT or SAT exams, all of which are often times discouraged.
Overview:
It is a shame that the students in the state of Missouri were cheated out of a decent education because some lawmakers and lobbyists decided they would pass a law that kept a large part of their constituency happy and pacified. Here again, the lawmakers have let us down. There was no insight into this law by the Department of Secondary and Elementary Education or NEA when this law was passed. The Missouri homeschooling law was worded by home educating parents with the aid of local lawmakers. It is my opinion that this law needs to be scraped and re-worked from the ground up. It is a sad day for home educated students in Missouri.
