Florida homeschool laws need stronger application
Homeschool monitoring came into question in the aftermath of the death of Janiya Thomas after Manatee County School Board member Charlie Kennedy broached the subject during a November board meeting.
Does the state of Florida need to adopt stricter oversight requirements of homeschools? Tough provisions in the homeschool law are in place. But are those enough to safeguard children, one of the fundamental responsibilities of government?
Reasonable people differ on the question about any need for additional oversight of homeschools. That's a good public debate about the role of government in family issues. Child abuse and protective services are at the heart of this issue, not good parenting and good home education.
This looks like a moot point on one level.
In seeking board support for legislation to change the state's well constructed homeschool law, Kennedy cited his work with the Manatee County Sheriff's Office on a potential bill. He also mentioned a provision to add an in-person check on homeschool children by a certified teacher on either a semester or quarterly basis. This month Kennedy and the MCSO did forward draft language of legislation to Rep. Greg Steube, but the Sarasota Republican declined to file the language as a formal bill.
Homeschool parents and advocates strongly objected at any change in law, and rightfully so. Current law provides strict mandates, especially the one requiring parents to produce an annual report on grades and another allowing a school district to require parents to produce a student portfolio within 15 days notice.
Janiya's case differs vastly from everyday homeschooling but does expose holes in the system.
Her mother, Keishanna Thomas, pulled her daughter from Manatee Elementary School in May 2013 and enrolled her in homeschool in August 2014. Janiya's body was discovered locked in a freezer that her mother and a boyfriend had delivered to a relative's house -- on the pretext the mother was being evicted. That occurred on Oct. 18.
The last recorded date Janiya was seen alive took place on June 9, 2014, during a home visit by a Safe Children's Coalition case worker, who also noted that Keishanna Thomas became uncooperative. She had a history of refusing to cooperate with child welfare and school officials, and was finally jailed for contempt of court on Oct. 16 for refusing court orders to reveal Janiya's whereabouts.
After the Manatee County School District attempted to acquire the required annual report on Janiya's grades more than a year after the 11-year-old left public school, Keishanna told officials in January she no longer lived in the state.
Florida's homeschool law requires proof of a new address or evidence of enrollment in another school district. She told investigators a similar falsehood when they arrived in September to investigate the 12th allegation of child abuse against Thomas in the past 15 years, with seven different allegations involving Janiya and the others her siblings.
Child welfare caseworkers from the Safe Children's Coalition and DCF as well as investigators from the MCSO Child Protective Services were stymied time and again by an uncooperative and prevaricating mother. This reveals a breakdown in the system.
Kennedy later clarified a key point absent in his initial public disclosure of the idea -- that homeschool inspection would only apply to households with prior Department of Children & Families cases. That's a sound idea that does not involve all homeschools and a burdensome inspection schedule by school districts. Investigators should be in charge here.
Since Florida law doesn't prevent parents with a history of child abuse from homeschooling not only their children or others, that should reconsidered. Child abuse is often discovered by teachers and other educators in a public or private school environment since visible injuries should be questioned and suspicions must be reported to authorities. Abusive parents should not be allowed to hide their children in homeschools.
School districts and child protection services should be in regular contact, too, when parents fail to comply with those homeschool regulations. And parents who claim a child no longer lives in the school district must prove that is indeed the case.
Those should be red flags about suspicious activities, and that is the tough lesson from Janiya's fate. Florida shouldn't need a new law to enforce regulations on the books.
This story was originally published December 30, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Florida homeschool laws need stronger application ."