Keep in mind that in many states, "unschooling" is perfectly legal. There is no education beyond what children learn simply by daily activities and being curious.

I homeschooled for a year in MOCO because I hated MOCO County Schools. I pulled my youngest out after three months and finished the year with him at home. Their requirements are very simple to meet. All they require is a yearly review. It took less than 10 minutes. The caseworker just looked at a few work samples. When we found a home in Fairfax County, I put my youngest back in public school.

Many states have no accountability requirements beyond registering the child as a homeschool student.

I might ask them if they do annual testing to ensure their kids are up to standards. The homeschooler I knoww does this - administers a standardized test to make sure kids are meeting the right benchmarks.

Maybe even if their state doesn't, you could sort of imply that there are standards that have to be met and wouldn't it be a shame for kids to fall behind. Use the veiled threat/carrot approach. Oh, but I'm sure you're on top on this, you just be validating your homeschooling against a standard, right? Want them to be able o get into medical school themselves someday!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are the parents homeschooling at all? What is their motivation for not attending traditional school? It seems strange given that one parent is in med school that they are so checked out of their kids academics.

"Personal reasons" aka they don't want their kids influenced by the man.

Maybe you can steer them to one of the unschooling type schools. Like Fairhaven in Mass. http://www.fairhavenschool.com/
At least there someone is paying attention.

What state to they live in?

Meant MD, not Mass.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are the parents homeschooling at all? What is their motivation for not attending traditional school? It seems strange given that one parent is in med school that they are so checked out of their kids academics.

"Personal reasons" aka they don't want their kids influenced by the man.

Maybe you can steer them to one of the unschooling type schools. Like Fairhaven in Mass. http://www.fairhavenschool.com/
At least there someone is paying attention.

What state to they live in?

Anonymous wrote:That sounds amazingly sad. Unfortunately, if they are in a state that doesn't require testing, there isn't much you can do.

So four kids just suffer? It really can't be! I'm so sad for them.

Anonymous wrote:Why are the parents homeschooling at all? What is their motivation for not attending traditional school? It seems strange given that one parent is in med school that they are so checked out of their kids academics.

"Personal reasons" aka they don't want their kids influenced by the man.

That sounds amazingly sad. Unfortunately, if they are in a state that doesn't require testing, there isn't much you can do.

Why are the parents homeschooling at all? What is their motivation for not attending traditional school? It seems strange given that one parent is in med school that they are so checked out of their kids academics.

Anonymous wrote:Depends on what state they live in. Some states have some accountability (testing requirements or portfolio) and some have none.

Unfortunately, they live in a state that does not.

They are actually in town visiting (minus ANY and ALL school supplies) for an extended visit (think before Christmas), and they haven't been doing any schooling (other than the occasional store-bought activity book) since then.

I truly feel for these kids.

Depends on what state they live in. Some states have some accountability (testing requirements or portfolio) and some have none.

Neglect is a form of abuse.

There is something called educational neglect.

It would be neglect and not abuse. CPS is not going to do anything about that.

Call CPS and ask them.

Is there a way to anonymously report parents who may be doing their children a disservice with their "homeschooling" techniques?

We have a close acquaintance who homeschools, but the children are really suffering acedemically. One parent is in med school, the other works from home all day (and works on home renovations.) We have noticed for years, but had an interaction with them over the weekend, and their almost-8yo couldn't comprehend our 1st graders homework assignment, and he struggles to read. Their 1st grader struggles with 3-letter words still. I truly feel the children's schooling suffers because of the busy schedules of the parents. They have two more kids behind their youngest in "homeschool".

As homeschool parents yourself, tell me what we should do? I can't look the other way anymore. They claim they are bright because they know useless trivia about space and dinosaurs and Egyptian times, but it is really starting to show that they are really behind.