THRIVE - 12 SECTORS

The Sectors are currently identified as follows (in alphabetical order):

Arts:  The realm of creative expression through various media.

Economics: The science that deals with the production, distribution, consumption and management of goods, services and currency.

Education: The realm of intentional learning - the gathering of knowledge and understanding.
 
Environment: The surroundings in which we live; the natural world as whole – including ourselves.

Governance: The administration of authority and leadership of a community.

Health: The vitality, well being and wholeness of a living system.

Infrastructure: The underlying physical structures and systems to support human society.

Justice: A way of protecting each individual's innate rights.

Media: The means of disseminating information and entertainment among people.

Relations: The field of human interaction: with sensations, emotions, thoughts, other beings, and the environment.

Science: The ordering of knowledge by thesis, experiment and conclusions.

Spirituality: The exploration and experience of our fundamental metaphysical nature as spirit.

Worldview: The beliefs we have about ourselves, life, and the Universe that shape how we interpret what we experience.

What about the Poor? What about Irresponsible Parents?

What about the Poor? 

Before we venture into this very important question, consider this: government schools already fail the poor in some of the most spectacular ways — illiteracy, dangerous schools, the worst teachers, low expectations, and the list could go on.

Ask yourself if the disadvantaged could be any more poorly served.

A free market in schooling would open incredible opportunity to the poor as philanthropists, churches, civic groups and all the people who already give of their hard-earned money worked to provide true opportunity. It is already happening in many areas, but parents and the people who wish to help find themselves between a rock and hard place — with the kids still trapped in public schools, there is only so much they can do. With tax money freed up and more private schools opening, opportunity will flourish.

Chris Cardiff of the National Center for Independent Education points out that if all 16 million poor and lower-middle-class children were provided with a $1500 scholarship (to private schools), the cost would come to $24 billion — 25% less than the state of California spends on public education and 92% less than is spent nationwide on public schooling.
Ironically, even when people come to see that this is true, some can't escape the government mantra that it is not acceptable for even one child to fall through the cracks, even though most poor, inner city kids are doing exactly that — better to have the equality of universal failure at the hands of the government than risk mostly success and a few failures at the hand of the uncontrolled free market.
It is hard to over-emphasize how deeply ingrained this attitude is. People literally believe that horrible public schools are better than not quite perfect private options, as long as everyone is suffering. This is, of course, an idea they've learned from their public schools. They've been taught, and believe, that these schools serve ALL children, so regardless of their shortcomings, no matter how truly awful they are, even if they're producing illiterates and societal misfits who will end up in prison, it is okay, because they serve everyone. It's fair, you see.

One of the greatest lessons of public school is how to stare reality in the face and deny it.

Douglas Dewey sums up the situation of the poor and public schools brilliantly:

"When all else fails, government school apologists point to the inability and unwillingness of 'poor people,' especially those in the 'inner cities,' to see to their children's education. It is an appalling hypocrisy for governmentalists who have used every available means to rip and burn the social fabric of black, urban, and low-income Americans to point to their own handiwork as proof of their indispensability. It is true that family and civic life in cities and among the poor is in tatters. The main cause is the stripping away of family responsibilities from families by government — education chief among them. Restore that one thing and the rebuilding can begin."

The rebuilding can begin. There are people who care, people who are ready to help far more than they now can, people in the private sector longing to enable and empower the poor and exploited to repair the damage done to their children and their communities by government schooling. There are poor parents who long to salvage their children but who are trapped in a system bent on their destruction.

It won't happen overnight, but as it stands now, with the government controlling the situation, it won't happen at all; it will only get worse. If we are willing to settle for what we have now just so one child doesn't get a better opportunity than another, we deserve what we get. The kids won't deserve it, the communities that have been damaged by government meddling won't deserve it, but those of us who have a powerful enough voice and the means to make a difference will deserve it. Keep reading.
    

What About Irresponsible Parents?
Okay, maybe the poor will receive help and maybe they'll accept it and rise to the occasion, but what about parents who just don't care, parents on drugs, parents too uneducated (and how did they get that way?) to think school is important?
We could have lumped these parents in the poor category. Most of them would qualify. But that would be unfair to the many poor who do care and feel powerless. Yet, the answer is the basically the same.

The children of these parents are already ill-served and failing. The situation could not be much worse. Some of them will still fall through the cracks, but many more will be rescued by people who care that they succeed, who are willing to take risks to that end.

That does not describe the public schools that now house these children. There may be good, caring teachers within these schools, but their hands are tied by the states and cities that employ them. They are not at liberty to innovate, to act freely, to offer real alternatives and a way out.
There are already philanthropists and foundations that pay private school tuition for the poor. This would increase many-fold, in the form of scholarships and direct aid to schools so they could offer free tuition to needy students. There are also churches and charitable foundations that reach out to the poor and will branch out into the field of education with the extra money that will be available because government at all levels is no longer confiscating it for their own endeavors in the school field.
Entrepreneurs will also certainly venture into poorer areas, funded by philanthropists who wish to see urban improvement and who view schools as a good means to that end.
This is not a wishful scenario. There are already many people in the private sector working to help the children of irresponsible and of poor parents, but they're up against the stranglehold the public schools have on the children. They are trying to undo damage as it continues to be done. Freeing the children would open endless windows of opportunity.
There is a tremendous amount of damage to be fixed, but as Douglas Dewey points out, much of that damage has been done by the schools themselves, as well as by the welfare system. Both have robbed parents of the responsibility to work and take care of their children. The results now stare us in the face and challenge us to begin the rebuilding.

It is significant to note here that this may scare politicians and school authorities more than any other aspect of the potential demise of government control of education. Empowered citizens is frightening enough to a government; empowered poor people is terrifying. In the eyes of authorities, this is tantamount to letting the most dangerous inmates out of the prison, and they've convinced the rest of us that it's too scary to even entertain.
The end of government control of education is the only chance disadvantaged children have.

Doesn't the Government have a Direct Interest in an Educated Populace?

Yes, the government does have a direct interest in an educated populace — one that is educated just enough and in ways that will perpetuate the goals and existence of the government.

 

William T. Harris, the U.S. Commissioner of Education in the late 1800s, summed up the goal of government schooling like this:

Our schools have been scientifically designed to prevent over-education from happening. The average American [should be] content with their humble role in life...

He was bragging.

 

He was not the only leader of education to express that sentiment. Many others said the same thing. The goal of schools was to create a manageable society, an easily controlled people who would not become dissatisfied with their lot in life and who would obey when their government called on them to do so.

But surely, you might be thinking, that's not how it is today. Haven't we evolved past that? Aren't we more enlightened now? Unfortunately, Horace Mann, John Dewey and their cohorts are still studied and admired in university schools of education.

Many education majors still come away with the sense that they are agents for social change and feel justified in superseding the values and wishes of parents and families. Armed with the power of the state and unaccountable to parents, they do the government's work in shaping young minds to submit, to be good, obedient citizens who trust the government as a benevolent father who wishes nothing more than to care for them.

There are teachers who have not accepted the role of social crusader, of course. They recognize that strong families make for a better society and they honor and encourage that, but all too many have embraced the ideology of Mann and Dewey.

When we turn our children over to government schools, they become truly what the government has claimed for many years — "our" greatest resource. Don't think for a minute that the government means parents or families or even communities when it says "our." It means the government's greatest resource, a resource to meet the needs of a growing and hungry state.

 

The government needs three things to thrive and grow:

1.  Obedient citizens who will not upset the status quo.

2.  Money, which requires citizens who believe the government deserves their money and will utilize it in better ways than they themselves will, or at the very least, citizens who are afraid not to hand their money over.

3.  Power: citizens who will willingly subdue fellow citizens who refuse to submit; citizens who will fight wars; citizens who will turn on one another when ordered or asked to do so but will not turn on the government. Without force, the government is powerless. Unless people are willing to act unquestioningly on behalf of the government to enforce its edicts, the government has no power.

You do not need to believe that public schools were started in order to meet these needs of the government (though a careful study of school history will reveal considerable evidence for the theory), but you should be able to recognize that today's schools fulfill the needs. And it should alarm you.

Our founders worded the U.S. Constitution so that the federal government should have no role in education. It was not within the scope of their endeavor to dictate the same to states, but their efforts at the national level were surely a warning to citizens of the danger of handing over to a ruling body the teaching of its subjects.

Many parents have reached the point of fed-up. The parents who struggle to maintain a presence and influence in their children's lives while they attend government schools often find themselves doing battle with the school and with their children, giving in on things that are important to them when the battle becomes too pitched.

 

Now is an excellent time in history to join the growing movement of freedom in education.

Why Shouldn't the Government be Involved in Education?

The Short Answer:

• Government schooling stands in direct opposition to the liberty this country was founded on.
  
• It fosters unquestioning obedience, acceptance of authority, herd mentality, and dependency.
  
• It manufactures "equality" by lowering standards.
  
• It discourages individuality, innovation, curiosity, creativity and overall excellence.
  
• It undermines families and other relationships.
  
• It undermines religious beliefs, values and morality.
  
• It fosters social, psychological, emotional and intellectual dysfunction and promotes immaturity and perpetual adolescence.
  
• It makes children the victims of political change, special interests, researchers, unions and social reformers.
  
• It undermines the ability of parents to provide their children with the quality and type of education they desire for them.
  

The Long Answer:

Many people, possibly even most people, think or suspect that it's important for the government to control schools for a number of reasons:

• To make sure equal educational opportunity is available to everyone.
  
• To force parents who might otherwise neglect their children's education to send their children to school.
  
• To make education affordable for everyone.
  
• To ensure the preservation of democracy.
  
• To help create a common social fabric where all are respected and accepted.

It is certainly true that many of the founders and promoters of government schooling had these thoughts in mind as they petitioned legislators to pass compulsion laws and to levy taxes to support the new method of education. Horace Mann (often referred to as the father of public education) and others had a dream, and they had no qualms about using force to impose their vision of the future on a largely unsuspecting populace.

What most people don't know is specifically what this new dream entailed. Yes, the reformers wanted all children to be educated — to a point. To the point of being useful as citizens and servants of the government and industry, but not to the point of becoming too independent to control. Here it is in some of their own words.

Our schools have been scientifically designed to prevent over-education from happening. The average American [should be] content with their humble role in life...
- William T. Harris, U.S. Commissioner of Education in the late 1800s


The children who know how to think for themselves spoil the harmony of the collective society which is coming, where everyone would be interdependent.
- John Dewey, philosopher and education reformer of late 1800s-mid 1900s


Every teacher should realize he is a social servant set apart for the maintenance of the proper social order... In this way, the teacher always is the prophet of the true God and the usherer-in of the true Kingdom of God.
- John Dewey, philosopher and education reformer of late 1800s-mid 1900s


Only a system of state-controlled schools can be free to teach whatever the welfare of the State may demand.
- Ellwood P. Cubberley, former superintendent of San Diego schools and Dean of Stanford University School of Education (late 1800s-early 1900s)


'Parent choice' proceeds from the belief that the purpose of education is to provide individual students with an education. In fact, educating the individual is but a means to the true end of education, which is to create a viable social order to which individuals contribute and by which they are sustained.
- Association of California School Administrators


We who are engaged in the sacred cause of education are entitled to look upon all parents as having given hostages to our cause.
- Horace Mann, education reformer, abolitionist

And this is just a small sampling of hundreds of similar sentiments from education founders and reformers. But maybe Horace Mann said it best — he believed his cause was sacred, and for that reason, he felt he had the right to force people to sign on. Not all parents handed their children over willingly, especially in Mr. Mann's home state of Massachusetts, where parents refused to comply with compulsory attendance laws and found themselves at the sharp end of state militia bayonets. Mr. Mann's dream had come true — the state would enforce his plans for the future of all citizens.

But the dream has turned into a nightmare for families and society. Even Mr. Mann might be shocked at the results of his win for compulsory state schooling. When push comes to shove, people, and Americans in particular, don't take to force very well. They don't buy the idea that one man or a small group of men can know what's best for everyone. And they certainly don't believe he has the right to use the police power of the state to force his views on others.

But while people are busy working and living and supporting the state, while they're busy creating a successful economy, legislators and reformers are often busy working against the people. By the time the people realize what's happened, it's too late. The shock of finding themselves at the mercy of the state can take a while to subside, and by then the state has dug in its heels and reversing the encroachment of liberty is not so easy. Because people are so busy with life, they often do not have the time or resources to fight back. That is, until they just can't take anymore.

Thomas Jefferson said it best in the Declaration of independence:

...all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government...

Of course, Thomas Jefferson was specifically referring to the British. But he was also making a broad statement about unjust actions of government. People will put up with it for a long time, but not forever. When it finally reaches the point of being unbearable, people will rise up and take back their liberties. And just as the British fought desperately to keep their control, so will all other forms and levels of government when faced with a loss of power.

In the case of government schooling, the move toward freedom has already begun and is gaining steam. The parents of over eight million students already send their children to private schools or home school them. Many thousands more spend $25-$80 an hour on tutors to supplement or compensate for their children's public school experience.


But the question still remains, why should the government NOT control education? Here is a handful of good reasons to supplement the ones already listed in our "Short Answer" above (some merely elaborate on the points above). You will probably be able to come up with some more of your own.

• The government does not have the right to force one group of people's ideology on others.
  
• History shows that almost all people with power will abuse that power. Exceptions are few. Our children should not be captives to the police power of the state.
  
• Government education undermines the strength of families by implying or even teaching that parents are backward and unenlightened — that teacher knows best, and by monopolizing increasingly larger portions of children's lives.
  
• In its effort to create "equality" and because of its unwieldy bureaucratic nature, government schooling reduces most children to a lowest common denominator, denying kids true opportunities to soar.
  
• It reinforces all the negatives of human nature — selfishness, cruelty, disrespect, unfeeling competitiveness — by disenfranchising families, by keeping children under a tight regimen of being graded and judged, and by its institutional nature that forces children into self-preservation modes that would not exist in real-life, family and community settings.
  
• It teaches children not to trust themselves and to completely trust and be obedient to authorities. Kids are tested, graded, judged, held back, allowed to pass, all based on the decisions of school authorities. Children learn that above all else, they cannot know anything until they are taught or until they are told they are right or wrong.
  
• Because schools cannot teach religion or address the big questions of life (meaning, good and evil, etc.), these things are simply left out of the curriculum, leading children to believe they are not important and that parents who say they are are not to be taken seriously.
  
• Students are routinely taught or led to believe things that the state wishes them to believe and are not taught other points of view. For instance, students are taught that paying more in taxes is good and that people who object to supporting schools or the needy through taxation are greedy and uncaring, contrary to the teachings of our country's founders. They are taught that it is important for people to trust the government, and while the government should certainly work for that trust, that doesn't relieve people of the duty to trust, even when the government falls short.
  
• Students are NOT taught what may be the most important lesson the founding fathers tried to impress upon posterity: no one, no one with the police power of the state to back them up can be trusted. Government may be a necessary evil, but no government is to be trusted. Government must be watched and kept under control at all times, with "eternal vigilance." Power corrupts. Authority will be abused. As if to make their point, some of the founders went on to abuse their own authority.
  
• Schools backed by the power of the state have no need to answer to parents, nor do they have any intention of doing so. They may make small (and usually temporary) concessions to community mores, but they know that in the end, they can do as they wish, regardless of the desires of parents or community.
  
• Government run schools become tools for special interest groups who wish to target children with their message. Parents would be shocked to know that schools allow many special interest groups access to their children in a variety of ways, ranging from allowing psychologists to conduct studies on kids to allowing groups to do special programs in schools to allowing teachers to use materials from these groups in the classroom. Parents have virtually no say in these matters.
  
• Schools make superficial changes from time to time — more tests, different curricula, a new grading system, but nothing changes about the most important aspects of government schooling: it is coercive; it serves the ends of the government and those who find ways to use the government; it undermines the family and morality and liberty; it robs the vulnerable young of their independence of spirit and thought, replacing it with trust in government and fear of retribution for disobeying that government.

There is one more reason that needs to be explored — the famous (or infamous) problem of government endorsement of a religion.

Consider these things:

• Government schools cannot present lessons within the context of any religion's worldview, because they would certainly violate the principle that the state has no right to endorse one religion over another.
  
• Teaching "just the facts" about religion in history is impossible. Everyone interprets even the facts differently. For instance, people might quote Thomas Jefferson's endorsements of religion in the public sphere, but Jefferson was a deist. Did he speak from that context? How did he see religion as part of public life?
  
• To teach just the facts means to remove anything open to controversy, which can't be done outside dates, times, places, and facts that are meaningless without deeper discussion.
  
• For Christians, Jews, Muslims and many other people of faith, a view of the world that does not take into account the dictates of their religion is a skewed view. How might the Crusades be meaningfully studied without understanding the entire history and meaning of Christianity, Catholicism, Islam? How might the Holocaust or the establishment of the state of Israel be meaningfully studied without understanding Judaism?
  
• To be sure, history can be studied without meaning — dates, times, places, names of people and events. But there is no purpose in knowing facts without understanding why. To try to explain why without exploring the beliefs people base their lives on is not only a futile exercise, but it actually creates a sort of new religion — a sterile religion of the state, void of insight, void of meaning, designed to replace all competing worldviews.
  
• Don't blame the government. It has no choice but to teach within meaningless contexts. Whose meaning should it endorse? When a student wishes to understand why an American founder felt that liberty would not be secure except in a moral society, what can the teacher say that will not provoke protests of misinterpretation about the meaning of "moral"? So the fact is left out altogether, and history is taught without any moral context except whatever the state decides is right and wrong. Why the state decides that one thing is right and another wrong is not open for discussion. Students learn that a certain level of morality, of right and wrong, does exist, but they are led to believe it exists as a creation of the state.

So, what lessons do public school students learn about religion? They learn the following, more often because of omission rather than any lessons they are taught in the classroom.

• Religion holds no real historical significance.
  
• Religion is of no current significance. They can receive a complete education with barely a mention of religion. Religion need not inform their worldview.
  
• Religion can and should be separated from the rest of life, delegated to the weekend status of a hobby.
  
• If there is a conflict between faith and the state, the state's desires should take precedence.

Non-religious students learn all of the above, though some of it does not apply directly to them. In addition, they learn that:

• Religion (and thus religious people) is not to be taken seriously and might even be dangerous to democracy(!).
  
• Among the many differences we should respect in others, religion (or whichever religions are in current disfavor) is not one of them.

Religious students spend most of their weekdays, nine or ten months out of the year, seeing their beliefs marginalized or dismissed altogether. Non-religious students may avoid this pitfall, but they are encouraged to consider religion a trivial pursuit, rather than to engage in serious and respectful discussion about the one thing that has affected human history more than any other factor.

The only solution for parents who wish their children to grow up with a strong worldview that reflects their beliefs is to choose a form of schooling that is compatible with their faith. It is in private schools and home schools that all faiths can be discussed openly and freely, that the impact of religion on history and the meaning of life can be freely learned and debated.

Whether you are of a religious persuasion or not, the big questions of life -- questions about meaning and purpose, questions about the role of religion in history -- will be important to you, and you will want those questions addressed in such a way that your children will absorb your values and beliefs. It is one more reason, on top of many others, to choose independence from state schools.

How Did Government Get So Involved in Education?

It wasn't always this way.

The United States was founded, formed and grew to international prominence and prestige without compulsory schooling and with virtually no government involvement in schooling. Before the advent of government-controlled schools, literacy was high (91-97% in the North, 81% in the South), private and community schools proliferated, and people cared about education and acted on their desire to learn and have their children learn.

Mr. Matthew J. Brouillette, President of the Commonwealth Foundation in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and former Director of Education Policy for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, wrote:

From the outset of the first settlements in the New World, Americans founded and successfully maintained a de-centralized network of schools up through the 1850s...

  

For the first 150 years of America's settlement and the first 50 to 75 years of the nation's existence, government schooling as it is known today did not exist.

Today, few people ask how Americans, without the help of government education, came to tame an unsettled continent and eventually establish the freest nation in history.

Mr. Brouillette goes on to say:

Early America was arguably the freest civil society that has ever existed. This freedom extended to education, which meant that parents were responsible for, and had complete control of, their children's schooling. There were no accrediting agencies, no regulatory boards, and no teacher certification requirements. Parents could choose whatever kind of school or education they wanted for their children, and no one was forced to pay for education they did not use or approve of.

 

Americans were as innovative about education as they were about everything else.  They started private schools, hired tutors, taught their children at home, taught themselves. As the country grew, private schooling of many varieties grew and complemented the many other options.

But there were always the reformers, the people who thought they knew better than everyone else and felt they had the right to force their views on others — by law, if no one would cooperate otherwise.

From the PBS web site:

Public education today is a product of more than a century of reform and revision [mid 1800s to present]. In each era, visionary individuals have taken the lead and transformed the system to meet their ideals.

 

"Visionary individuals" is an overly nice term for people who consider themselves superior enough that they should have the right to force "their ideals" on all others.

One of these visionaries was Horace Mann, a lawyer from Massachusetts. He's often referred to as the father of public education because he was such a fervent reformer, but there were others before and after him.

Mr. Mann's hometown of Boston was a city of many private schools in the early and mid 1800s — with attendance reported at 96% by a committee commissioned to study the issue.

But high attendance was not the goal of school reformers.  Horace Mann helped establish a board of education in 1837, and by 1852, he had his compulsory schools and state schools from elementary through high school.

Power is tempting and many reformers and politicians fell to its lure.  One state after another tightened its grip on American education. Parents who refused to comply sometimes found themselves at the sharp end of state militia bayonets.

Once the state grabs power in a particular area, it is only natural that unless people fight back the power will grow and freedom will slowly die. That's where we stand today.

Albert Shanker, former president of the American Federation of Teachers, said this:

It's time to admit that public education operates like a planned economy, a bureaucratic system in which everybody's role is spelled out in advance and there are few incentives for innovation and productivity. It's no surprise that our school system doesn't improve: it more resembles the communist economy than our own market economy.

 

But Americans have not surrendered their freedom altogether.  27,000 private schools serve over six million students in America. Nearly two million students are home schooled. Tutoring services and learning centers number in the thousands. Community groups, churches and charities offer free tutoring. Parents pool their resources to run summer schools and special classes for their children.

Much more could be done if parents and students were not trapped in the web of government schooling. As it is, many parents are actually afraid to step into independence. Some are afraid because schools threaten or intimidate them. Some are afraid of the financial responsibility. Many simply are unaware of all the opportunities and possibilities available.

It is our goal to not only explain why government involvement in schooling is detrimental to students, families, society and liberty, but to provide families with ideas and resources to aid their path to independence.

SOURCE: http://www.schoolandstate.org/home.htm 
Alliance for the Separation of School & State

THRIVE - Education Solutions Strategies

Instead we want to develop strategies that break down the state monopoly on education and empower all people to choose where and how they want to be educated.

These education solutions have to take place alongside solutions in other sectors. They are all interconnected. For example:

• while there is still public education, we’ll need to decrease the military budget and get rid of interest on the Federal Reserve debt and redirect those funds to finance the transition away from state schooling. 
• Education taxes would also decrease and eventually be eliminated, which would free up funds for families to pay for their own schooling.

The basic strategy we’ve come up for the education sector involves:

Stage 1: Reform Existing Systems – Transition out of the state-school model and encourage alternative schools to emerge by loosening government regulations and allowing people to attend the schools they choose.

Stage 2: Limit Government Control – Make the transition to education without government intervention.

Stage 3: Set up Systems for Voluntary Cooperation – Keep the government out of education and allow people to choose the education they desire.

Stage 1: Reform
Redirect a Portion of the Military Budget into Education
A small portion of the military budget could be redirected into education. A recent poll showed that American taxpayers want more money to go toward education and less toward the military. These funds could go to (1) help state schools get the resources they need to make it through this transition period, (2) a new government scholarship program to finance education of the poor, and (3) develop new models of education and funding solutions for non compulsory education.

Set Up A Scholarship Fund For Those Who Need It
There will be fewer and fewer people who need assistance as taxes are lowered, but there will inevitably be some people in need of financial support as the state school system is overhauled. A state scholarship program could provide temporary relief in this first stage until the private sector is able to take on the responsibility. Funding could come from redirected military funds and elimination of interest on the Federal Reserve debt.

Setting up this state scholarship fund will not be easy. We can learn from existing, though imperfect, assistance programs such as school voucher systems to learn how government funds are set-up, how people receive the funding, and how to determine who qualifies.

Some existing programs to learn from include:

Milwaukee Parental Choice Program – This is the nation’s oldest voucher program for low-income families. Parents receive up to $6,500 to enroll their children in private school. The program has grown significantly from 337 students attending seven schools in 1990 to 18,550 students attending 122 schools in 2008. Studies show that these students have a higher graduation rate than those in public schools and that parents are satisfied with the program.

School Choice Info – There are a variety of school choice programs in Cleveland, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Milwaukee, Vermont, and Washington D.C. that are described on this site. It gives information on legislative history, fiscal impact, research, enrollment, demographics, and more.

Gradually Lower and Eventually Eliminate Education Taxes
Because our goal is to move away from state schooling, the taxes that currently go toward funding schools would no longer be necessary as more private schools emerge and the scholarship program grows. 90% of K-12 education funding comes from state and local sources, [1] so eliminating these taxes would require a variety of strategies.

Allow and Encourage Diverse Education Programs to Emerge
At this stage, the market would be open for alternative schools and programs to emerge and expand. Families who are unsatisfied with state schools could have their children receive any type of education they desire and stop paying taxes toward the current state schooling system.  Those who are unable to afford private schools could receive funding through a scholarship program.  Here are a few successful models that new schools could potentially learn from.

Peninsula School in Menlo Park, CA – A private, progressive school that offers a non-competitive, non-authoritarian learning environment.


Sudbury Valley School – An independent school ranging from pre-school to high school based out of Framingham, MA, that allows students to choose what they want to do every day. It is based on the belief that everyone has a natural curiosity to learn and that student’s will get the most out of their education by initiating their own activities and getting the support they need to do it.  They have a compelling structure in which each student and teacher has one vote to make decisions about rules, staff, facilities, etc.

Charter Schools
Charter schools are publicly funded schools that are privately run.  They are exempt from state rules and regulations, but must meet “accountability standards” that typically require the school to show increased student performance (usually based on state tests). While charter schools have received a good amount of criticism, they do provide some valuable insight. Part of their success is due to the fact that they are run like a business, not a government institution. This transfers to policies and systems that demand accountability. There often are more efficient use of resources, higher teacher salaries, higher teacher performance standards, and a benchmark system to evaluate the school’s overall performance. Some of these systems may help inform private schools as they begin to form.

The “Unschooling” Model
Another approach to education is to ditch the idea of schooling altogether and to support each child’s natural interest to learn. “Unschooling” is a growing subset of the homeschooling movement that is not based on any particular curriculum and does not follow any set structure. The underlying belief is that children are naturally curious and that they will learn as long as they are supported in pursuing their passions. It has been catching on in recent years, with some estimating that the unschooling population is growing by 10-15% every year.[2]

Advance Education to Include More Whole-Systems Thinking and Analysis of Current World Issues
We are living in momentous, challenging, and exciting times, yet very few classes focus on the current state of affairs. Students would benefit and become more engaged if their education reflected real world situations rather than abstract ideas and notions. You can get college credits through Gaia University and Wisdom University to study various subjects on the Thrive website and propose solutions to many of the problems we currently face.

Stage 2: Limit Government Control
Transition State Scholarship Program to a Private, Charitable Fund
With billions of dollars of taxpayer money returned to the people in Stage 2, more and more funds would be available for charitable contributions.  Caring for others would no longer be handled (inadequately) by the state, but the responsibility of citizens. Given the current state of the world, it’s clear that the state, while officially responsible, actually fails in its role.

State schools would no longer exist and people would be free to pursue the type of education they desire. The state scholarship program would be phased out and privately run scholarship programs would kick in.  For a breakdown of the numbers and how this could work, see Chris Cardiff’s  article, What About the Poor?.
 

Stage 3: Voluntary Cooperation
Get and Keep Government Out of the Educational Process
The key in this stage is to keep government out of schools. There are already 8 million children in the U.S. who learn free of state control, so educational independence has already begun. In this stage, the possibilities are endless….Have fun! Learn and teach what you want! There could be schools focused on solving global crises, sustainability programs, teaching co-ops, internship programs, whole-systems curriculum, crafts, trades, arts, sciences, technology, homeschooling, “unschooling”, etc.

The early colonies actually serve as a model for a functioning education system that honors individual choice. Women, immigrants, African Americans and Native Americans were not honored within this system, but applied today, we could create equal rights for everyone.

Not withstanding the genocide upon which the colonies were established, former Director of Education Policy for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Matthew J. Brouillette, says “Early America was arguably the freest civil society that has ever existed. This freedom extended to education, which meant that parents were responsible for, and had complete control of, their children's schooling. There were no accrediting agencies, no regulatory boards, and no teacher certification requirements. Parents could choose whatever kind of school or education they wanted for their children, and no one was forced to pay for education they did not use or approve of.” 

We can learn from this model. To read more about it, check out Brouillette’s article here.

---

[1] National Education Association, Diversity Toolkit: Class and Income: http://www.nea.org/tools/18836.htm.
[2] Victoria Clayton. A New Chapter in Education: Unschooling. October 6, 2006. MSNBC article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15029646.

Day One: Mamalahoe

(Splintered Paddle)
Compassion

Respect alike (the rights of) the great and humble.

If you forget to have compassion for the weaknesses, faults, and failures of others, then you risk becoming shortsighted, unfair, emotionally cold, or dead inside.

Empathize with the suffering of others without getting entangled in their problems.

Compassion or self and others allows you to learn from experience and continue on your journey with you self-esteem safely at helm.

We Are Homeschooling!!!!

I did it!  I submitted a letter of intent to Waialua and Sunset Elementary today... we are homeschooling as of Monday September 10, 2012.  Thank you Heavenly Father, Divine Mother, Grandma Paulo, all saints, sages, gurus....I humbly bow to you....I love you.  Thank you.

How To Operate A Thriving Homeschool Co-op

You’ll need 3 things to start a learning co-op of any kind: students, volunteers, and a meeting place. When you’re trying to start up a homeschool co-op, send out an email on your homschool email list. If you don’t have an email list, search for one on yahoo groups for your area. Hold a meeting for everyone interested and share ideas so everyone is on the same page.

Once you have some interest, look into finding a meeting location. 

Decide how often and at what time your group will meet. I think once a week works best. Mornings are always better than afternoons. Some groups meet all day, but I don’t think that works well in a Catholic co-op, reason being that everyone always seems to have lots of little siblings that need naps. You just can’t keep toddlers out all day. Our co-op met from 9:30 to 11:30, and it worked really well.

Once you have your basics covered, you’ll want to organize your co-op in a way that will keep it successful long term. Why do co-ops fail? The answer is sometimes disorganization, but an even more common cause of failure is burn-out. 

Ok, here are some tip for running a thriving homeschool co-op! 

Everyone involved needs to volunteer in some way. In a traditional co-op, no one is being paid for their time. Most of the work will fall on the shoulders of the organizers and teachers, but every parent involved should be expected to help in some way. A co-op really should be a team effort! Obviously you’ll need teachers, substitute teachers, and classroom assistants. Other parents can volunteer to help send out email reminders, plan special events like Christmas parties, run the nursery, go shopping for supplies, bring snacks, etc. Find jobs for everyone. This is important. If all the work is falling on the shoulders of the same people, the co-op will not be successful long term.

Appreciate your teachers! Besides everyone having a job and a job for everyone, be sure to show appreciation for your co-op teachers. It’s a lot of work! You can send emails telling them what a great job they’re doing, bring “teacher gifts” for Christmas, and collect money from all the parents for a small end-of-the-year gift. Nobody wants their work to go unnoticed.

Having a nursery is a necessity. Don’t even think about organizing a co-op for homeschoolers without a nursery. Seriously. It is not ok to ask the teachers to keep their littles with them, and it’s not ok to expect them to hire babysitters. The nursery should be parent led. You’ll need one organizer, and many volunteers. Small babies can stay with their mothers in the classroom in slings or strollers, but anyone who’s old enough to want to get down and be a disruption should be in the nursery or a preschool class. As long as we’re on the topic of little kids, having a baby or being pregnant is not an excuse to not volunteer with the co-op.  

Offer multiple grade levels. It’s quite convenient to show up at one time and have all the kids get what they need at once. Every co-op can’t offer all grades (in fact, I’ve been a part of 2 co-ops that were for preschoolers only), but offering multiple grades is a big plus. That being said, you should decide on a required age level for joining. For example, if you run a co-op that goes preschool through highschool, I would recommend having the preschool available for younger siblings only (meaning you can’t join with only preschoolers. You’ll just overflow and it won’t work long-term.)
Control class size. I would suggest a class size of no more than 8-10 children per “class”. If you have more than this, consider making more classes. You’ll have to wait and see who signs up before you can split the kids into classes. Of course you’ll be splitting by age, but another factor you might consider is splitting by abilities (such as splitting the readers and non-readers rather than going strictly by age alone.)
Collect dues. Don’t rely solely on parents bringing in supplies, etc. You should set a monthly fee per child or family to participate. Our pre-school co-op charged $15/month per family. Decide on something fair. You’ll need to cover supplies, snacks, location expenses, etc.
Collect an up-front joining fee. This is not the first month’s dues, this is a start up fee. It will help with buying supplies for the year, and will also help with commitment to the group. You don’t want parents flaking out on you.
Draw up some papers. Another way you can help with commitment to the group is to draw up some simple co-op papers. Decide on a sick policy, a dress code, and a basic attendance policy. Find out if the kids have allergies etc. Putting this stuff on paper among a group of friends might feel silly, but I promise if you don’t there will always be “that mom” who is showing up late saying “Sorry I’m late- my 2 year old was throwing up on the way out the door. I don’t know what got into her.” Sick policies are important.
Shut down for the holidays. Don’t try and schedule classes too close to Christmas, etc. It’s just too much. I would actually recommend shutting down for most of December and January. I have found that class gets cancelled so much during this time (due to sickness and travel) that it’s hardly worth trying to meet at all.
Co-op classes are not mommy socialization time. It’s not ok for the classroom assisatants to stand in the back of the room visiting during class. I find that very often, moms get involved with co-ops as a way to meet other homeshcoolers and socialize. It can be a great idea to have a meeting location after co-op is over (like a near by park) that everyone can bring a picnic lunch to. This will cut down on the need to chit-chat during class.
Give homeschoolers a good name! If you’re collecting dues, you should be able to make a donation to your venue at the end of the year as a “thank you”. This shows you appreciate their generosity with the building and makes it more likely that they’ll let you return next year. Be sure to always leave the place nicer than you found it. If there are other people in the building (like parish staff) while you meet, don’t let class changes be chaos! Give homeschoolers a good name. Teach them to walk in lines and be quiet in the hallways. We want to show the world that homeschoolers and well behaved and polite!
Start and end on time. It’s not ok to always start late and run over. This causes standing around at the beginning, and overloaded kids at the end. For our group, dismissal time was chaos. As a result, we made a rule that once you had your kid an their papers, you were expected to leave immediately. For those who still want to visit, they should arrange another time for socialization.
Remember that you can’t please everyone. Don’t kill yourself trying.

General information about the Whole Child, Healthy Planet Curriculum Guides

With a learning styles-centered approach, and concentration in diversity and developmental stages, our elementary program focuses on engaging the whole child. The curriculum combines a student-centered approach (creative, flexible, holistic, and experiential, with a learning styles focus) with an emphasis on peace, justice, diversity, and sustainability.

The curriculum guides are centered on the four core principles of the Earth Charter:

(1) Respect and Care for the Community of Life
(2) Ecological Integrity
(3) Social and Economic Justice
(4) Democracy, Nonviolence, Peace and Diversity

Our K-8 curriculum guides cover all of the core academic subjects in a way that engages students through a sense of enchantment, awe, and wonder as well as through incorporation of art, music, nature, imagination, and story.


“Living Books”

While most standard curriculum is shaped by a textbook and a workbook, the Global Village Whole Child, Healthy Planet Curriculum guides are built around the inspiration found in many types of literature. Sometimes we do suggest a text or a workbook, but more often we look for books that will foster the same learning in a more creative, beautiful and fulfilling way. In many ways our choice of books resembles the idea of “living books” that early home educator Charlotte Mason proposes. Some of the qualities of living books are:

(1) Literature created by a person with an obvious special interest in his/her subject.
(2) A personal, human, emotional quality to what is presented.
(3) Books that are inspiring and attractive to the student’s spirit as well as intellect.
(4) Books that promote a sense of wonder and appreciation.

A few of the authors whose work is featured or recommended in our K8 curriculum include Craig and Marc Kielburger, Alice Walker, Howard Zinn, Sherman Alexie, Julia Butterfly Hill, Deborah Ellis, Barbara Lewis, Beatrix Potter, Roald Dahl, Rudyard Kipling, Scott O’Dell, Shel Silverstein, and Madeleine L’Engle.

A sampling of the books in our K8 curriculum includesKids’ Guide to Service Projects, Everyday Life in the Ancient World, Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak, and A Child’s Introduction to the Night Sky, as well as novels, nature journals, and much more.

1st Grade Curriculum

Language Arts - Early reading skills, poetry, stories.  

Math - Basic math skills taught in creative and engaging ways, math games, counting poems.  

Science - A story and activity-based introduction to biomes, ecosystems, botany (flowers, planting seeds), animals, and more.  

Social Studies/Diversity - Introductory geography, uniqueness of people and cultures, friendship, children around the world.  

Peace Studies -The word “peace” around the world.  

Art - Child as artist, pencils, watercolors, introduction to great works of art. 

5th Grade Curriculum

Social Studies - Emphasis on US history, with a focus on kids’ experiences during different periods such as the Civil Rights Movement, slavery, labor strikes, Native American contributions, and inspirational figures such as Eleanor Roosevelt and Rosa Parks. Also includes cultural geography, in which students learn about the lives of children around the world.  

Language Arts/Literature - Historical novels, beautifully illustrated books, poetry; writing skills, grammar, vocabulary, and spelling.  

Science/Eco-Integrity - Emphasis on environmental science (biomes, wildlife, environmental issues, climate change, ways kids can make a difference), also fun experiments such as creating invisible ink and making a fog chamber. 

Math - Comprehensive full year’s math curriculum, with an emphasis on mastery and problem solving; includes manipulatives. Online assessments make it easy for parents to choose the most appropriate level for their child. Also includes films, music, art, health, nature activities, service learning and character development. 

Hawaii DOE: Chapter 12, Compulsory Attendance Exceptions Part2

§8-12-13  Notification of intent to home school. (a) The parent shall provide the local public school principal with a notice of intent to home educate the child before initiating home schooling.  The purpose of notification is to allow the department, upon request of the parent, to assist in the educational efforts.  The notice of intent may be submitted on a department developed form (Form 4140) or in a letter containing the following items:
(1) Name, address, and telephone number of the child;
(2) Birthdate and grade level of the child; and
(3) Signature of the parent.

(b) The notice of intent shall be acknowledged by the principal and the district superintendent.  The notice of intent is for record keeping purposes and to protect families from unfounded accusations of educational neglect or truancy.

(c) If a child's annual progress report has been submitted as stated in §8-12-18(b), notification of intent to home school need not be resubmitted annually, except in cases where the child is transferring from one local public school to another, for example, transition from sixth grade to an intermediate school.  Then the parents shall notify the principal of the child's new local public school.

(d) The parent(s) submitting a notice to home school a child shall be responsible for the child's total educational program including athletics and other co-curricular activities. [Eff. 11/7/91; am and comp 5/13/00] (Auth: HRS §§302A-1112, 302A-1132) (Imp: HRS §302A-1132)

§8-12-14  Required statutory services.  All educational and related services statutorily mandated shall be made available at the home public school site to home-schooled children who have been evaluated and certified as needing educational and related services and who request the services. [Eff. 11/7/91; comp 5/13/00] (Auth: HRS §§302A-1112, 302A-1132) (Imp: HRS §302A-1132)

§8-12-15  Record of curriculum.  The parent submitting a notice of intent to home school shall keep a record of the planned curriculum for the child.  The curriculum shall be structured and based on educational objectives as well as the needs of the child, be cumulative and sequential, provide a range of up-to-date knowledge and needed skills, and take into account the interests, needs and abilities of the child. 

 The record of the planned curriculum should include the following:

(1) The commencement date and ending date of the program;
(2) A record of the number of hours per week the child spends in instruction;
(3) The subject areas to be covered in the planned curriculum:
(A) An elementary school curriculum may include the areas of language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, art, music, health and physical education to be offered at the appropriate development stage of the child; 

B) A secondary school curriculum may include the subject areas of social studies, English, mathematics, science, health, physical education and guidance.
 

(4) The method used to determine mastery of materials and subjects in the curriculum; and 

(5) A list of textbooks or other instructional materials which will be used.  The list shall be in standard bibliographical format. For books, the author, title, publisher and date of publication shall be indicated.  For magazines, the author, article title, magazine, date, volume number and pages shall be indicated.  

§8-12-16  Notification of termination of home schooling.  The parent shall notify the principal if home schooling is terminated.  A child shall be re-enrolled in the local public school or licensed private school unless a new alternative educational program is presented within five school days after the termination of home schooling.   

§8-12-17  Educational neglect.  If there is reasonable cause for the principal to believe that there is educational neglect, the department in compliance with §302A-1132, Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall intervene and take appropriate action in accordance with established departmental procedures. Reasonable cause for educational neglect shall not be based on the refusal of parents to comply with any requests which exceed the requirements of this chapter. [Eff. 11/7/91; am and comp 5/13/00] (Auth: HRS §§302A-1112, 302A-1132) (Imp: HRS §302A-1132) 

§8-12-18  Testing and progress reports of home-schooled children.   
(a) Test scores shall be required for grades identified in the Statewide Testing Program, grades three, five, eight, and ten.  A child is eligible to participate in the Statewide Testing Program at the local public school.  The parent is responsible for securing necessary details from the principal of the local public school. The parent may elect to arrange for private testing at the parent's own expense. The tests used shall be comparable to the appropriate criterion or norm-referenced tests used by the department in the grades concerned. The parent may request and the principal may approve other means of evaluation to meet the Statewide Testing Program requirements. 

(b) The parent shall submit to the principal an annual report of a child's progress.  One of the following methods shall be used to demonstrate satisfactory progress:

(1) A score on a nationally-normed standardized achievement test which demonstrates grade level achievement appropriate to a child's age;
(2) Progress on a nationally-normed standardized achievement test that is equivalent to one grade level per calendar year, even if the overall achievement falls short of grade level standards; http://www.familylearning.org/  & http://www.baysideschoolservices.com/

(3) A written evaluation by a person certified to teach in the State of Hawaii that a child demonstrates appropriate grade level achievement or significant annual advancement commensurate with a child's abilities; or
 
(4) A written evaluation by the parent which shall include:
(A) A description of the child's progress in each subject area included in the child's curriculum 
(B) Representative samples of the child's work; and
(C) Representative tests and assignments including grades for courses if grades are given.
(c) When tests are administered under the Statewide Testing Program for grades three, five, eight, and ten, the parent may choose to have the child participate in the school's testing program and have the results serve as a means of assessing annual progress for that year.
(d) The principal shall review the adequacy of a child's progress. If progress is not adequate, the principal shall meet with the parent to discuss the problems and help establish a plan for improvement.  In this case, the principal may request and the parents shall share their record of the child's planned curriculum. When standardized test scores are used,

adequate progress shall be considered to be score/stanines in the upper two thirds of the score/stanines. 
• There are nine stanines, 1 though 9. Higher scores mean higher stanine numbers.
• The 4th stanine called for in the legislation is approximately the 24th percentile. This means that if the composite score on a standardized test such as the CAT is at the 24th percentile or better, the score is in the 4th stanine or better. 
Here is a table for converting stanines to percentiles:
Stanine Percentile range
1       1 - 4
2       5 - 11
3       12 - 23
4       24 - 40
5       41 - 59
6       60 – 76
7       77 - 88
8       89 - 95
9       96 – 99

So, what does this mean for homeschoolers? Many school districts
use the 4th stanine as an indication of “adequate” progress. Note that that statute refers to a composite score, not every score. Thus, if your child scores in the 3rd stanine on one part of a particular
test and the 7th on another part, all hope is not lost. What really matters is the composite score. As long as the composite score is in the 4th stanine or higher (i.e., 24th percentile or higher), it should convince the school district that the progress is adequate. 

Unless progress is inadequate for two consecutive semesters, based on a child's scores on a norm-referenced test for that grade level or the written evaluation by a person certified to teach in the State of Hawaii, recommendations to enroll the child in a public or private school or to take legal action for educational neglect shall be prohibited. No recommendations shall be made for a child before the third grade. [Eff. 11/7/91; am and comp 5/13/00]            (Auth: HRS §§302A-1112, 302A-1132) (Imp: HRS §302A-1132)

§8-12-19  Instructional personnel of home-schooled children.  A parent teaching the parent's child at home shall be deemed a qualified instructor. [Eff. 11/7/91; comp 5/13/00] (Auth: HRS §§302A-1112, 302A-1132) (Imp: HRS §302A-1132)  Once upon a time, the parent had to be a college grad to homeschool. Research has proven that parents without degrees get excellent results, too, and now any parent is recognized as able to homeschool.

§8-12-20  Credits.  No course credits (Carnegie units) are granted for time spent being home-schooled. [Eff. 11/7/91; comp 5/13/00] (Auth: HRS §§302A-1112, 302A-1132) (Imp: HRS §302A-1132)

§8-12-21  High school diploma for home-schooled children.  (a) A home-schooled child who wants to earn a high school diploma from the local public high school shall attend high school for a minimum of three full years and meet the credit requirements for graduation.

Satisfactory performance on the Hawaii State Test of Essential Competencies (HSTEC) is also required.

(b) A home-schooled child who wants to earn a high school diploma from the community school for adults shall meet the following requirements:
(1) Be at least sixteen years of age, except in the case of emancipated minors;
(2) Have been home-schooled for at least one semester under Hawaii's home-schooling procedures; and
(3) Take and achieve a satisfactory score on the General Educational Development (GED) test.
The diploma shall be awarded by the community school for adults. [Eff. 11/7/91; am and comp 5/13/00] (Auth: HRS §§302A-1112, 302A-1132) (Imp: HRS §302A-1132)§8-12-22

§8-12-22  College entrance examination and home-schooled children.  A child who is being home schooled may participate in any college entrance examination which is made available to all other students.  The principal of the local public high school shall, upon request, supply written acknowledgement that a child has been home schooled in compliance with the requirements of this chapter.” [Eff. 11/7/91; comp 5/13/00]        (Auth: HRS §§302A-1112, 302A-1132) (Imp: HRS §302A-1132)

Hawaii DOE: Chapter 12, Compulsory Attendance Exceptions Part1

§8-12-1  Purpose.  The department has a legitimate interest in and the responsibility for the appropriate education of all school age children in the State of Hawaii. It is the purpose of this chapter to implement the compulsory attendance exceptions of §302A-1132, Hawaii Revised Statutes. Implementing the compulsory attendance law is not intended to violate the rights and convictions of parents to home school or otherwise except their child from compulsory attendance. Finally, home schooling is not considered a school initiated educational alternative and is not to be used by a school as a means for releasing students with behavior or disciplinary problems or students lacking credits to graduate from the local public school. [Eff. 11/7/91; am and comp 5/13/00] (Auth: HRS §§302A-1112, 302A-1132) (Imp: HRS §302A-1132)

§8-12-2  Definitions.  As used in this chapter:
"Alternative educational program" means an educational program, in a non-school setting other than home schooling, which addresses the standards identified in the Hawaii Content and Performance Standards.
"Department" means the department of education.
"Employment" means suitable, lawful full-time employment of a minimum of forty hours per week.
"Home schooling" means a viable educational option where a parent instructs the parent's own child.
"Local public school" means the school the child would be enrolled in if the child was not excepted from compulsory school attendance.
"Parent" means the natural or legal parent, guardian or other legal custodian of child.
"School age child" means a child who will have arrived at the age of at least six years, and who will not have arrived at the age of eighteen years on or before December 31 of any school year.
"Tutoring" means an alternative educational program where an individual other than the parent instructs a child. [Eff. 11/7/91; am and comp 5/13/00] (Auth: HRS §§302A-1112, 302A-1132) (Imp: HRS §302A-1132)§8-12-5

§8-12-3  Applicability.  The provisions of this chapter apply to all school age children residing in the State of Hawaii. [Eff. 11/7/91; comp 5/13/00] (Auth: HRS §302A-1112) (Imp: HRS §§302A-1112, 302A-1132)§8-12-8

§8-12-4  Conditions for exceptions.  School age children may be excepted from compulsory school attendance in the following cases:

(1) Where a child is physically or mentally unable to attend school, except for deafness and blindness, of which fact the certificate of a duly licensed physician shall be sufficient evidence;
(2) Where any child who has reached the fifteenth anniversary of birth is suitably and lawfully employed;
(3) Where a family court judge has approved withdrawal from school;
(4) Where the superintendent of education or designee has approved an appropriate, alternative educational program, other than home schooling; and
(5) Where the parent of a school age child has provided notification of intent to homeschool the child. [Eff. 11/7/91; comp 5/13/00] (Auth: HRS §§302A-1112, 302A-1132) (Imp: HRS §302A-1132)