Quite true. There was also an AP story which specifically stated that they had not filed any paperwork in years.
More regulation would only burden officials with keeping up with innocent people so it would be even less likely to catch cases like these.
"There was also an AP story which specifically stated that they had not filed any paperwork in years. "
I live in WA. I have not filed any paperwork in, um, let's see -- oh, yes, here it is: Ever.
It drives me nuts when homeschoolers use non-compliance to disown abusers as "oh, well, clearly not really one of us, then! (Whew!)."
Here's how your "logic" plays out in the mind of Joe the Voter: If NOT filing paperwork means they aren't homeschoolers (and so nothing definitive can be illustrated about "homeschooling" by pointing to them), then FILING paperwork means they ARE homeschoolers (and so something definitive can be illustrated about "homeschooling" by pointing to them).
And do we really want this to be "not a homeschooling issue" based on the fact that these people didn't register their kids with the State, and, so, therefore, were practicing unregulated homeschooling???
I have been fan, at times, of both Natalie and Dana, but I think this approach is every bit as misguided as using test scores as evidence that homeschooling "works." Both are great ways to go if you want to lend support to notions of more testing and greater regulation.
"More regulation would only burden officials with keeping up with innocent people so it would be even less likely to catch cases like these."
Again, this legitimizes from the inside the view that compliant=innocent and noncompliant=suspect.
And it's not necessarily correct, either; more regulation doesn't burden officials with any more work than they want to take on. Currently, in WA, the authorities burden themselves next to not-at-all with following up on compliance. There is no reason to think that they would feel the need to stretch themselves any further with increased requirements on homeschoolers. Um, unless somebody provokes them by correlating unregistered children with abuse.
Greater regulation does, definitely, though, burden compliant homeschoolers. And even worse than that, it stockpiles ammunition in the arsenal of the state. In the event a non-compliant parent runs afoul (for whatever reason whatsoever, and if you live in a small town or are a racial or sexual minority or are involved in an acrimonious divorce then you just might know what I mean) of somebody in a position to make his or her life miserable, then, well, that "regulation" comes in pretty darned handy. And drawing lines about who is and isn't "homeschooling" feeds into that.
You are right on when you say "Lay the blame where it belongs: neglectful parents and a system that is known for its tragic failures. Leave homeschooling out of it." So, let's leave homeschooling out of it!
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