Alberta Home Education Association

Dear School Parents,
Somehow school has become complicated. It has become polluted by politics.
Education is about equipping our children with tools to learn and live their lives.
There are still ways for this to happen...

You have options and help. And yes, you also still have parental rights.  Let us point you to two things that you may find helpful.

1. You can decide to explore options outside of 'the system.' You have choices and can personally accept the responsibility that you have entrusted to the system. You and your home are the most consistent factors that your children have in their lives. "Parental involvement is the key to your child's success" is a phrase that echoes throughout the education system. Home education is relationship based learning that creates an environment for life-long learners - parents and children both!

If you wish to consider home education, we'd like to offer you this free booklet - the ABCs of Home Education. Here you will learn about the legality and framework of how home education works. Take some time to explore all the information under our Home Education Info tab. We are here to help you!

2. You can invest in learning more about the state of your parental rights. Join AHEA's Learn and Live Series for 2022 - Parental Rights In Perspective. There are sessions every other month lined up that will provide an opportunity for you to examine and reflect on where we really are.

Parents are largely unaware that their rights are actively 'in play' or even undermined. Apathy is how we are allowing our rights to be affected. Parents should not forget this inalienable birthright of theirs, that it is a prerequisite to responsibility, and that it is a blessing to our children. We believe that our God-given responsibilities require us to see, and be free to make, appropriate choices for our children and families. 

Home education is not being alone, but rather choosing to engage in ways that are positive and appropriate in your view. Being able to make that call as a parent is not only your right, but your responsibility. We support you in it. Subscribe to our mailing list to get more info and so you don't miss the next parental rights session!

Let's equip our children and ourselves for the future.

Feel free to share with your friends that may find this topic and our work of interest. Thank you!

Remembrance Day makes us all pause, at least for a minute, and remember those who died in service of something greater than themselves. They were those with a hope and a future. Yet they were willing to give it all up… all. Let us then pause and consider...

Who were these men, sometimes barely out of boyhood, who risked it all? Who, far too often, gave their all. Where did this courage come from? How had they been taught and what? What deep conviction would draw this level of courage to the surface and sustain them during the most difficult of times? How could they endure the loss of innocence and friends, of life or limbs?

We do not often hear of the men who are willing these days to die for their country, their beliefs or even for their families. In the time that has since passed under the bridge, unnoticed yet impactful changes have occurred while we have been swinging our legs and chattering like magpies. Deep and dangerous currents move about us and we have sat too long unaware.

What is worth dying for these days? How has the pride of our country, that used to be there, been lost? Where does morality come from that makes the value of sacrifice plain? Can that be found in a sustainable form outside of a faith in God? Where is a love to be found that makes one willing to lay down their life for a friend or, even harder, an enemy? 

There is no way to avoid the truth of our struggle today...

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" is a quotation from William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet. On this topic, no matter what terminology is used, it has been a privilege to focus time and effort on some very special people in our home education family. Webster's website says that the word special stresses having a quality, character, identity... of its own.

AHEA knows that those of you who have these exceptional children in your home have faced extra challenges because of your choice and commitment to home educate, since you've felt it provides the best environment for your child. We, in turn, made a commitment to you to seek to address this issue, and we have. It has been a regular discussion point in our advocacy work with the government for over a year now.

Last fall we invited families with special needs to participate in a survey on this topic. We collaborated with another stakeholder so that we could gather data from a wider group. The resulting information from respondents confirmed what we had heard and seen. As was shared in a Political Update blog last November, "There is no funding for diagnosis and support for children with diverse learning needs under The Home Education Regulations, The Guide to Education, and the Funding Manual." This is a serious problem that affects a great many of our home education families.

• 38% had more than one child with special needs
• 11% were single parent/caregivers
• 90% were traditional, parent-directed home educators
• 77% were formerly in the public system
  • 59% left within 1-3 years and another 27% left after 4-6 years

Everyone AHEA has spoken to about the topic has been very kind and cares about the needs that we are discussing. People have not been calloused, whether or not they personally have a child that may require additional support. However, and this is a big HOWEVER, caring needs to result in some very specific actions in order to be of help. Families don't want empathy - they want the kind of support that will make a real difference in their life. 

France has started to restrict home education. This from a country that most would have called 'free.' You might wonder what threat home education poses to France. The New York Times reported that the new law, "… aims to combat extremist ideas at every level of French society. Among a range of steps, it toughens conditions for home-schooling, tightens rules for associations seeking state subsidies, and gives the authorities new powers to close places of worship seen as condoning hateful or violent ideas."[1] The legislation that was being debated contained 51 articles, of which the home education ban was tucked into the 21^st spot. "In the article that prompted the most virulent debate, and over 400 proposed amendments, it places severe limits on home-schooling without banning it, as originally proposed. Educating children at home is viewed by the government as a source of the "separatism" that undermines French values…"[2]

Understanding the threat means we have to understand the language. "Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group… Groups simply seeking greater autonomy are not separatist as such. ^[1]"[3] This makes tolerance come to mind, which traditionally was understood to mean being able to co-exist with people who had different cultures, beliefs, thoughts or practices, perhaps agreeing to disagree, and not forcing your position on others. Restated, it is respecting the freedom of people to make choices for themselves. In the western world, this has had the largest latitude possible because infringement on these freedoms was antithetical to its foundational principles, derived from a Judeo/Christian worldview.

Is there an inherent predisposition in a government's perspective on religion that dictates its position and views of education in general and of home education specifically? Well, in France today this connection is indisputable. It is critical to learn that when the language of law is left too broad, it may be argued in one context and applied in other ways when passed. We must be cognizant of this danger and discerning when reading, acting and voting.

It's not too late to make home education choices this year! Each year, parents have the responsibility to notify the Minister of Education of their intent to home educate their child. Families have until September 29th to finalize their decision and qualify for funding, after which you can still become a home educator but will no longer qualify for funding in this academic year.  (Note the date change from the 30th due to the new federal holiday.)

You will need to decide if you will notify that you are going to home educate in a supervised or unsupervised manner. Here are the Cole's notes on the forms you need to know about, but more information follows, so don't feel overwhelmed by the language or the process… keep reading and learning. Home education is big on parents learning as you go, just like we want our kids to!

Supervised means that you need to notify with a willing associate board or associate private (independent) school and be accepted by them. Don't leave this to the last week as they have limited space. You notify a supervising authority of your intent to home educate your child through the Home Education Notification Form – Supervised by School Authority.

You will have access to your portion of the home education grant, which is exactly $850 and claimed by submitting receipts to your supervising authority for reimbursement. The other half of the grant pays for one of their teachers to visit you twice a year to assess the learning progress of your child. You need to submit an education plan to be reviewed and approved by them, but they can assist in this.

Unsupervised means that you only need to notify the government that you will be home educating. We may refer to this as Notification Only, No Funding (NONF). There is no requirement to submit an education plan, no visits and no funding. We recommend that you still lay out a plan as recordkeeping is a protection for you in case of a need to make a change or if an inquiry arises during the year. There are two available ways to notify the government. Filling out and sending in the Home Education Notification Form – Not Supervised by School Authority or through an online form in the Provincial Approach to Student Information (PASI) accessible in myPass.

AHEA provides a ton of information on our website to help you have a full picture of what you need to understand and do. Get our ABC's booklets to get a fuller grasp of how home education works in Alberta and the work that AHEA does for you all year. Look at the Glossary of Terms that we've started to help you learn some of the home education language you are bound to come across. Let us know if you have a term you'd like defined!

We have a listing of the Associate Boards/Private (Independent) Schools, along with a helpful list of questions for you to consider when interviewing them. There is also a great list of Curriculum Providers to help you with your resource selection. Look at a sample Education Plan, noting that there are many different styles and you can ask around for other samples to look at.

Support AHEA's work as an independent voice for home education families by making a financial contribution or considering advertising with us. Stay in touch with current work and events by subscribing to our Political Update blog or our bi-monthly newsletter, the Arrow. Keep your eyes and ears open about a local presentation of AHEA's annual Fall Talks around Alberta, coming soon. Hope to see you out there!