AHEA celebrates the advent of a tremendously important change in the home education landscape for special needs families! Starting on Monday, all home education families will be able to access supports via the Khan Communications website Home Ed tab. These support services will be provided by speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, behavioural & mental health therapists, and psychologists. AHEA's advocacy on behalf of home educators can be supported here.

The Alberta Government is providing the access through a grant to AISCA, who has engaged Khan Communications to provide the supports. An overview of the AISCA Home Education Supports Video can be watched here. If you missed the virtual meeting with AISCA/Khan Communications on April 27, 2022, you can still catch the recording of Specialized Services for Home Education.

Now to some quick bits of reference information that you will find helpful!

What is the program designed to provide?

• Universal strategies to help parents learn more about the learning needs of their children
• Screenings and assessments to answer educational questions regarding their child's learning
• Parent coaching
• Access to workshops and resources
• Online consultations between parents and specialists

What type of information will be needed to complete the registration process?

• Parent name and location
• School jurisdiction/authority name and home education facilitator name/contact # 
  (If applicable - Notification Only parents are also entitled to support!) 
• Some specific information on their child (including their Alberta Student #)
• Main areas of support parents are interested in
• An online consent form
• Selecting date for online consultation

AHEA is pleased to direct you to the special needs help that we've worked so hard for you to have access to. (Read more about our efforts for you in the previous article.)

IN ONE WEEK our friends at AISCA is will be hosting a virtual meeting for all home educators to attend... and 'all' means ALL!
It does not matter if you have decided to do Notification Only or if you are with an Associate Board/Private (Independent) School as you all have equal access to these services. What a win for the whole home education community!

YOU are in charge of your child's education. These supports, you are now able to obtain, don't change why you decided to home educate. They enhance your ability to address pre-existing needs. Your decision to home educate was not reliant on this, but this access will enhance your ability to get help if and when you wish to. Watch AISCA's explanation of how it's going to work here!

AHEA is an independent voice for parents that home educate, though our work often has far reaching implications in supporting and advocating for choice, parental rights and the family in general. If you would like to support AHEA in our efforts please click here.

The heart cry of the special needs families in the home education community, to be seen and treated as equals, has finally been heard and responded to. It is with a thankful and joyful heart that we are able to confirm that special needs families will have access to supports equal to that of the public system. AHEA has worked hard to see that this issue was addressed. Our discussions specific to this topic started in July of 2020. AHEA has had two very specific goals in our advocacy - philosophical agreement and practical action, as explained in our previous article A Special Report. Our initial focus was refined to one very clear and pointed question:

The answer to our question was clearly given within the Throne Speech delivered by the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta on February 22, 2022. It was an exciting moment when these words were heard…

We had seen some initial movement on this issue this last fall, which was encouraging. However, the fact is that the practical action was still of help to some families and not all, and not as full in scope as we wished. We wanted to see the kind of course correction that will result in more than a nod in the direction of home education families. Our idea of the practical side of this question had seen us focus on requesting three specific items:

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!

 Have you ever made a comment and then had to reverse engineer why that popped out of your mouth? That happened to me this fall. It was a situation that made me realize that a lesson I had a hard time absorbing as a home education mom may, just may, have sunk in. Perhaps not everyone will relate to this struggle, but it is a lesson that is helpful to all home educators who might need to know that they can say 'Uncle' when it comes to curriculum choices.