What is The Home School Legal Defense Association?
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Knowing that there is an organization that is willing to ensure the rights of homeschoolers throughout the United States makes homeschooling easier for us all.
What is the Home School Legal Defense Association?
In 1983, Michael Farris and J. Michael Smith co-founded the Home School Legal Defense Association for the sole purpose of protecting the rights of homeschoolers from coast-to-coast in legal matters that arise through local and state authorities. How do they accomplish this awesome task? Since HSLDA is a non-profit organization, they depend on the support of homeschooling families through memberships into HSLDA and by donations they receive.
Not only do they fight for our rights on a local and state platform via consulting on bills in the legislature, but also represent individual families that are facing government intrusion into their right to homeschool. They will do this by offering counseling advice through letters and phone calls, by negotiations with local officials, or by representing them in court proceedings.
HSLDA protects homeschool laws already in place by ensuring that wordage is not changed to harm homeschoolers’ rights. They also watch and counsel on new bills that could be harmful to homeschooling families. They do this primarily by working with state homeschool organizations.
Membership Information
The current membership fee to join this organization is $115.00 for a year, $500.00 for five years, or you can have a lifetime membership for $1.000.00 There are different payment plans, and you can pay on a monthly basis. The cost of the membership not only covers lawyer fees and court fees, if you are ever involved in a case with your local or state government but also helps all members to enjoy the same benefits as well.
Member benefits include a guarantee that HSLDA will continue to fight for the future freedom of homeschoolers, as well as discounts in their on-line store, weekly updates on ongoing legal issues, discounts on school supplies, auto insurance, and others. Members also receive a bi-monthly newsletter called, “The Home School Court Report.”
Does HSLDA Represent Non-Members in Legal Matters?
In some cases, they will represent non-members, but this is not the norm. They maintain the stand that they represent members because these families have made a commitment to their efforts through membership, and thus establishes an attorney-client relationship. Without a commitment from the client, there would not be such an establishment of this type of relationship.
Summary
HSLDA is a great service to homeschoolers. It gives us the peace of mind that someone cares about our rights and realizes that not all government entities treat homeschoolers fair compared to their public school counterparts. This organization has gone the extra mile to protect us and ensure that homeschooling will be around forever. Membership in HSLDA is also a way for families all around the U.S. to bond together with like minds and support each other in a very real way. If one family needs the legal expertise provided by HSLDA, we all can learn from it and we know that they will be there for us, too.
