Mission Statement

Pennsylvania Home Educators Association (PHEA) is an inclusive statewide coalition of home educators whose primary purpose is to provide accurate information and advocate for Pennsylvania home educators.

• PHEA believes in the freedom to home educate with confidence and without fear.
  
• PHEA actively endorses efforts to reduce or eliminate regulation, control, and oversight of home educators.
  
• PHEA believes knowledge equals empowerment.
  
• PHEA encourages its members to freely exchange information regarding home education.
  
• PHEA is not associated with any religion or educational methodology.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education Website Update

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has recently updated their website. An area of major concern is the PDE's interpretation of the Home Education and Private Tutoring law. Pennsylvania Home Educators Association (PHEA) has written a letter to PDE outlining the discrepancies between what is stated on the website and what the law actually states and requesting that the PDE remove the offensive changes. PLEASE DO NOT take what the PDE posted on their website as the law, but refer to the actual text of the law. The law has not changed.

PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATOR AND ASK HIM/HER TO PRESSURE THE PDE TO REMOVE THE OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE.

Here is a sample cover letter that can be used to send to your state Representative and Senator. If you need to find your legislator or his/her contact information, use this website:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/

PDE website:
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/home_education_and_private_tutoring/20311

Modify the sample letter and attach the PHEA to PDE letter.

Sample Letter:

Honorable [name]
[address, you can choose their home office or Harrisburg office, or both]
[city, PA, zip]

[date]

Dear [Representative or Senator name],

As a Pennsylvania home educator, I am greatly frustrated in the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s updated “Home Education & Private Tutoring” website.  It is laden with confusing, misleading and false information about the current home education law.  Not only will new homeschoolers receive wrong information when consulting the website, but public school district personnel will also.  This misinformation will be costly for our school districts, with added administration and suggested extra record keeping, never specified or intended in the law. 

Pennsylvania home educators and Pennsylvania public school superintendents must follow the law, 24 P.S. Section 13-1327.1 (along with related laws).  The Pennsylvania Department of Education has created their website with their own interpretation of the law and often statements that go beyond the text of the law.  It is unacceptable for an agency to attempt to change legislation by posting information on a website.

The PDE should be more responsible for factual information.  I have attached a thirteen page letter from the Pennsylvania Home Educators Association (PHEA) to PDE, outlining the discrepancies between what is stated on the website and what the law actually states and requesting that the PDE remove the offensive changes.  Please have the PDE modify the website accordingly.

I look forward to hearing from you regarding my concern.

Sincerely,

[your signature]

[your name]
[address]
[phone]  [email]

*It is important to put contact info in your letter.  Usually a staff person reads the incoming. The staff may find out if you are a constituent and decides what to do.  If you do not have your contact info in a letterhead, then it should be after your name and signature.

Please see the Special Needs Update page for the latest information on home educating a child with special needs.

New to Home Education in PA? Click here for some Cautionary Words!

Click here for Home Education Proclamation 2004

Click here to access the PHEA School District Violations page

Past Articles (click title to view entire article):

Lowering the Compulsory School Age in Philadelphia School District

A victory for the family and all Norwin home educators is the result of the canceled due process procedure on Thursday, November 6, 2003

Public Cyber Charter School – Is it Homeschooling?

Equal Access for Home Educators

Data Collection, Student IDs, and Home Education Students