What is Homeschool Abuse?

The phrase homeschool abuse keeps coming up all over the net. I have yet to see it mean the same thing twice. In one instance, a young man feels his father took him out of school and left him to his own resources, not homeschooling him. In another case, a mother claims her child is academically stunted and cannot learn. It turns out that she has a form of Munchhausen's and is trying to get attention and social security payments for having a disabled child. There is nothing wrong with the child.

In short, abuse of homeschooling occurs when someone claims they are homeschooling a child, but are instead neglecting them academically. It can be done as a form of abuse, out of ignorance, or out of sickness of the parent. Regardless of the reason, if a child is being listed as a homeschooler, but the parent has no intent or ability to instruct the child, or to provide instruction, then it is homeschool abuse.

Homeschool abuse is dangerous to the homeschool community as a whole. Whenever homeschooling is mentioned in the media, it is most commonly a case where a child is being abused under the guise of homeschooling. This causes legislators to move to add more restrictions to local homeschooling laws, making more difficult for true homeschoolers to be successful.

Homeschool abuse is dangerous to the child, because in these cases, the child is being neglected, at least in the educational sense, if not also physically, socially, and mentally. There is a belief that if homeschooling were not allowed, teachers could recognize this lack of care, but the truth is, the parent would find other ways to neglect the child. Besides, the child still has neighbors, clergy, and relatives who should also take responsibility to ask questions and call authorities if necessary.

The parent found guilty of homeschool abuse will very likely also be found guilty of child abuse and lose custody of the minor child. They could go as far as to stand trial and go to jail for not giving the child proper care and education. In short, homeschool abuse reaches beyond the neglect of the child and can have devastating results for the child, the community, and the abuser.