Granville Co. homeschooler jailed on bomb threat charge

Mother accounts for the time, claims hackers are responsible

WRAL-TV reports that 16-year-old homeschooler Ashton Lundeby has been detained by federal agents on a criminal complaint that he made a bomb threat from his Oxford, NC home the evening of February 15. His mother, Annette Lundeby, says that the family was at a church function that evening and hackers had used her son's IP address to make crank calls that appeared to come from their home.

"Undoubtedly, [law enforcement agencies] were given false information, or they would not have had 12 agents in my house with a widow and two children and three cats," Lundeby said.

She told WRAL that since the charges were filed under the Patriot Act, she has had little access to her son since the March 5 arrest. Ashton is being held in a juvenile detention facility in South Bend, Indiana.

Advocates for disabled citizens report more contacts about homeschooling

The Vance County chapter of the Arc of North Carolina, an advocacy group for persons with physical and intellectual disabilities, recently hosted the state organization's director of advocacy for a presentation in Henderson.

Nancy Russell, the featured speaker, said their organization "has been getting increased numbers of calls in recent years, many having to do with inquiries about home schooling or private schooling of disabled students," according to the blog Home in Henderson:

Russell asked why parents are moving away from public education. ...

Stating that her purpose was not to “bash the school system”, Russell enumerated several issues, some of which she speculated might be changed through policy shifts.

Russell questioned why disabled students were not achieving outcomes from school like job skills, obtaining real-world jobs, having post-secondary education options, learning skills for living and participating in the community, and having self-advocacy skills.

Rowan County homeschoolers honor public library

The Rowan County Homeschool Association recently gave special thanks to the staff of the Rowan County Public Library, as reported in the Salisbury Post. The support group of over 200 families presented a banner recognizing National Library Week, books for the libraries' collections, gifts to the librarians, door prizes, and "pizza and baked goods -- home-baked, of course," said the paper.

NCHSN Digest - 04/05/09

Items from N.C. Homeschool News this week:

Several bills of interest are moving through the N.C. General Assembly. Two bills would open public school sports to homeschooled students, although one would also open up the homeschool statute (4/2) ... the House Education Committee considered a move to lower the compulsory attendance age to six years old (4/2) ... and the fiscal analysis came out for a bill to give tax credits to new homeschoolers -- it doesn't include students already taught at home (3/29)

In other news, a homeschooling family won a $5000 contest for their local 4-H chapter (3/31) ... and a public school mom told a Wilmington TV station that homeschooling may be her daughter's last resort (4/4).

N.C. Homeschool News is updated throughout the week.

Homeschooling, A Last Resort

WWAY-TV3 in Wilmington reports that budget cutbacks may force the closure of Pender Success Academy, an "alternative school" in the Pender County school system. One parent said her daughter benefited from the change out of regular public schools, and if the alternative school shuts down, home education is the next viable option:

Kayla Murray's parents say in just two years, PSA has helped turn their daughter around. “Her grades have gotten a lot better since she has been there. She's doing extremely well. If they close the school she's either going have to go back to the high school, which she doesn't want to do. Or get home schooled in order to finish,” said parent Maxine Murray.

Murray said many people have misconceptions about the alternative school. Many students who attend PSA have behavioral issues, and may be at risk of dropping out. But, some students, like Kayla, chose the school for its smaller class setting, and one-on-one attention from teachers.

House Education Committee to Consider Lower Compulsory Attendance Age

The N.C. House Education Committee is scheduled to discuss House Bill 161, "Require Six-Year-Olds To Attend School", at its regular meeting today. The bill, which has four primary- and twelve co-sponsors, would lower the compulsory attendance age from seven- to six years old. It does not change the upper end of the range, which is 16.


Although the bill does not mention homeschoolers specifically, the homeschool statute is based on how home education complies with the compulsory attendance law. The new regulation would require homeschoolers to begin formal instruction, testing, and documentation a year earlier, and would also add to the paperwork load at the Division of Non-Public Education.


(NCHSN Exclusive)


Related Story:


2/25 - "N.C. Bill Would Require Earlier Homeschooling"

Sports Access Bill Would Open Homeschool Law

A measure to allow homeschoolers to play interscholastic sports on public school teams would modify the state's homeschool law. However, homeschoolers who want to play will have to demonstrate their academic progress to public school officials, a new development under North Carolina's nonpublic education law.

House Bill 1013, "Homeschoolers Participate In School Sports", was filed on Wednesday and will be introduced in the North Carolina House Thursday afternoon. The bill, sponsored by Reps. George Cleveland (R-Onslow) and Mark Hilton (R-Catawba) with seven co-sponsors, would give homeschoolers permission to take part in public schools' interscholastic sports programs in accord with existing regulations.

The bill amends the homeschooling statute, Article 39 Chapter 115C, adding five paragraphs to integrate homeschooled students into existing rules for residency, eligibility, behavior, performance, and fees and insurance.

The academic progress rule is an innovation in the relationship between homeschoolers and public school authorities:

A home schooled student shall demonstrate any required academic eligibility in all subjects taken in the home schooled program by a method of evaluation agreed upon by the parent and the school principal.

Currently, public school officials have almost no access to the academic records of current homeschoolers in North Carolina.

An earlier proposal, Senate Bill 259, would open public school sports to all students, including not only homeschoolers but students in private, charter, and other public schools which do not offer a sports program of interest. The senate bill, sponsored by Sen. Jim Jacumin (R-Burke, Caldwell) and nineteen co-sponsors, does not modify the homeschool law.

(NCHSN Exclusive)

Related Stories:

3/24 - "NCHE Capital Fest Draws Hundreds To Legislature"

2/26 - "N.C. Senate Proposes School Sports Access"