The association, which includes 50 local home school support groups from across the state, took its case against increased regulation to the Senate Education Committee. Presently, home schools in Kansas need only meet attendance requirements of unaccredited, non-public schools, and are supposed to be in session roughly the same time as are public schools, and to have a competent person doing the teaching.
Families decide who is competent.
No bills have been introduced to change the law governing home schools. Kent Vincent, a Topeka attorney who is legislative liaison for the group, said the number of home schoolers has grown nationally to 1.25 million from an estimated half million in 1990. Two young people schooled at home spoke to the committee. Corey Kangas, a senior from Lenexa and the oldest of seven children her parents are teaching, said the experience helped her establish strong family relationships, achieve academic goals ahead of what she could have done in public schools and prepared her for work. Jonathan Arridge of Shawnee, who was schooled at home by his parents from the sixth grade through the 12th, told of attending Johnson County Community College, and transferring to Washburn University with a full academic scholarship.