Home School Legal Defense Association
The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is a United States-based organization that seeks to aid homeschooling families through legal representation. HSLDA describes itself as a "Christian organization." HSLDA is organized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, located in Purcellville, Virginia, which is also the home of Patrick Henry College, founded by Michael Farris in 2000. History. HSLDA was founded by Michael Farris in 1983 for the purpose of defending homeschooling families. At that time, homeschooling was not specifically legal in most of the states of the U.S. under compulsory schooling laws. Those who practiced  homeschooling were often harassed or prosecuted. Through a combination of legal action and legislative lobbying, HSLDA played a large part in the legalization of homeschooling throughout the U.S. A high point of HSLDA's existence was its central role in the 1994 defeat of language in bill H.R. 6. This bill would have required all teachers in the U.S., potentially including home educators, to have teacher certification. HSLDA used their grassroots lobbying system in each of the 50 states which coordinated members to contact their legislators about pending legislation. Their members overloaded the phone switchboards at Capitol Hill, and through  the efforts of their members and other organizations, the bill was amended to remove the problematic language. While HSLDA is proud of this, some homeschoolers disagreed. As noted by Mark Hegener, then publisher of Home Education Magazine, "“HSLDA used homeschooling families to jump strongly on the Federal side of the scale of State’s rights vs. Federal rights. For homeschoolers this means someday, some poor federal bureaucrat is going to be stuck with the task of writing regulations which define homeschooling.”" HSLDA's speech and debate league broke off to form the National Christian Forensics and Communications Association in 2001 . That same year, Patrick Henry College was founded by Michael Farris, who was the college's president until 2006. Today, HSLDA's 80,000+ members receive free legal assistance if they are contacted by public school officials, or need legal help in relation to their rights to homeschool. HSLDA has been criticized, from both inside and outside the larger homeschooling movement, for its ties to the Christian Right and its advocacy for various conservative political and religious causes, some of which are unrelated to homeschooling. Other HSLDA programs. Generation Joshua. In 2003, HSLDA, feeling a need to educate youth in  civics and politics, founded Generation Joshua. Generation Joshua (often abbreviated as "Gen J" by its members,) is an American Conservative Christian youth organization that aims to encourage the involvement of 11- to 19-year-olds in politics. Its members, which number 6,000 as of 2006, participate in civics education, over 60 clubs, student action teams, voter registration drives, and "Benjamin Rush" Awards, which offer members a chance to earn a trip to Washington, D.C., amongst other things. HSLDA Online Academy. HSLDA and Patrick Henry College founded HSLDA Online Academy in 2009 to provide online Christian courses to homeschool families. Originally  named Patrick Henry College Preparatory Academy, HSLDA Online Academy has expanded beyond college preparatory courses and now offers an array of high school classes online, including English & writing, mathematics, social studies, and foreign languages. HSLDA Compassion. HSLDA Compassion provides "Assistance to needy home schooling families". NCFCA. The National Christian Forensics and Communications Association, or NCFCA, is a speech and debate league for homeschooled students in the United States, established in 2001 after outgrowing HSLDA, which had been running the league since it was originally established in 1995. NCFCA is now organized under its own board of directors with regional and  state leadership coordinating tournaments and other activities. Patrick Henry College. Patrick Henry College, or PHC, is a private, non-denominational Protestant college, founded by HSLDA, that focuses on teaching classical liberal arts and government, located in Purcellville, Virginia. It is the first college in America founded specifically for Christian home-schooled students. The school was incorporated in 1998 by Michael Farris. It officially opened September 20, 2000 with 92 students, and has since grown to approximately 325 students. Significant court cases. Federal courts. Calabretta v. Floyd Camdenton R-III School District v. Mr. and Mrs. F Loudermilk vs. Arpaio, et  al. State courts. F vs. Braxton Family The People v. DeJonge In the Matter of Stumbo In Re Gauthier Children: Petition to Compel Cooperation with Child Abuse Investigation