MD Law

We have decided to exempt Natalie from compulsory school attendance at the age of 5 (in Maryland you can request an extra year). I don't mind doing homeschool with her with the state "watching" but I'd rather have it be first grade, when we are actually doing letters and numbers and I can explain the methods used, than have it be kindy when I have to fight to keep it non-academic. (I know there's a perpetual fight among Waldorfers as to what exactly non-academic does entail, and that I am still doing more content than most approve of... so anyone who's following me thinking that it's pure Waldorf PLEASE do remember that I'm only documenting my journey and not passing out a prescription. I struggle all the time with what exactly non-academic kindergarten looks like in real life. There's a fight about this all the way up to the highest levels of Waldorf. Alan Whitehead wrote in one of his books that some lazy teachers (his term, not mine) use Steiner's ideas about what an under-7 child needs as an excuse to do nothing at all in kindergarten. If I can find the exact quote I'll put it here.)

MD Homeschool Laws -- Summary from HSLDA

If you join HSLDA you get a lot of support for the legal side of your journey (if you face a battle). According to the website, "After a family joins HSLDA, there are no further charges of any kind for defending them in court. HSLDA pays in full all attorney fees, expert witness fees, court transcript cost, travel expenses, and all other court costs permissible by state law for us to pay." They will give you a sample letter to use for this exemption I am trying for, but I don't know if it's worth ninety-five dollars to me just to have to not research what data needs to be in the letter...

Here's some more information from the Anne Arundel County school website:

What must a parent/guardian do to defer kindergarten attendance for one year?

"If a parent wishes that kindergarten attendance be deferred for one year due to the child's level of maturity, the parent must do the following:
a. File a written request with the local Superintendent of Schools before the opening of the school year in which the child becomes five years old, asking that the child's attendance be delayed due to the child's level of maturity. Be sure to include child's name, address and date of birth.
b. Register that child in kindergarten the following school year."

The problem with this is that I do want her in kindergarten -- it's not a maturity issue -- I just don't want her in public kindergarten. I want to start first grade with her when she turns 6 (or slightly before, depending on her milestones). So maybe I'm wrong to do the exemption, although I'll probably need it for Leah, and I should just go ahead and register her as a homeschooler. Aaack! One more thing to research.