A New Jersey school administrator was called out for falsely imposing the law on two parents who decided to home-school their child, according to one home-school defense group.
The assistant superintendent of Westfield Public Schools allegedly sent a letter to the parents after they decided to pull their child out of public school, saying they must adhere to the state's Common Core standards, the Daily Caller noted.
The unnamed assistant went on to tell the parents they had to submit a curriculum for approval by the superintendent, without which the child could not be home-schooled.
Common Core has drawn widespread criticism after the federal government implemented it as a way to align curriculum in subjects nationwide, which is traditionally determined on a state level.
Outraged by the demand, the parents contacted the Home School Legal Defense Association. The association's lawyer, Scott A. Woodruff, wrote a letter reminding the official that the current home-schooling law does not require parents to follow Common Core.
According to EAGnews, the assistant appeared to be referring to a now-defunct policy put in place by former Education Commissioner Leo Klagholz. The current law states a home-schooled child must receive "instruction equivalent to that provided in the public schools," however it does not specify what "instruction equivalent" means.
Once the district realized the mistake, the assistant superintendent backed off, HSLDA claims. The official then sent a less demanding letter to the parents saying they "should be guided" by the state Common Core standards, according to the Daily Caller.
The official also said he only wanted to remind parents "to be mindful that they should be following New Jersey Core contents and standards," EAGnews reported.
But again, Woodruff wrote another letter to the assistant making it clear that home-schooling parents need not follow Common Core.
