Public School Offers Deal to Homeschoolers

A public school in Kentucky is offering free online courses for homeschool families who agree to enroll in the district.

According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, Wayne County Public Schools is hoping 15-20 of the district’s approximately 100 homeschool students accept the offer. Last year, less than 10 students enrolled, but Assistant Superintendent Allen Clark thinks it’s a win-win opportunity for both parties because student’s can earn a high school diploma, while the school district can count the student in its daily attendance numbers and be eligible for the $3200 state funds per student.

“If you were a business person, you would do that all day long,” Clark said.

In addition to the free classes, which cost approximately $100, the district is providing teacher support for the classes.

“We assign a teacher from our high school and they work with the child,” said Clark.

In a response to the trend of public schools offering homeschoolers incentives like these free courses, Rachel Coleman, the executive director of the Coalition for Responsible Home Education, advised caution.

“It’s a ‘gray area,’” Coleman told Education Week, “in part because a student who enrolls in a public school system, even if only online, isn’t really being home-schooled any longer.”