Home School Legal Defense Association
"HSLDA: Advocates for homeschooling"
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| Abbreviation | HSLDA |
|---|---|
| Formation | March 28, 1983 |
| Founder | Michael Farris and J. Michael Smith |
| Type | Advocacy organization |
| Legal status | 501(c)(4) nonprofit |
| Purpose | Homeschool advocacy |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 39°08′26″N 77°41′25″W / 39.140479°N 77.690248°W |
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President
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J. Michael Smith |
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Chairman
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Michael Farris |
| Publication |
Home School Court Report (quarterly) Home School Heartbeat (daily, audio) |
| Website | hslda |
The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is a United States-based "nonprofit advocacy organization established to defend and advance the constitutional right of parents to direct the education of their children and to protect family freedoms." HSLDA describes itself on its website as a "Christian organization".
HSLDA is organized as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, located in Purcellville, Virginia, which is also the home of Patrick Henry College, founded by Michael Farris in 2000.
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 education 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.
The 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.
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.
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Wikipedia