Canadian Home Education Resources: HSLDA Member Legal Help

As summer comes to a close and we all gear up for another school year, we’re busy here at HSLDA. Members in a number of provinces have checked in with us about deadlines and draft education plans (where required), while others have questions about unusual requests from their school board or homeschool liaison such as insistence on a meeting, or more paperwork than usual or required by law, regulation, or policy. We’re seeing the latter situation more in the last year, as the number of families homeschooling continues to rise and remains significantly higher than pre-pandemic homeschooling numbers. 

Remember to get in touch with us if you’re asked to provide more information or attend a meeting and aren’t sure if the request is legitimate. We’re here to assist you in assessing and responding to these situations.

While you probably know to contact us if you have homeschooling-related questions, we  know that any situation where your family is under pressure can have a major impact on  your homeschooling. If we can help, we will, and we’d always rather that you call and ask rather than not call because “that doesn’t seem to have much to do with homeschooling!” 

The legal team has assisted members with matters ranging from adoption/fostering and child protection investigations unrelated to homeschooling to the impact of domestic violence and mental health issues in family law. If you call with a question, we will do our best to either answer it or get an answer for you. 

Finally, if the question is urgent, please remember that we have an after-hours emergency line for members. Call the HSLDA Canada main line (519-913-0318) at any time if you need emergency legal assistance. If you call outside of business hours, follow the voicemail instructions to get in touch with a lawyer.