TCCHE- Compliance Agreement
1 Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. (Romans 13: 1-5, NASB)
In Georgia, God has blessed us with a supportive home schooling law. TCCHE supports this law and expects its members to abide by it. If we fail to comply with the law that God has given us, we risk the judgments that He promised to Israel when they doubted the wisdom of His guidance and turned to their own ways. The failure of a few to comply hurts the reputation of our group and home schooling as a whole. As a TCCHE family, we have enjoyed a shared community of safety and Godly instruction for our children for over 30 years. We want to adhere to God's truths and share them with others while allowing our children to learn and grow in purity and innocence.
Our state law requires that an annual Declaration of Intent to Homeschool be filed with the Georgia Board of Education. Home study students are required to attend 180 days for 4.5 hours (or the equivalent thereof) and study Math, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies. We strongly encourage members to track their school attendance and keep the records. Monetary fines are also included within Georgia law.
Georgia law also requires that children must take a national standardized achievement test at least every three years beginning at the end of the third grade. Also, home study parents are required to evaluate their children at the end of each academic year and to keep those records for a minimum of three years.
Among home schoolers, as in every community, there are those who fear to follow God's guidance too closely, lest our enemies interpret our obedience as weakness. Some have suggested that we should not comply with the reporting requirements of the attendance law, fearing that the information will be used for harassment or worse, TCCHE does not condone or encourage this. If a few home schoolers give school officials the impression that the present law is not working, our opponents (and we DO have them) will have the excuse they are seeking to change the law. There are some influential people who would like to eliminate home schooling altogether. Those of use who fought for the present law have seen the power of these people, and we do not wish to repeat the experience soon. So please, if you have not already done so, file your intent.