Valerie,
LOL!!! "Oinks" were supposed to be links and they were not very helpful at all!
I did read your message on Vegsource-in fact I printed it so I would have
something to read and hang on to. Thanks for all the stuff below. Looks like
someone gave me some homework to do! I still have no idea where in Germany we
are going-we didn't get a "pinpoint" assignment. Tara
Tara O. -Weaving for the Lord in MO
"Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider
what great things He has done for you." 1 Sam. 12:24
----- Original Message -----
From: starrmoon@...
To: MHEN@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, May 12, 2001 11:25 PM
Subject: [MHEN] Re: Anybod home schooling in Germany?


--- In MHEN@y..., "Tara O'Rourke" <orourke@s...> wrote:
> I am trying fervently to get some information about homeschooling
in
> Germany. I have contacted the HSLDA and gotten a list of oinks

Dear Mrs. O'Rourke,

I'm not sure what oinks are but since you say `no real info,' I can
pretty much guess.

My name is Valerie Moon and I am the wife of a retired CSM who was
later a DA civilian. We lived in Germany for 18 of the past 30 years
and I homeschooled our three younger children there for six years
with an additional two in Belgium where they received their diplomas
from Clonara school in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

http://www.clonlara.org/

There has been a lot of activity in the last month or so concerning
military homeschooling with much of the focus being on the
homeschoolers in Germany. It isn't known exactly why the activity is
taking place as the stories we're hearing have conflicting
information. This shouldn't be a worry for you, but it's good to
know. You may hear reassuring noises from HSLDA about how
homeschooling is perfectly legal, but I'm not happy with their
explanation at their web site. The language is too sloppy and their
terminology is inexact. I expected more from lawyers.

The following is what the regulations say and I'll warn you that it
isn't simple - regulations never are. There is a lot of
reading `between the lines' and pointing out of what isn't there,
which in this case is more important than what is.

There has been a new requirement, not an onerous one, but still a
requirement.

http://www.hqusareur.army.mil/htmlinks/Press_Releases/2K/November/2000
1128-1.htm

This link was having technical difficulties when I just `went' there
to get the URL, but maybe its headache will have diappeared by the
time you check it. If not, let me know and I'll scare it up from
someplace else.

[I've written this entire letter and am adding this after. Every
mil. site I went to for hmschl. info. was 'dead.' I've no idea what,
if anything, is going on. I tried other sites in Germany, one
civilian and one for the German Army, and they were working fine, it
was just the American military sites that wouldn't connect.]

May I ask which community you are going to? You mentioned that you
just got your orders. This may be helpful as I still have friends in
Heidlberg and Mainz (or is she in Wiesbaden? I'll have to ask her to
be sure - her husband has been transferred twice since I last saw her
and I've lost track).

Here's the Official Pamphlet for Living in Germany - lots of, `Bad
dog. No! No!'s:

http://www.vegsource.com/homeschool/military/messages/1005.html

And this is my response to their advice:

http://www.vegsource.com/homeschool/military/messages/1041.html


I wrote a booklet, _ Frequently Asked Questions About Military
Homeschooling in Europe And One Homeschooler's Answers_ which
contains the information you're looking for. You can read a blurb
about it from Jean and Donn
Reed's book, _The Home School Source Book_ posted at

http://www.vegsource.com/homeschool/military/messages/1000.html

Jean got it wrong about my husband being an officer, but he's still
consented to speak to her. ;>

I, though, am a terrible businesswoman (I'd starve if I wasn't a kept
woman) so I'll include what you want in this email.

The first thing to read is the DoD manual on authority of the school
over children in general, which is none; their authority is over only
their students. You can take peoples' word for things but it's much
better to know for yourself what the Powers That Be have decreed. So
go to another posting which will take you on a little tour of the Web.

http://www.vegsource.com/homeschool/military/messages/1028.html

Read my posting so that you'll know what you're looking at. The
operative word is that the commanders will `encourage' education.
They can't mandate it because none of the spouses and children are
under the jurisdiction of the Uniform Code of Military Justice
(UCMJ). You will be under German jurisdiction for `all criminal
offences,' so don't commit any. ;>

You can peruse the SOFA at your leisure at:

http://www.nato.int/docu/basictxt/b510619a.htm

Please remember that this is a treaty type document between
governments and reads that way. This is the governing document for
all military, civilians and dependents stationed in another NATO
country. You won't find anything on education or schooling but when
challenged in Germany as to the legality of their homeschooling many
homeschoolers automatically blurt out, "We're protected under the
SOFA" without having a clue as to what they're talking about.

The following is what I wrote in the booklet I gave you the blurb
about. If anything's unclear, just ask.

(If you see a mention about USAREUR Regulation 10-20 tht I missed,
ignore it, the thing was re-written completely. You can read some
of our conversations about this astounding (to my friend and I)
development.

http://www.vegsource.com/homeschool/military/messages/1003.html
http://www.vegsource.com/homeschool/military/messages/1010.html
http://www.vegsource.com/homeschool/military/messages/1024.html )

If you find it all confusing, you're reading it correctly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From _Frequently Asked Questions . . ._

Is homeschooling legal overseas?

The simplest answer is to quote from the regulations
concerning dependent education.
DoD 1342.6 Administrative and Logistic support for DoDD Schools
(This is the manual that applies to all overseas areas where DoDD
schools operate.)
Ch. 1, D, 3. Installation commanders will: e. Encourage all
educable, eligible dependents who have not completed high school to
attend either DoD Dependents Schools or a regular program of formal
instruction in the local school system, enroll in a non-DoD school,
or enroll in an independent study program by correspondence.

[That paragraph was re-written but I'm too tired - 11:15 at night -
to find the new version. Try looking in the link I provide somewhere
in this email. :) ]

The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) is the "Agreement
between the parties to the North Atlantic Treaty regarding the status
of their forces (NATO SOFA);" it was signed in London in June of
1951. Education and schooling are not mentioned in the SOFA and with
the establishment of the Defense Department schools which are solely
under American control, my interpretation is that schooling of
American dependent children of persons in the employ of the Armed
Services is an internal issue, an American/American situation. Since
homeschooling is "some form of education" and therefore in accordance
with DoD1342.6-M, the host nation has no concern with the children's
education.
Signatory nations to the SOFA are: Belgium, Canada, France,
Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) and the
United States of America.
The SOFA is found in USAREUR Pamphlet 550-19/USAFE Pamphlet
30-16.
SOFA Article 1(b), USAREUR Pam. 550-19, p. J1,: `civilian component'
means the civilian personnel accompanying a force of a Contracting
Party who are in the employ of an armed service of the Contracting
Party, and who are not stateless persons nor nationals of any State
which is not a Party to the North Atlantic Treaty, nor nationals of,
nor ordinarily resident in, the State in which the force is located.
The relationship of the German national government with
personnel covered by the SOFA is found in Annex K, an additional
amendment. Germany, the United States, Belgium, Canada, the
Netherlands, and the UK signed Annex K on the 3rd of August 1959.
SOFA, Article 13, USAREUR Pam. 550-19, Annex K, p. K-10: 1. Except
where expressly provided otherwise, international agreements or other
provisions in force in the Federal territory concerning social
security, including social and medical assistance, shall not apply to
members of a force or of a civilian component or to dependents.

[still from my booklet] But I've heard that homeschooling is illegal
in Germany.

German citizens, American citizens in Germany without military
affiliation, non-command sponsored dependents and all third country
nationals fall completely under the jurisdiction of the German
government. For these people homeschooling is not an option and
school attendance is mandatory according to the laws of the German
states.
Command sponsored dependents are in Germany under the
auspices of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and are thus not
considered "ordinarily resident" (as above in Annex, p. J1, Article 1
(b)) in Germany and are not considered the social responsibility of
the German government.
Military and civilian personnel in the employ of the U.S.
government are specifically excluded from German social services.
The schooling of American children whose parent(s) is (are)
militarily affiliated is not addressed by the SOFA and seems to be
tacitly left to American custom.
Additionally there are annexes L through R, further refining
the SOFA, but none mention education or schooling. The relationship
between Germany and foreign military presences continues to evolve
but so far education and schooling have not been an issue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In looking at some policy letters of various commanders who feel they
need to regulate homeschooling a favorite scary tactic is to include
a reference to UR 27-9 Misconduct by Civilians (as if homeschooling
is misconduct). UR means USAREUR Regulation. You can read it here:

http://www.vegsource.com/homeschool/military/messages/1004.html

The only schooling misconduct mentioned is:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
e. Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DODDS) officials will
take appropriate administrative action regarding student, teacher,
and staff disciplinary problems that occur at schools, during school
activities, or while utilizing DODDS-run school-busses. DODDS
officials will notify the CMAA of suspensions and expulsions from
school and will report criminal offenses to the CMAA and local
provost marshal (PM). DODDS officials will cooperate with ASG
commanders to inspect for and, if found, remove contraband and other
evidence of misconduct from school premises and facilities.

f. Officials of universities or colleges operating in USAREUR will
take administrative action regarding violations of school rules and
regulations. Whenever a student is suspended, expelled, or has been
involved in criminal conduct, university or college officials will
notify the CMAA of the student's sponsor and the CMAA for the area in
which the school is located. Criminal conduct should be reported to
the PM for the location of the college or university.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You can see that nothing applies to homeschooling.

I know this email has been long and confusing, but take your time and
just view the process as homeschooling yourself about the Army
regulations (and forgive me if you're really Air Force as I haven't a
CLUE as to what the pertinent AF regs are).

Watch out for the culture shock after you get to Germany, especially
if this is the first time you'll be living outside the United States,
but please do go out `on the economy' (milspeak for going to German
shops and such) and have a good time. Good luck to you and I hope
you enjoy your time in Germany as much as I did.

Valerie Moon


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