LEAH Undertakes Major Research Study on Homeschooling Ever wonder how homeschoolers would respond if New York tried to make homeschooling illegal, like what happened in California this past Spring? Homeschoolers in California were able to fight back and successfully argue that homeschooling works. New Yorkers would surely protest also, but would we have the facts to back us up that homeschooling really does work?? Past research has consistently indicated that it does work and that it works well. However, for such research to be useful, it must be kept fresh and up-to-date. In conjunction with the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) and the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), LEAH is undertaking significant new research on homeschooling in New York. We need all New York homeschoolers, LEAH and non-LEAH members alike, to participate in this exciting effort. Click here to find out more and to participate. Discounts for LEAH Members LEAH is pleased to announce discounts on homeschool curricula and supplies available to LEAH members through the GPA SmartStore, an online store carrying a wide selection of homeschooling items. LEAH members receive an additional 3% discount from already low, discounted prices (the LEAH price is listed as the State Association price - it will be applied after you register and/or login). Please consider using this source to satisfy your homeschooling needs. In doing so, your expenditures will be doing double duty as a small fraction of each sale is returned to LEAH to help support our activities in support of New York homeschooling. Click on the GPA SmartStore logo to check it out. (If you are an HSLDA member, you are eligible for an even larger discount - such sales still benefit LEAH, courtesy of HSLDA. For information about joining HSLDA, please see below.) Join HSLDA at the LEAH Member Discount LEAH members also receive a nearly 20% discount on membership in the Home School Legal Defense Association. For your own legal protection as you homeschool (in addition to many additional benefits), LEAH highly recommends membership in HSLDA. Click on the HSLDA logo for more information. If you do decide to become an HSLDA member, please join HSLDA online from the LEAH site as our links are set up so that LEAH receives a small referral benefit from HSLDA to help support our activities in support of New York homeschooling. 2009 Upstate Convention: Exhibitor Brochure is available on the convention website. Click for 2009 Upstate LEAH Convention Information. NYS Special Needs Update: On July 7, 2008, New York Governor David Paterson signed bill A11463, the bill which restores special services to disabled homeschool children. This was the final step in making this bill a law in the state of New York. Disabled homeschool children in New York are once again eligible to receive critically needed special services, on the same basis as other students in New York. If you have disabled homeschooled children that need to receive special services under the provisions of this new law, please note that the signing of this bill set into motion a 30-day window in which you need to make a written request to your school district for such services. Parents must submit a written request for such services to the school district where they reside by August 6, 2008! Further details and procedures of this new law are still to be worked out. They will be posted as soon as they become available. Please check the Parents Instructing Challenged Children (PICC-LEAH) website for more information. Mar 15, 2008: DB Recovery Update: First milestone of getting the information back into the hands of the Region Representatives is complete. What does this means for Chapter Leaders? It means you forward all changes to membership to your respective Region Representative AND send a backup copy to recovery@leah.org. The next milestones are: Getting the web interface up and running so that each of the Region Reps can maintain the Region online. Getting the web interface up and running so that each Chapter Leader can maintain their Chapter Online. Thanks for your patience. June 25, 2008: The LEAH Messenger was mailed: If you did not receive it, let your Chapter Leader know. We are making the messenger available via email request from your Chapter Leader if you did not receive it and are a member. Thank you for your patience as we deal with the db recovery. Want To Know About Homeschooling? Informative articles are here. Check out the articles especially oriented for those just starting or thinking about homeschooling; Homeschool FAQ and Considering Homeschooling. LEAH Regulatory Guide & Homeschooling in Action video Click here for more information. The LEAH Regulatory Information Manual contains most everything you need to know about how to satisfy the legal requirements for homeschooling in New York. (You may now order manuals online.) The Homeschooling in Action video takes you through "a day in the life" of several homeschooling families. Both the LEAH Regulatory Information Manual and the Homeschooling in Action video can also be ordered through the mail. Here is the order form.