PERK Stands Up for a Homeschool Pod Targeted by an Unfounded DSS Complaint
Dear PERK Families,
This week, PERK sent a formal letter to the California Department of Social Services (DSS) on behalf of a homeschool pod that was targeted with a false complaint and a state investigation.
The accusation? That the family hosting the pod was running an "unlicensed child-care center."
The truth? A small group of no more than 12 home-educated students meets on the family's property to learn together. Every family in the pod has filed its Private School Affidavit. The children are taught by a parent or capable educator for their grade. That is not daycare. That is education, and it is every parent's right.
DSS's own investigators agreed. They found the complaint unfounded and the allegations false.
Why we stepped in
This was not the first time. It was the second time this family and this address were investigated for the same thing. Earlier this year, a nearly identical complaint was also found unfounded.
Being cleared is good. Being investigated again and again for doing nothing wrong is not. Every investigation puts a family under a microscope and makes parents wonder whether choosing to educate at home is worth the trouble.
When the family reached out to us, we answered.
The letter was copied to the family's attorney.
Homeschooling is not child care
Here is what every California homeschool family should know:
Child care is licensed by DSS under the Health and Safety Code. It applies to places that provide supervision and personal care for children.
Home education falls under the Education Code. Parents who file a Private School Affidavit and provide instruction in the required subjects are operating a private school, not a daycare.
Small parent co-ops are recognized too. California's own licensing rules exempt cooperative arrangements between parents that meet certain conditions, including no payment for care and no more than 12 children.
Learning pods and homeschool co-ops are growing across California. As they grow, so will complaints from people who don't understand the difference. Parents, not the state, direct their children's education, and PERK will keep standing in the gap when families are targeted for exercising that right.
If DSS contacts your family
Stay calm and be courteous. Being investigated does not mean you did anything wrong.
Write down the investigator's name, office, and complaint number.
Keep your Private School Affidavit, attendance records, and course of study easy to find.
Ask for the outcome in writing.
Reach out to PERK. You don't have to face this alone.
This is general information, not legal advice.
We're here for you
If your family has been contacted by DSS, your school district, or any agency over your decision to educate at home, email us at info@perk-group.com.
And if you believe parents should be free to educate their children without being treated like suspects, please consider supporting this work. Every letter we send and every family we stand beside is made possible by people like you.
Sincerely,
Amy Bohn
Co-Founder and CEO, PERK
