CCHE – Canadian Centre for Home Education
Canada Homeschooling Research & News
CCHE – Canadian Centre for Home Education CCHE - Canadian Centre for Home Education
HSLDA Canada: Helping Families with Home Education
The Home School Legal Defence Association of Canada (HSLDA) is a non-profit, membership-based organization made up of thousands of homeschool families across Canada. All funds collected are used to fund the big three functions of HSLDA:
- legal protection;
- professional homeschool support, and;
- advocacy for members.
Understanding how to most effectively stand up for your parental rights isn’t easy and that’s why there’s an important need for a legal defence organization for home educators. Starting in 1991, the organization started out with just a single lawyer who was passionate about defending our rights in a nation where homeschooling often fell into a gray-area of the law.
Back then, homeschooling in Canada was not what it is today. There were substantial challenges for home educators, legally, politically, and socially.
The public school establishment was quite hostile towards home education. The general consensus was that the government, not the parents, had the primary responsibility of educating children. Some parents were even threatened with jail for daring to teach their children at home and legislation was mostly non-existent to provide a choice for parents to take on the responsibility of educating their own children. While it has never been illegal to homeschool in Canada, the lack of laws for school authorities to follow allowed for hostile judgements to prevail.
Through the committed work by HSLDA Canada and others, we now have home education laws in every province and territory of Canada (since 2017). Legal support is still a very active part of HSLDA’s work. The organization provides legal help with issues related to home education, serves as the authoritative voice for home education in Canada’s legislatures, and advocates for parental choice and homeschool freedom when provincial laws develop and change — as they often do.
The Member Advantage
An HSLDA membership provides guidance, resources, and support so you can focus on giving your child a strong start with confidence and peace of mind. It’s the ultimate homeschool coaching program with a dedicated team of home education professionals and high-quality online resources. It’s not just for legal issues — although the most common reason people join is for legal help if they need it.
Here’s a brief description of what’s offered in the big three functions of HSLDA:
Legal Protection
Lawyers on-call for HSLDA members provide emergency legal support and early intervention and prevention advice one-on-one, through information on the Member Site, and through monthly member emails.
HSLDA is the only organization in Canada with the legal expertise to represent homeschool families in court. Members receive:
- 30+ years of trusted legal advice;
- On-call lawyers for emergencies;
- Personalized answers to your legal questions;
- Certified documentation to support your homeschool;
- Access to fillable provincial forms and letters.
While their mandate is homeschool-focused, lawyers also have expertise in non-educational family and child protection matters that can potentially impact a family’s home education.
Professional Homeschool Support
When you partner with HSLDA you receive expert advice and valuable resources for every stage and aspect of your home education journey.
Exceptional Needs / Learning Challenges
From quick answers that you can get from their veteran homeschooling staff to a consultation with an Exceptional Needs Specialist, you have a wealth of knowledge to take advantage of with membership.
Curriculum
Questions about learning material can come up all throughout your homeschooling journey. Having a support team ready to answer a question or meet with parents one-on-one is invaluable when there are so many options for quality homeschooling curriculum.
Planning & Record Keeping
The HSLDA Homeschool Planner was developed to give every homeschooler across Canada the planning steps and record keeping they need to provide a high-quality home education. When you need personal advice on the organization of your homeschooling, they are just a call or email away.
High School Planning
The secondary level of education is the time to offer the customized learning experiences that homeschooling is especially valued for. In addition to the many resources on the Member Site, one-on-one meetings help to effectively plan and track the high school education for one or more children.
Postsecondary Preparation
Preparing for postsecondary education or a career path is important for you and your teen. Whether you need advice on getting into college or university as a home educated student or need help getting organized records that present well to postsecondary institutions, you have the experts just a call or email away.
Advocacy
Homeschooling is a proven method of successful education. Unfortunately, not everyone recognizes the value of this education option or the rights of parents to choose the best education option for their children. Although home education is growing in popularity, it is still not fully appreciated or understood.
HSLDA lobbies governments for home education freedom with a specific focus on parental freedom to choose:
- Home education methods;
- Academic curriculum;
- Evaluation;
- Location & scheduling;
- Peer association.
All of this at a fraction of the cost such services would cost elsewhere.
Joining the Largest Association of Canadian Homeschoolers
HSLDA equips parents with all the information and advice they need to understand the benefits and responsibilities of home education. They have the most up-to-date information regarding provincial guidelines and how to navigate them. HSLDA will also advocate for members with school boards, medical professionals, and government authorities, regarding anything to do with the education of their children.
For some, membership is support for the work HSLDA does and on-hand legal protection should they ever need it. For others, membership provides a myriad of help they need to provide a high-quality home education — HSLDA is their education partner.
To learn more about membership with Canada’s #1 source for homeschool legal advocacy and professional support visit their website at: hslda.ca.
CCHE is the charitable organization of HSLDA Canada.
