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Welcome to our video. Our special guest today is Patty Marlar from HSLDA, and I’m really excited to have Patty with us today so that we can learn more about what Homeschool Legal Defense Association does and especially what it’s doing now for homeschool families here in Alberta. So, welcome, Patty. Thanks so much for joining us today.
“Yeah, thanks for having me, Brad. I’m really glad I could come. Yeah, I am, too, for sure. Well, before we jump into the questions, would you let our audience know just a little bit about your background in homeschooling and then your background on the legal side here in Alberta?”
“Sure. So, I am a homeschooling mom, and it’s who my heart is and it’s who my heart will always be. We just graduated actually our last child from our homeschool program in June, but we’ve been homeschooling for over two decades and we homeschooled all our kids from kindergarten to grade 12. The first time any of them stepped into a brick-and-mortar school was when they entered their post-secondary studies. So, I’ve seen the gamut of it all in terms of being a homeschooling parent. And then in terms of the legal side of it, I’ve been an advocate for homeschooling for, uh, for a dozen years or so. I was the government liaison and president of the Alberta Home Education Association, involved in AHEA for seven years, and during that time I advocated for good laws for homeschooling. I advocated for home educators to be able to home educate, um, as as parents who understand their kids, who understand their children’s needs, but also, uh, work within the framework of the law because that’s really important. So, having a solid framework that we can work in is incredibly important. So, I I would meet with the ministers, meet with different organizations, so long history. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Well, would you let us know how you went, or how you found your position there at Homeschool Legal Defense, or did they find you?”
“Well, um, the position actually is a really nice extension of what I’ve always done. I have worked very closely with HSLDA since the beginning of the advocacy work that I did. HSLDA walked us, walked alongside us at AHEA. I would constantly be contacting HSLDA, asking them their thoughts on specific legislation, consulting with them, consulting with the lawyer on the team. So, I’ve been working alongside HSLDA for for a very, very long time. So, this progression into this position at HSLDA was a very natural one for me. And so, I began in August working as the government and media relations and doing a number of, uh, of roles at HSLDA and and using the expertise that I’ve gained, both as a, as a homeschool advocate and as a homeschool mom in my job there.”
“Excellent. That’s fun. Well, before we go too far into these topics, I’d like for you to define or explain what HSLDA is for a family who could be a parent who’s watching us today and perhaps has never heard about HSLDA. Yeah, sure. HSLDA is the only national or homeschooling organization in Canada, and we have offices, staff, board members all across the country. So, we are here to enable families to begin their homeschooling, to empower them to homeschool well throughout their journey, and then to protect them no matter what challenges come their way.”
“Well, thanks for that brief introduction of Homeschool Legal Defense Association. And if you would now let us know, you mentioned a bit about their mission of why, or what they do. Can you give us a, uh, an insight into why Homeschool Legal Defense exists? What’s, what’s its purpose, its mission, and what value does it, does it bring to a homeschooling family?”
“Um, so, why does HSLDA exist, what can it do for families? Well, we, um, we offer a lot of very unique services to families, the first being the legal services, and so we have a lawyer on staff who is available to families to be able to assist them whenever they need it. So, HSLDA was founded on helping to develop good laws in provinces so that homeschool families wouldn’t need the services of a lawyer. So, that’s, that’s a part of what we still do, is we really work to make sure, uh, to work with provincial associations, to work directly, uh, with, with different provinces to develop good laws so that you don’t need a lawyer, but there are situations where people do need legal services, and then you can just call and speak to the lawyer on staff. So, if there’s any interaction with social services, any questions about what’s going on in your homeschooling and what’s being asked of you, uh, any questions, uh, you know, you may have. You may have people coming into your home because you’re adopting or fostering, and you, they see stuff, and all of a sudden they start asking you about your homeschooling, and you’re like, ‘I think I need to talk to someone about this.’ Our legal services are are there so that you can just pick up the phone and call. And that’s a very unique service. Um, you know, I was just talking to to a lawyer, uh, in a different situation two days ago actually, and they said that they bail out their lawyers at $1,100 an hour. Um, I was shocked, and so you have direct access to a lawyer through HSLDA as a member to be able to say, ‘Is this right?’ ‘Is there anything I can do?’ And our lawyer is very happy to help, our expert team. So, that’s one component of what we do. One very significant component of what we do is our legal services. In addition to that, we also provide a, a, a whole array of daily services that are available to homeschoolers. So, to help you with your daily homeschooling. So, things like our digital library where you have access to over 2,000 e- and audio homeschooling books, books for both parents on homeschooling, you know, ‘How do I do this?’ you know, ‘What, what is this all about?’ to very specific homeschooling books for your students. So, over 2,000 books in that library that you can just access. We have an exceptional needs consultant and exceptional needs information, so if you’re wondering about your students and different ways that you can help them or you’d like to speak to an expert, you have access to that expert as an HSLDA member. You know, we have the laws on homeschooling are all on our website and we have fillable forms there, so all you have to do is click the form and fill it, and everything that you need to do in your province is listed in our information. So, all of the evaluations that you need to do, how you need to register or notify, the different options, all of that is available right there to our members. And we have a free preschool membership, which is actually really cool. So, for people who are going, ‘Well, I’m thinking about this,’ you can actually join for free. So, um, those are some of the services. We actually have more, some of the day-to-day services that people may desire to access. And then when I was also talking about enabling beginner homeschoolers, our sister organization, CCHE, has created a new website called homeschool.today that has a whole lot of information on how to get started, from virtual workshops to educational methods to homeschool resources. All of that is available on the homeschool.today website as well. So, yeah.”
“Good to know. As our audience likely realizes, you know, this, such an organization like HSLDA wasn’t built in a day. So, tell us a little bit about the history. How did, uh, you know, what was the impetus for the organization, and when did it start? How did it move from the U.S. into Canada and, yeah, just just give us a little bit of insights into the history of the organization.”
“Sure. Um, so, you know, a long time ago in the, in the, in the ’80s when homeschooling began, things weren’t like they are now. Many school boards, most school boards were not in support of home education, and if you were a family who desired to home educate, it was often very difficult for you to do so. So, people, um, people sometimes were charged with truancy. There were even situations where people were, were told that they could have their children taken away from them if they continued to homeschool. So, HSLDA in the United States was invited to a conference in Alberta in 1991 and shared what they did and shared that what they saw going on in Canada was very similar to what had been happening in the United States 10 years earlier, and that they had expertise in how to encourage the development of good laws, in how to walk alongside families to support them who were in trouble. So, uh, HSLDA hired their first lawyer from Medicine Hat in 1993, uh, Dallas, Dallas Miller, who’s now Justice Dallas Miller, which speaks to the quality of the legal team that HSLDA has had historically. Then we went to, uh, Paul Ferriss was hired, and he was at the helm of HSLDA for 15 years, did an excellent job in supporting and advocating for homeschooling. And now we have Peter Stock as the president, and Peter has a long history of advocating for homeschooling. He’s a policy, he was a policy strategist, uh, in Ottawa on the hill. So, he comes with a lot of expertise. And Megan Zelinka is our lawyer, is one of our lawyers at this point, uh, and she, uh, she has she was homeschooled as a child, uh, just like Paul Ferriss was as well, and homeschools her family. So, um, so we have, we have grown to an, uh, to a fairly large organization that represents and helps homeschoolers.”
“Okay, excellent. Well, thank you for that. Uh, the next question I want to ask is the difference between the services that HSLDA provides on a national level compared to these services that you’re talking about at the Alberta level. Can you tell us of how Homeschool Legal Defense Association is supporting Alberta families here?”
“Oh, so, you know, I’d say all of the, you know, I wouldn’t say, uh, I would say that as a national organization, we serve peop, we serve people in provinces. So, we, we, we provide, uh, services to individuals in every province across, every province and territory across the country. So, our services are specialized. Our team knows the laws and requirements in in each province and we are able to walk us alongside individuals. At times, we will have specialized lawyers in special provinces who assist if there’s a little bit more that we need. And so, we know, um, homeschooling in every province in the country, in the country, and our national perspective gives us a very unique perspective because we understand how, what, how something that happens in one province can influence homeschoolers in another province. So, it’s very important for us to have that national understanding and then we also have a global understanding, having a partner in the United States, being a part of the Global Home Education, um, Exchange. Uh, we have a very vast, um, knowledge base.”
“Well, Patty, my next question for you is, uh, what is your vision for your new role here in Alberta on behalf of HSLDA?”
“Um, so, so, HSLDA has always had a very strong presence in Alberta, but specifically, I have specialized in an understanding of Alberta and the way things work. So, I bring those skills to my position at HSLDA to be able to, um, to to help Alberta home educators. We have always helped Alberta home educators, but I have that specialization, um, in Alberta that, that, um, uh, yeah, that that I think has a benefit to our organization.”
“So, my question is, uh, for, for someone who’s, who’s familiar with, uh, AHEA, Alberta Home Education Association, and for someone who’s familiar with AHA, Alberta Homeschool Association, for, you know, that person would have an understanding of those two groups. Now they’re hearing of Homeschool Legal Defense Association. How would you maybe compare, contrast, uh, Homeschool Legal Defense with AHEA and AHA?”
“Yeah, so what I can say is that, you know, if I go back to the founding of our organization, uh, AHEA invited HSLDA to their convention to speak to home educators, to talk to them because there were significant concerns and significant issues and wondering how we could help. So, there has been a relationship, uh, with provincial associations all and and there continues to be a relationship with provincial organizations all across the country. So, we complement each other, support each other, but we’re also unique organizations in what we do. So, those, uh, so those services that I provided earlier are unique to HSLDA, but we walk alongside similar organizations so that we can be stronger together, so that we can represent home educators well and do the best for homeschoolers. Right, help people to be able to, you know, I heard Megan Zelinka, our lawyer, say that if, if, if no one calls us, I know that I am doing my job incredibly well because the need to call me is less. So, there’s a lot of things that go on behind the scenes, but then when there’s stuff that comes to the forefront, then we are there to help as well.”
“Oh, excellent. Yeah. Well, it’s fantastic to know that HSLDA, like you said, they’ve always been serving Alberta. Now they’re, they’re just adding to and strengthening their supports for our Albertans. And so, Albertans have, as you’ve mentioned, even in your previous roles, how Alberta has the Alberta home educating families, parents have the most choice in all the provinces and territories, and now it seems like we have, um, well, I shouldn’t say we have the most support, but it sounds like we have a tremendous support in the sense of we have three organs, at least three major organizations here in the province. So, uh, that’s, that’s great to know that Homeschool Legal Defense is is increasing and strengthening their support because we can always use more support. So, with that in mind, um, I wanted to move into a question, uh, that some of our viewers may be having, is what is, why should they be interested in the legal side and legal services from Homeschool Legal Defense Association when in, in our minds here in Alberta, home education is legal, it’s funded, it’s recognized in the school act or the education act? So, in the, I’m just thinking some of our viewers might be thinking, ‘Well, why would I need legal defense in Alberta?’ Can you speak on that?”
“Um, sure. You know, and and the answer is very similar to, um, the answer to that question comes in a number of different forms. So, uh, first off, what, what can we do for you right now? Well, there’s all the services that we offer to parents right now. Um, if you, uh, want access to the digital library, to an exceptional needs consultant, to homeschool forms that are available, to teacher ID cards, you can get that right now. Um, you need access to a lawyer because you have contact with, you may have contact with a social worker. You want to sign up before you have that contact. You want to make sure that you do that because prevention is a huge part of the game. Most of the time when HSLDA gets involved, we can assist to help prevent things from escalating. So, we want to be able to walk with people right away when things happen, so we can prevent problems from getting big as compared to walking in once you’ve got a medium problem, then it’s harder to back up. So, we want to be able to get into, to provide some of those, uh, those the assistance to help you do things right at the beginning so that they don’t become big issues. Um, so those are, um, the services that, uh, the legal services that have you covered right away. And then again, um, you know, the, the homeschool movement has been a significant movement in Alberta, and many people will partner with us as part of that, a part of the, ‘I believe in homeschooling, I believe in what we’re doing,’ and ‘I understand that these different organizations are a significant part in that,’ so ‘I want to be able to help with that.’ And those laws that you were talking about, many of those are there, I’d say most, all of them are there because of the work that HSLDA has been a part of since 1991.”
“That’s a good point, and that’s a really, I’m glad you mentioned that because I would like to add to that and tell the viewers, uh, or just not tell you, but remind you that there’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes that we just don’t see, especially the families don’t see, and that’s on purpose. I think Patty would agree that people at the HSLDA level, at her, in your role, in my role at the school authority level, we all work very diligently to essentially create a shield around our homeschool parents so that you can have time to focus on your homeschooling, your home educating, your children. You don’t, we don’t want you to have to spend time doing what, um, what we’re doing essentially. So, we’re trying to keep this information not from you, but but do the work behind the scenes so you’re not distracted, perhaps you’re not worried. Uh, these things just, uh, don’t get into your sphere. They’re in our world and we’re dealing with them so you don’t have to. So, I think that’s a great point, Patty, that that you, the viewer, can be involved. You can get a membership in Homeschool Legal Defense even though you, you may never, hopefully, you you’ll never need it. But at the same time, you will know that you have it if you do need it. But even, what my point is, you’ll be helping and supporting the organization, uh, continue doing the things that you’ll never, you’ll likely never see, and just kind of assume have always been there. But like Patty, you said, they haven’t always been there, um, they had, they weren’t there 30 years ago or so, and they are, they’ve been in place for so long, we assume that’s always how it’s been and it hasn’t been like that. We can’t assume it’s always going to be like this for the next 30 years either. Right? The support of homeschoolers that helps in the background is very significant so that, like you said, parents can focus on their homeschooling so that they don’t have to worry about things that people in the ’80s did about their children being taken away from them, about the truancy officers coming to their door weekly. These are things that used to exist in our province that no longer do because of the work that we do, um, and and the work that we continue to do. You know, COVID advocacy, um, those kind of things are real and and they’re things that we continue to be involved in so that home educators can do well. Yeah, that’s a, that’s a great point. Definitely, definitely glad you mentioned that because, yeah, there’s just so much that happens behind the scenes, and again, it is on purpose. And we just assume it’s always going to be there. So, I definitely want to encourage everybody who’s watching to to pursue membership. And that’s a great segue into the next question, which is, how, Patty, how do our viewers, uh, get involved with HSLDA? How do they become a member? Yeah, what’s their next step if they like to be part of HSLDA?”
“Yeah, so I encourage you to go to the website. It’s fairly easy to find: hslda.ca. So, that’s homeschoollegaldefenseassociation.ca. hslda.com. And you can look at, at the website and you can click on ‘Becoming a member.’ Now, I just want to share that T H E E is, uh, as is, is a group that is associated with HSLDA. So, as an associated group, people who are affiliated with THEE actually get a discounted membership too, like discounted by $36. That’s a significant discount. Um, so you can, um, you can sign up there, and then you’ll have access to the members-only component of our website, which provides all of those services that I was telling you about that you don’t see right on the front of the website. You have to go into the back of it to have access to those services. Yeah. Well, thanks for mentioning the fact that THEE is a supporting member of HSLDA. And for you, the viewer, who are part of, who is part of THEE, you can go to our homepage at t-h-e-e.c-a and around the middle of the homepage, scroll down and you’ll see the fact the line that states that THEE is a member and then it gives our group number. So, if you want to get that discount, uh, you’ll need to use that group number when you register, when you apply. It’s not retroactive, so you have to make sure to get that discount that you apply that group number at the time of registration. So, I just want to throw that in there. But we’re very glad that to to be able to be a member at this, at that level.”
“Yeah, that’s great. And I just want to say that Brett has been a very significant part of the homeschool movement and the home school advocacy in Alberta. Brett and I have actually worked alongside each other for a very long time, and I highly respect Brett. So, um, Brett’s done a very significant job in his role and, uh, someone who you should be very thankful for as the families.”
“Well, thank you, Patty, for that as well. Well, Patty, thank you so much for the time you’ve given to us today. I really hope our viewers check in to all that HSLDA has to offer and, better yet, become a member and support not only what’s going on here in Alberta but across Canada as well. So, thank you again, Patty, for being part of this interview today. Great. Thank you very much for having me.”
