Sinsull referred to home schooling in Alaska which, in terms of its (lack of) registration and momitoring requirements, is probably more akin to the current situation in the UK that the Badman report has reviewed than our European neighbours or American 'cousins' in other States

Coincidentally, some of the issues discussed here about the UK were also the subject of a recent article in The Anchorage Daily News

Home school: Making the grade?

"Home-schooling has a long history in Alaska. In 1939, the territory started a correspondence program for rural residents who lived where there were no schools.

Correspondence programs were a hybrid -- home schooling, but with some state oversight.

In 1997, then-Sen. Loren Leman cleared any ambiguity about state oversight by sponsoring a law that gave complete freedom to parents. He and other legislators also did away with regulations that said certain subjects needed to be studied.

Some parents home-school for religious reasons. Some because their child has learning disabilities and needs special one-on-one attention that schools don't offer. Some because they don't like the public school social environments where their kids are bullied. And others because they think their kid will get more out of individualized instruction.

So, what's the actual issue here? What's the harm in at least requiring parents to register that they are home schooling their kids?

Narda Butler, a home-school mother and board member of the Anchorage Frontier Charter School who has worked with home-schooling kids for years, is a home-school advocate who wants accountability.

"I come from a background where I really enjoy having the freedom to make curriculum choices... but I also want kids to be adequately prepared."

"I find it very, very scary that you can home-school under Alaska law in a way that has very, very limited accountability." "