Georgia Technical College Employee Spreads Misinformation About Homeschool Cooperatives

We received notification from several homeschool families in Central Georgia who have expressed concern and confusion regarding the post below that is being circulated by an employee at Central Georgia Technical College about homeschool cooperatives and the legitimacy of a homeschool diploma. 
Homeschool Cooperatives by their structure are not schools but they are organizations that allow parents to pool resources to participate in classes, engage in activities, and celebrate milestone accomplishments (such as attending graduation ceremonies). 
Tiers Free Homeschool Cooperative operates under Georgia Law OCGA 20-2-690. Homeschool parents and guardians have the right to select a homeschool cooperative for their classes; and, if they choose, they can decide to partner with the homeschool cooperative to issue their diploma upon the decision by the parent. 
Homeschool families work hard to provide their children (regardless of their child's age) an opportunity to participate in the same opportunities as their public and private school counterparts. Homeschool cooperatives do not require accreditation. Accreditation is only required by public, private, and charter schools. Homeschool cooperatives, by definition, are not any of these educational entities. 
Misinformation about one homeschool cooperative doesn't just hurt that homeschool cooperative--it hurts all homeschool cooperatives and all homeschool graduates. 
To the families who brought this post to our attention, thank you. While we had suspected this behavior was happening, we did not have tangible proof that we needed. Your diligence in protecting your right to issue your homeschool diploma gave us the proof that we needed to take the attorneys at the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). We will work with HSLDA attorneys to protect all Georgia homeschoolers from misinformation. 



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