PFSD: Homeschool students unfairly excluded from events

Dear Post Falls School Board Members,

I am writing on behalf of every homeschooled student in our community who is currently barred from participating in middle and high school extracurricular events — dances, prom, homecoming, and other cherished social traditions.

My seventh-grade daughter is homeschooled because of special medical needs that make traditional classroom attendance unworkable for her. Despite the many limitations her health challenges place on her, she tries so hard every day to live as normal a life as she possibly can. She stays connected with friends and — like any other middle-schooler — gets genuinely excited about simple things like dressing up and going to a school dance with her best friend. When that best friend (a Post Falls Middle School student) invited her to the upcoming dance, my daughter lit up — only to be told that district policy excludes all homeschooled students, no exceptions. In a few short years this same rule will take away prom and every other milestone dance from her and every other homeschooled teen in Post Falls.

Nearby Lakeland and Coeur d’Alene School Districts have chosen a different path: they welcome homeschooled guests through a simple, responsible guest-pass and verification process. Their success shows that inclusion is not only possible — it is already working well just minutes away.

As Post Falls residents and homeowners, homeschooling families pay the same property taxes that fund our public schools, including the very facilities, staff, and activities tied to these events. It is painful to contribute to a system that then declares our children unwelcome at its celebrations.

True inclusivity means recognizing that learning happens in many forms and that community belongs to all of our children — not just those enrolled in a traditional classroom. Right now, the policy tells my daughter, and every homeschooled child, that they are outsiders no matter how hard they try to participate in “normal” life. That is not the welcoming, equitable district I believe Post Falls wants to be.

I respectfully urge the Board to review and revise this exclusionary policy before spring semester, ideally by adopting a straightforward guest-pass system similar to our neighboring districts. A small change would give my daughter — and every other homeschooled student — the chance to do the ordinary things that turn into extraordinary memories.

Thank you for your time and thoughtful consideration. I would be grateful for the opportunity to discuss this further and assist in any way that might help.

JAIME CORNWELL

Post Falls