Home School Legal Defense Association
and Foundation Consumer Information
Updated February 16, 2013
By Mary H. McCarthy, links from Ann Zeise
There are many different opinions about The
Home School Legal Defense Association. First off, it's your
money and you may spend it any way you wish. If you want to join,
by all means join, just know what you are joining.
Read the HSLDA membership agreement
or mission statement
the word 'insurance' is mentioned once: where they say they are not an insurance company. Isn't that interesting?
Write a letter to your
state's Insurance Commissioner, enclose an HSLDA application,
and request an investigation as to whether HSLDA is a legal
service plan; if such plans are legal in your state and whether
the Commissioner is familiar with HSLDA. Ask if there are any
complaints against them or the
individual lawyers involved on file with their office. Ask
if this type of pre-paid
legal service plan is regulated by your state. The address
can usually be found in the phone book, or address it to the
agency in your state capital. Use a zip
code directory to locate government buildings. [Better yet,
use the links in this article!]
Write a letter to your
state Bar Association and ask if HSLDA and the
individual attorneys are members in good standing, and if
they need to be to practice law in your state. Ask if there are
any complaints on file against HSLDA and/or the individual attorneys.
You may also wish to contact your
state's or country's Consumer Affairs Division.
You may also wish to contact authorities in Virginia where
HSLDA/F is headquartered. You do not have to live in VA to contact
authorities there and request information about HSLDA/F. [Virginia Bar Association, Virginia Consumer Affairs,
Virginia
Bureau of Insurance]
You can request from HSLDA
copies of their Audited Financial Statements and IRS
Form 990's. These contain all the financial information,
and as a non-profit organization, are required to be made available
to members and potential members on request. Be sure to ask for
forms for BOTH HSLDA and HSLDFoundation as both are active, separate
corporations conducting business. Expect to pay a minimal fee
for the cost of copying. If HSLDA/F tells you they do not have
financial statements, ask them how they file tax returns without
financial information.
You can also request "Public Inspection Copies"
of HSLDA and HSLDF's IRS Form 990's for the previous 5 years
from the IRS. Write a letter
to:
Internal Revenue Service
Department of the Treasury
PO Box 9941
Ogden UT 84409
attn: MS 6716.
Include your name, address and phone number. Do not send money,
they will contact you and tell you what they have available and
how much to send. Include the Employer Identification Numbers
(EIN): HSLDA's is 54-1719605, and HSLDF's is 52-1354365.
These are the same tax-returns and are public information,
as are ALL non-profit organizations, so that contributors can
make informed decisions as to whether they want to contribute
to an organization. You will be able to see how much is spent
on running the organization, paying salaries, grants to other
organizations and lobbying. You will also be able to see how
much is spent on 'specific assistance to individuals' which will
give you an idea of how much is spent to help members. The only
information the IRS withholds is contributors TO HSLDA/F.
When and if you have satisfied yourself that
HSLDA/F is what you want to join, then you will be an informed
consumer and a wise steward of your resources able to receive
the best available benefits of your membership.
- Mary H. McCarthy
American Prepaid Legal Services Institute
The American Bar Association maintains this list of prepaid legal
services. HSLDA is not among them. You can contact
the ABA to see if they just forgot.
Battling
for the heart and soul of home-schoolers
Conservative fundamentalists have set the agenda for kids taught
at home -- now they're aiming to influence public education.
By Helen Cordes, Salon, October 2, 2000.
Better Business Bureau - Legal Service Plans
Whether a legal service plan is for you depends largely on your
situation. Before you pay hundreds of dollars a year to join
a legal service plan, ask yourself a few questions.
Charitable Solicitations Program Charity Profile Report for HSLDA
Assets reported for fiscal year ending March 31, 2011: $12,729,238. According to the annual report, during the 2011-2012 fiscal year, grants and administration were $1,554,644. You've got to wonder where the remaining $11,175,000 in assets are stashed.
Citizenship
or Lawyership: Choosing Political Strategies for Homeschoolers
If you knew that in states throughout the land, homeschooling
cases involving people like you were being taken to court in
a misguided attempt to protect the rights of homeschoolers and
that most of these cases were being decided against homeschoolers,
wouldn't you be concerned?
Coalition Against
Insurance Fraud
How to avoid being victimized by insurance fraud. Insurance fraud
scams steal the premiums consumers pay and leave them with unpaid
claims, sometimes leading to financial ruin.
Consumer World
Online magazine with tons of articles about consumer information.
Do
We Need a Homeschool Legal "Insurance" Organization?
Many homeschooling parents believe the answer is "No."
Fight Bad-Faith Insurance Companies
FBIC educates, informs and helps consumers and businesses fight
back against Bad Faith Insurers that deny and/or withhold proper
payment of Policyholders and Claimant's legitimate claims.
Hiring an Attorney
The only thing worse than not having access to an attorney is to have a bad one!
HSLDA & Gun Free
School Zones
AN A to Z ARTICLE
HSLDA thwarted. Thanks for all your letters supporting homeschoolers'
right to be called private schools.
HSLDA's
"History" Erodes the Foundations of Our Freedom
HSLDA has relied on statutes, including legislation and court
cases, which do not give us our freedom and which instead erode
its foundations. By Larry and Susan Kaseman, HEM S/O 01.
HSLDFoundation Grant Recipients
1998
HOME SCHOOL LEGAL DEFENSE ASSOCATION EIN 54-1719605; Form 990
for tax year 1998 (4/01/98- 3/31/99) rec'd in Ogden Utah 2/17/2000;
Public inspection copy IRS, PO Box 9941, Ogden UT 84409, MS 6717.
Lawyer
Referral Services
A public service of the ABA's Division for Legal Services, operated
as a public service by many state and local bar associations.
Legal Ethics
What is an ethical lawyer? This site helps define such: what
can lawyers do and not do online and off? Based on legal decisions,
what else!
Martindale-Hubbell
Authoritative guide to the American legal profession. The database
is now regarded as the primary research source for information
about attorneys and law firms around the world.
National Consumer
Law Center
Useful links for all sorts of consumer issues.
Professors To Leave Patrick Henry
by Charlie Jackson. Mar 23, 2006 -- A public debate
at Patrick Henry College about whether the Bible is the only
source of truth preceded the decisions by three professors and
an instructor last week to tell school administration they would
not return for another year. Michael
Farris, formerly of HSLDA, runs PHC.
Reconstruction Theology and Home Education
To more clearly understand the increasing divisiveness in homeschooling and the various leaders involvement in a political religion, it is necessary to become familiar with some of the facets of Christian theology and theocracy. By Mary McCarthy.
Standing
Committee on Group and Prepaid Legal Services
The center of the ABA's effort to promote the development of
legal service plans for the benefit of both consumers and lawyers.
It works closely with the American Prepaid Legal Services Institute
to support and disseminate information about such programs.
Unitarian
Universalist Homeschoolers speaks out against HSLDA
Unitarian Universalist (UU) Homeschoolers believe we cannot let
HSLDA's gross misrepresentation of home educators as a single-minded
group with a collective conservative agenda go unchallenged.
What is HSLDA's relationship with local and state homeschool organizations?
While HSLDA has no official relationship with any local or state homeschool groups, we do provide groups the opportunity to offer HSLDA membership at a discount to their families.
When an Insurance Company Breaches Its Contract
When an insurance company has used advertising and solicitation
materials that are unfair or deceptive, some states provide legal
protection to the policyholders and others do not.
Who's
Country is this?
It is probable that some of the individuals involved in homeschooling
and/or HSLDA are Reconstructionists, while others who associate
with them are not.
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