Home-schoolers denied at the door

COEUR d'ALENE — Kira Birdsall spent most of the day Saturday getting ready to attend the Homecoming Dance at Lake City High School.

The home-schooled freshman showed up to Lake City's campus alongside her two best friends — one who attends the high school and another who takes her high school courses online from home. But, before they were allowed to purchase a ticket for the dance, they were told that Coeur d'Alene School District policy forbid anyone not attending a school within the district from attending.

"Had everybody known that they weren't going to allow homeschoolers, we probably would have said 'Well that's really dumb,' but maybe we can get the policy changed for next time," said Aaron Birdsall, Kira's father. "We certainly wouldn't have sent our kids all dressed up and ready to go to a dance."

Birdsall added that, after his daughter and her friend were turned away, more than 20 other students in a similar situation simply called their parents to come pick them up. In a phone conversation with The Press, he said he plans on asking district officials to change the policy, and wants a public apology from LCHS Principal Deanne Clifford.

"Whether they have the policy in place or not doesn't really matter. What matters is the policy itself needs to be changed because it's ridiculous," Birdsall said. "My daughter would have actually gone to Lake City High School. My daughter is part of the anime club at Lake City and goes there every week. She was in the homecoming parade, on the float, promoting the school for the anime club."

According to the Lake City High School Student Handbook, "only currently enrolled Coeur d'Alene School District 271 students" may attend school dances. The junior prom and senior ball are exceptions to this rule, the handbook states, as long as an enrolled student signs up at the office and has their guest's principal sign a form.

"It didn't even occur to me (to call the school prior to the dance to see if his daughter could attend) because it's never been an issue," Birdsall said. "Our daughter is there every single week — why would it even occur to us that there would be an issue when from the beginning we were told that she would get to participate in all the activities that the school is doing?"

District spokeswoman Laura Rumpler told The Press Wednesday that the dance policy has been in place for 22 years. She added that, prior to the dance, the school communicated the policy via email, the school's newsletter, on the school's website, posted signs in the commons, distributed fliers for the dance and made intercom announcements.

The Idaho High School Activities Association, an organization that creates regulations for sanctioned athletics and activities such as football and drama, has only stipulated that if homeschooled students wish to participate in sanctioned activities at the school, they must do so in the zone of their residence. Dances, Rumpler said, are not covered by those regulations.

Clifford expanded on the policy, and her reasoning for not allowing the home-schooled students into the dance. She told The Press she strives for fairness and consistency as a school administrator.

In the week leading to the dance, Clifford said she turned down multiple requests from students who want to bring non-district dates and friends to the dance. She turned each and every one of those requests down.

"The parents of the two home-schooled students I interacted with Saturday evening wanted me to give an exception for their kids and allow them into the dance," Clifford said. "I didn't feel that was fair and they didn't like my answer."

The policy has been in place for more than two decades, she added, primarily due to student safety. Clifford said staff at the school, as well as school resource officers, work at getting to know students on a daily basis. These established relationships give them the ability to know which students warrant extra attention, and the ones that just need a friendly nudge away from trouble.

"If one of our students uses poor judgment at our dance and misbehaves, we can address those misbehaviors immediately and follow up with school consequences," Clifford said. "Our schools have no disciplinary oversight over home-schooled kids or other teens not enrolled in our school district."

Birdsall had a phone conversation with Clifford on Wednesday morning and said he still plans on asking the district to change the policy.

"The district is always willing to listen to concerns from the community and we understand why this situation created disappointment for the teens who were turned away at the dance," Rumpler said. "Student safety will always be a priority and a key topic of discussion if the district or school administrators consider any possible changes to who is admitted into school dances."

The homecoming dance is put on using student council funds and serves as a fundraiser for the council.