If so, he could decide to enroll on his own.

explain the situation, suggest anonymity is necessary if it is, and if not, provide what specific location info you have. I'm not up on this but I suspect that MOST states/jurisdictions provide some sort of oversight for the 'home-schooled.'

This is clearly an important public policy issue and we ALL are responsible to see to it that future generations are able to take the reins of their lives.

Good luck.

Perhaps a call to Child Protective Services? ( That's what they call it here. YMMV)

It's illegal for him NOT to be schooled.

Are the grandparents a mess too? If not, maybe they can make the call? Any non-crazy aunts/uncles in the picture?

Thanks for taking an interest.

What a world.

In some states, it's illegal.

In other states, regulated. Sometimes greatly, sometimes only moderately.

In a state like Texas, if the parents have the merest hint of a suggestion of an outline of a whiff of a curriculum, that's fine.

It's also a question of whether the kid's telling the unvarnished truth or exaggerating. I'm guessing he's not.

Contact child protective services. An alternative would be any high school principal in the state; they'd know the law, and if they're going to err it'll be on the side of being too aggressive in actions against homeschooling.

I only know his father's side of the family and they are all messed up. Part of my issue with reporting this is that he is not from this area. He will be moving in the next couple of weeks but doesn't know where. We both live in the state of Georgia and he will probably stay within the general area where he was.

I am thinking I may try to get him to promise me that he will call the school he wants to attend when he gets home and try to talk to someone there. Maybe a counselor. I believe he will keep in touch with me if I ask him to. He always visits me when he is in town but I have never given him my phone number so he could call when he is away. I could at least find out what county he ends up in and maybe call protective services there.

go to school in your area? I'm thinking that he could def benefit from your guidance and interest; seems like he turns to you for normal adult interaction.

Relieving him of his crazy relatives would be a blessing.

Have you talked to him about any of these ideas? He's 16, I would def talk to him before he leaves. Give him an idea of what things are possible and ask which he would like to do and offer to call the relevant school/authorities to ease him into high school.

She is his father's mother and she fills the role of enabler in the family. For instance, his father lives with her, stays drunk a lot of the time. The boys aunt lives in the same apartment bldg and stays spaced out on methadone most of the time.

Good idea for me to volunteer to call the school for him.

Thanks

I worked in a middle school and had a student whose mother didn't bring her in for the first month of school. Someone turned her in to children's services. There was a caseworker assigned through the local juvenile system who made sure the student went and stayed in school along with providing the family with other services they were in need of and an advocate for the student (who is special needs). It may turn out to be very beneficial for the whole family.

I have contacted a social worker in a nearby county who is a friend of a friend. One issue right now is that the boy and his mother are in the process of moving. She hasn't found a house to rent yet. I am going to try to keep in touch with him if he leaves here before he knows where he is going to be living. These cases are handled on a county by county basis. The social worker will help me get to the right person once we know what county he ends up in.