<p>All of the options people have suggested will be difficult for you, but they won’t be any worse than being stuck at home with no education, living among people who appear not to value your future. If I were you, I would contact the authorities while you are still under 18 and tell them you’ve been kept from school. You will not necessarily end up with a relative, but if you do, there will be a social worker checking on things so you won’t be off the radar as you have been for the past couple of years.</p>
<p>Don’t give up on yourself by arguing against some of the options people have proposed here. They are not perfect, but they may be the only chance you have of having a future as an educated person. You’re going to have to trust someone to help you on your way.</p>
<p>I read your entire thread and have nothing to add, except that you have good research and problem solving skills which are a great asset. Just take it one step at a time and go from there. You are in a challenging situation. Continue to ask for help. There are many good people in the world. Hugs and good luck.</p>
<p>I would still suggest going to your local High School and asking them for advice. It should be within walking/bicycling distance. They would give you advice on whether GED or traditional high school would be better and help you with a road map for your future education.
The high school guidance counselor would be the easiest trusted adult that would want to help you out.</p>
<h2>Okay this is how my day has been so far. (not so good)</h2>
<h2>I convinced one of my parents (who later told me that they took it as they were helping me figure out how to school more at the place I live with them, when I cleary stated otherwise) to drive me to the local high school. I then talked to one of the counselors in the school and was told they cannot do anything as i’m not an independent individual and I then asked how I would become such. The counselor then mentioned me going to the the county courthouse. I then traveled to the county courthouse and spoke to the clergy. The clergyman stated he had no idea how to help with my situation and stated for me to go to this office for “juveniles”. (me not sure if they could somehow help went there) I was then told that they had no idea as well and I then decided to try the local police as they were right there by the courthouse. They mentioned for me to go to the local school in the town that the county courthouse is located in and their would be an officer that would speak with me. (so I traveled there) I met up with the officer an mentioned everything that I have done today along with my situation. He then stated that as I am 17, in Texas state law i’m considered a legal adult and allowed to move out from my parents house without needing permission. However me still knowing that changes absolutely nothing about really anything. (I mentioned basically all the options I know about from research and pretty much all I know about going to the community college away from my parents and being in duel enrollment as well) After I mentioned those things, he told me then he didn’t know exactly what I could do about that.</h2>
<p>In the end of this I still am quite stuck and confused. (an I don’t think staying here would get me much further as everyone seems to agree. Even the officer agreed) </p>
<h2>I will still continue to see what I can do as of course I am determined to do something soon. I was mentioned that in order to enroll in the duel enrollment with the community college I wish to attend along with the high school. I would then have to go speak directly with those schools. The same also applies for just the college if I chose to take the GED there and attend the community college. However i’m not independent and of course as mentioned many times before i’d have to have some kind of legal guardianship or lawfully responsible for myself.</h2>
<p>Overall I didn’t make really any progress or learn much of anything I did not know. :(</p>
<p>OP- big hug. You are learning to advocate for yourself which isn’t always easy or fun but it will pay dividends when you are out there in the real world by yourself.</p>
<p>Find a phonebook; look up your town’s Department of Education (or “Superintendent of Schools office” or similar) and there should be someone there with a title like “Truant Officer” or “office of Attendance Management” or similar.</p>
<p>Tell the person who answers the phone the last time you were in school (approximately, you don’t need the exact date) and your age, and that you are trying to both complete your HS education AND get started on college but have no cooperation from your family and can they help you figure out what resources exist.</p>
<p>You do not need to tell someone in the school department what you have learned. That might confuse them or send them the wrong signal. Just tell them how long it’s been since you’ve been enrolled in school (which was well before you were 17 and clearly not an adult) and can they help you get back on track despite a lack of family support to get your GED.</p>
<p>I did actually mention to everyone I talked to that I haven’t been in school for some years and I wanted to enroll in this community college with possibly the high school there. (which is when they said i’d most likely have to go there to do so) However when I mentioned that my parents or any relatives were of no help is when I got the blank stare. I have known an came to understand though that my situation is quite complicated for someone to understand. I will look up some numbers and possibly make some calls today after I do some more research. </p>
<p>Thank you for your help though. Very much. Hugs appreciated as well :)</p>
<p>Music, I think the source of confusion is that your parents have no legal obligation to send you to community college (or any education at all once you are no longer a minor, have a diploma, etc.) So once you bring up that you need help to attend community college, the “grownups in charge” look blank.</p>
<p>Your message needs to be very straightforward- I was pulled out of school at age 15 (or whatever your exact age was when you stopped attending regular school) and I have not attended since.</p>
<p>This they can handle and is not complicated- you need to be in school and the law exists to protect minors (what you were at age 15) to make sure they get an education.</p>
<p>Once you start describing community college, dual enrollment, commuting, EFC, Pell Grants, etc. you are going to get bogged down. The Truant Officer for your town gets paid to make sure that kids and teenagers go to school. He or she is not going to be savvy about financial aid for college, how to bridge the gap between your EFC and your resources (which right now is zero), etc. And once you bring in other relatives besides your parents their eyes will glaze over. Your Aunts and Uncles, as loving or fabulous as they may be, do not have legal guardianship and therefore, are not responsible for enrolling you in school.</p>
<p>I agree with blossom. Say “my parents have kept me from school since 15” and then they will listen. With what you said, they might not have understood the whole traunt thing. Or not cared, which would be awful since it’s their job to care and make it right. </p>
<p>Keep trying. Find the right people to talk to and then pitch your case. You can do it! You’ve come so far already! We’re all rooting for you.</p>
<p>I do believe I understand everything you’re saying blossom. </p>
<p>I should make my story more simple to them at first indeed. I believe I just over-think what they might assume and try an get me put into the local high school and still be living if not with but around my parents and relatives.
I do not expect any aunt or uncle of mine (relatives in general) to help with my enrollment in school at all.
I’m looking forward as it’s been said, to a place not near here but the places I wish to attend. I’m just wondering now if possibly I should be talking to the authority there, rather than here. (of course I will still talk to them here as well though)</p>
<p>To harvestmoon, Thank you for your rooting support as well I will definitely keep trying.</p>
<p>Don’t rule out getting put into the local high school…It may be better for you to be “back in the system”. They may have an alternative route for you to take in high school. But by being in the system you have other adults making sure you are getting an education.</p>
<p>You need to think about your long term goal…graduating college. To do that you have to get into college and get college paid for. To do that you need to finish high school.<br>
You are still a kid…it is difficult for you to do this all on your own. By being in the system, you may have friends that could take you to a test or someone could suggest you get a taxi or you could be on a school bus.</p>
<p>HI bopper, I’m only ruling out being put into the “local” high school. I would not mind attending this other high school I have in mind as I would be able to do duel enrollment with the “community” college I was wanting to attend. The absolute only thing I am ruling out at all is thinking at all i’d be able to accomplish anything ‘here’ where I have currently stayed for some odd years now. I totally get your point of view of me being younger and needing a lower education, such as taking my first steps. However my first step would have to be somehow finding a way to be able to be enrolled in the high school I have in mind or take the GED and attend the community college. At this point in time i’m currently not looking into a bigger college than community, but I do not want to do much of anything wrong to mess up any opportunities I might have of doing so in the future. </p>
<p>Thanks for your say :)</p>
<p>–edit: I am thinking about my long term goal for sure, but I also am not aware if I did not do duel enrollment or did anything involving the community college. (such as just registering to go to the high school I wouldn’t mind going to) I don’t know if i’d still be able to receive any aid of any type or be responsible for myself for that matter. I would then probably be put into some foster family or some sort of other care rather than by myself? I do not mind at all going back to high school by itself but i’m also aware that there probably are better options such as the duel or GED which is of course the equivalent. Basically all in all i’m not really ruling out much other than being ‘here’ rather than ‘there’ to continue my education.</p>
<p>Rule nothing out. Right now your goal is to find someone (social worker, guidance counselor, truant officer, director of student enrollment, child services worker) who understands that you have not been in school since you were 15. Don’t complicate your case by bringing up multiple outcomes, college, etc. Once someone in a position of authority has opened a case file on you and has set the wheels turning to find a solution, you will have time to evaluate options, discuss your desire to be in college without having to go back to HS, etc. BUT unfortunately, there is nobody “out there” in government who gets paid to get kids to attend college (there are lots of people working for non-profits and foundations and church groups who do this-- but for now they are irrelevant for you. You need a HS diploma.) But the government has people to make sure that parents send their kids to school. Those are the people you need to start with.</p>
<p>So nothing is off the table, ignore geography for now, ignore all this stuff about dual enrollment. Get a case-worker, then you can start to evaluate options. Keep it simple.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How far do you have to drive for the GED? Can’t you arrange GED from your neighborhood HS? </p></li>
<li><p>Why can’t you enroll into your HS!!! Under what set of circumstances HS may refuse to accept the student !!!</p></li>
<li><p>Forget college, finish HS first. </p></li>
<li><p>Get bike. It is really cheap. You can easily bike 10-20 miles per day. Plus, bike trails are often shorter than roads for cars. How far is your HS? Does it provide buses?</p></li>
<li><p>I have no sympathy for OP.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>California, we are supporting the OP’s right to a HS education (and the law protects minors whose parents block them from attending school.) Whether she or he goes straight to college or not is something that needs to be sorted out by the college… but it is egregious to take a kid out of school at 15 under the guise of home-schooling and then, not to provide an appropriate education.</p>
<p>Yes, in many places you do not need a HS diploma to attend college or community college. But you need to get apply and get accepted- you can’t just not show up for HS one day and declare yourself a college student.</p>
<p>Hi californiaaa. I’m not sure if I can re-register to take the GED elsewhere. (don’t see why not) When I do try to register online on the state/gov website, I am only able to access the information that tells me to complete my current registration. (registered at the community college) I’m sure it could be changed though, however I would need my ‘parents’ to fill out paperwork in order for me to take it.</p>
<p>To your second question; I can enroll in my high school but again only with my parents signature/consent and there is a problem as I have stated before. (I don’t want to spill out every detail of anything about it as it’s very long, complicated, and it would probably make everyone seem crazy about telling me to move away from my parents) Which I would understand why, as I would like to. I do not know where exactly my next move would be though as the story of it all involves almost all my relatives. The only thing I have mentioned about it besides be being out of school is me having to attend docters, psychologists, offered to attend therapy, and be put into a mental institute in order to be enclosed away from all my surroundings. (meaning get away from where I was currently staying if I worded that wrong)
I don’t know what other information i’d mention other than having to detail out most of my life. (meaning it’s a pretty big thing)</p>
<p>To the third statement; It seems i’m not quite getting the whole thing about duel enrollment. If I was to do that would I not be finishing high school at the same time? (not exactly that simple but just in general question)</p>
<p>Also to your bike statement. I have plenty experience in walking an biking 10, 20, 30 miles plus.
Still very thankful for your opinions and statements Thank you</p>
<p>It looks like everyone supports OP. Amazing.</p>
<p>17-years old man (kid?) can’t call his HS? Can’t enroll into HS? Can’t bike to his HS? </p>
<p>He was pulled out of HS at 15 (why?!). He can’t learn independently (he admitted that he learned for couple of months, but couldn’t do it). I know lots of kids that are homeschooled, and their parents are at work 8 to 5. Parents work is not an obstacle for kids to learn.</p>
<p>why can’t he pass GED?! Learning disability? 15-year olds have enough knowledge to pass GED. In our HS, GED is administered in the 9th grade … almost everyone passes. </p>
<p>I fell sorry for OP’s parents. They took kid from school (because he was not fitting in), they tried their best to find alternatives (homeschooling). Now OP feels entitled to go to college and everyone supports him.</p>
<p>OP had troubles to study in HS! Why do you support his plans to go to college? May be his parents are right, college is not for him.</p>
<p>If college is 4-hour drive from home … do you expect parents to drive OP there and back every day? What kind of plan is it?</p>
<p>californiaaa—
I can call the high school, I actually went there today in person. I was pulled out of school at 15 to be homeschooled and I at the time was under the state of mind by my parents that I would be visiting someone elses home nearby as there were many homeschooling kids there. I was only to find out that was not the case, but at the time I figured it would still be possible with my parents. Now the obstacle I ran into is I had no homeschool work? My parents in no way provided me with any type of work at all, nor did I know where to receive any. (as homeschooling of course you still receive books and work or atleast help with obtaining any work am I correct?) I tried studying on my own however I was told by my parents I was “done” with school. That is exactly where that ended.</p>
<p>I never mentioned or was it mentioned I cannot pass the GED and no I do not have a learning disability. (thanks) </p>
<p>I do not know where you get information on how I did or did not fit into school, nor where they tried ‘their best’. Also of course I want to try to further my education towards community college as I saw it as a great opportunity to begin.</p>
<p>The community college and high school i would attend is 4 hours away indeed. No I was not expecting to be drove back an forth from here to there. (can I not live around the campus with off-campus living support if I even was to still go with my initial plans?)</p>
<p>I do not know how much you read out of everything posted but if you want me to answer anymore or do not understand anything still, please continue to ask.</p>
I will definitely keep trying.</p>