As you all know we were successful last Monday night in having the City of Albuquerque's City Council unanimously pass the bill that would allow homeschoolers equal access to city facilities including the Biopark.
During the meeting on Friday afternoon with the Assistant Director of the Biopark, Director of Cultural Services and the Mayor's Education Coordinator they came to understand that the issue with homeschooling families and the City was only in regards to the process of having to turn in our state registration forms before being able to schedule an event. In response to this discussion the Mayor's office will pass a resolution resolving this discrepancy.
I made sure to emphasize the fact that community centers around town have not only started offering classes just for homeschoolers but have allowed us to hold our conferences in their facilities as well as providing space for our own classes and events.
The outcome of this meeting was extremely successful, not only did we eliminate the need for homeschoolers to have to turn in a copy of their State Registration form to the Biopark but we opened a line of communication, cooperation, and understanding that will only benefit our families and future homeschoolers!
The process of allowing groups access to the Biopark and it's programs is still the same requiring a two-week minimum reservation, a contact person and information, the numbers of students attending and who will be paying and who has a membership. This will allow easier access to available docents and programs but be sure to plan ahead for your group to see if your preferred program is available because they fill up quickly! The only change is your group contact will not have to collect each family's copy of their State Registration form in advance of planning a reservation!!
Congratulations to our entire community for the time and energy that was put into making this a reality!
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