In a troubling and confusing case out of Buffalo, New York, a mother of two said she is the victim of racial profiling and law enforcement abuse after attempting to home-school her children.

This may be a cautionary tale for anyone attempting to take their kids out of public schools. And the lesson may be: Know the home schooling statues in your state — and strictly heed them.

While home schooling is a fundamental right of every American parent, each state passes reasonable regulations, which parents must follow.

Kiarre Harris, a black single mom of two children, began to research home schooling last November because she was not happy with the Buffalo Public School system. On Dec. 7, 2016, she filed a “notice of intent to home-school” as required by state law, in order to withdraw her kids from the public school.

But by mid-January, Child Protective Services had taken her two children away from her — and placed them in foster care. In the course of that event, Harris was arrested for obstructing CPS and the police.

So how did this mom go from Point A to Point B in a little over a month’s time — and what can parents and administrators learn from her ordeal?

Homeschooling has become mainstream. If done well, the results for children can be impressive. According to the National Home Education Research Institute, the test scores of home-schooled students are higher than the national average for all students.

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While home schooling is a fundamental right of every American parent, each state is allowed to pass reasonable regulations, which parents must follow. Some states, like Illinois and Indiana, have virtually no rules. Other states have installed hoops that parents must jump through in order to be in compliance with the law as they exercise their right.

Related: The Real Benefits of Homeschooling

New York is a state with fairly stringent regulations. Parents must follow strict guidelines in terms of when and how to withdraw their children from the school system, what kinds of lesson plans they must submit, and what types of yearly assessments they must provide. Were procedures followed in this particular case?

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Harris said she filed the documents to home-school her children, dated Dec. 7, at Buffalo City Hall, reported news station WKBW. The district said it received her paperwork. Harris told WKBW, “I spoke directly to the home school coordinator, and she told me from this point on my children were officially un-enrolled from school.”

A string of events must occur after the “notice of intent” filing. The school district must send parents a copy of the regulations and a form on which an individualized home instruction plan (IHIP) must be prepared for each child.

The parent then has four weeks to submit the IHIP form to the school district. As with any legal event, this process should be documented with copies retained by all parties. The facts disclosed thus far do not say conclusively whether all was done in a timely and orderly manner. It does appear there may have been communication issues between Harris and her school district.

But whether it was a communications issue or a paperwork snafu, does it justify removing children from their own home and placing them into foster care? That seems incredibly drastic — to say the least. Surely other means could have been used to protect the educational welfare of these children. The involvement of social services in an education matter can have dire consequences for parents.

Was something else going on in this troubling case? It is possible.

The document alleged Harris “has failed or refused to cooperate with school officials,” and that she “engaged in a pattern of switching children from school to school.”

WKBW Buffalo filed the most recent update on Harris and her children. She appeared Friday, Feb. 10, 2017, in an Erie County Family Court, requesting her children be returned to her from foster care.

The Buffalo Public School District sent the following statement to WKBW: “In response to allegations that the Buffalo Public Schools improperly processed home schooling paperwork for a parent, the District asserts that those claims are inaccurate. After investigation, it is clear that Child Protective Services was contacted prior to the District receiving a Letter of Intent from the parent to home-school her children. The District remains committed to providing necessary supports to parents and children.”

Did the CPS investigation predate this mom’s attempt at home schooling? From Harris’ perspective, the details of the complaint are troublesome. Harris said, “The court summons read like a dystopian novel,” according to PJ Media. The single mother explained they were charging her with child neglect but provided false statement after false statement. In a heated moment, the mother called it “this fictitious-a** document.”

The summons said Harris had “failed or refused to ensure that the children attend school on a regular basis,” reported PJ Media. It then added that “both children have not attended school since approximately November 16.”

Here, Harris interjected:”That’s very approximate … like I said, this happened in December.”

The document also alleged Harris “has failed or refused to cooperate with school officials,” and that she “has engaged in a pattern of switching children from school to school.” Here, the mother noted that even if that were the case (which she says it was not), “That’s not indicative of neglect. Changing a child’s school is not neglectful by any means.”

But court records and interviews with experts familiar with CPS cases suggest there could be more to the situation, reported The Buffalo News last week. Although Harris remains focused on the home-schooling issue, the original court petition filed against the mother of two alleges that she also failed to provide stable housing for her children and that she has a history of domestic violence.

“[Those charges] were from years ago, unrelated to this circumstance at all,” Harris said at a press conference last week. “My children were never in any imminent danger.”

Related: Why We Chose to Homeschool

So what is going on here? Some investigations into home schooling, like this one, are a peculiar mixture of education and social service law. About half the states include educational neglect under the definition of abuse. In the other states, educational neglect is not included in the definition of abuse or neglect, but compulsory attendance is enforced by means other than social services, according to Responsiblehomeschooling.org. Local school districts initially enforce compulsory attendance and only get social services involved if their attempts to bring families into legal compliance fails.

New York State investigates educational neglect as a social services matter. In other states where this is the case, parents need to take particular care to comply with the law. Why? The slightest deviation invites the social services industry to investigate everything going on in the family.

Harris is scheduled to go back to court on March 15 and until then, her children are with their grandmother. Harris is allowed two hours per week of supervised visitation. The case appears to be a bundle of trouble for this mom. Could some of it have been avoided? Only a complete airing of all the facts will tell.

Related: More Parents Choose Homeschooling

Social service investigations are shrouded in privacy and secrecy. The shortfalls of the school and/or the mother will be revealed in time.

Harris last week filed two complaints with the federal government, reported The Buffalo News, alleging the school district and CPS discriminated against her because she is black.

In cases where the waters are not muddied by other claims of neglect or abuse, how can parents steer clear of such legal entanglements? Two principles prevail: Know the law, and follow it completely. Keep copies of documents, get everything in writing, and carefully document all conversations — keeping the nose of social services out from under your tent.

Christine Field is an author, attorney, and speaker who has written extensively on parenting and legal issues. She previously served as counsel for a national nonprofit organization that provides legal protection for parental rights and home schooling.