Homeschoolers warn Lee child care bill could regulate them; amendment promised
House Bill 106, which is aimed at providing some new regulatory flexibility for certain child care providers, was on calendars in both Senate and House committees this week.
Because of a change the bill would make to definitions of education providers, many in Tennessee's homeschool community are concerned that it could unintentionally create burdensome regulations for homeschool tutorials and collaborative learning groups.
House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, who is sponsoring the bill, said Tuesday that an amendment is coming to specifically exclude any application to homeschoolers.
"This legislation simply updates the list of eligible child care facilities exempt from DHS licensure. Nothing in this bill applies to homeschoolers or will impact them in any way," Lamberth told The Tennessean. "However, we will be happy to amend this bill to ensure clarity on this issue."
Claiborne Thornton, president of the Tennessee Home Education Association, told The Tennessean that he raised concerns with the sponsors and asked for the bill to be amended to exclude homeschoolers. He hopes that the issue will be resolved amicably.
'If we're not able to do that, then we will have to have a vigorous opposition to the bill because it would — I think inadvertently — take out co-ops and tutorials,' Thornton said.
An administration official on Monday confirmed to The Tennessean that an amendment is coming to clarify that the bill will not apply to homeschoolers in any way.
While homeschoolers are not regulated by the Department of Human Services, legally under the state's compulsory school attendance requirement, school-aged children must be in a school, at home with a parent, in a homeschool or in a day care.
Tutorials and co-ops — classes, electives and activities taught by parents or others with expertise or specialized knowledge to groups of homeschool students from multiple families — are not considered single-home schools, so the bill could easily be interpreted to apply to them.
'It does appear that the sponsor's intent is to affect child care services only,' Thornton said. 'But the way the day care bill is written, it does reach out and — I believe inadvertently — encompasses co-ops and tutorials. Co-ops and tutorials are not considered schools. They are enrichment programs for having multiple different schools represented in a single co-op or tutorial.'
In response to inquiries from The Tennessean, the governor's office confirmed that the intent of the bill is to apply to child care providers only.
'The intent of HB0106 is to create more opportunity for the private sector to offer childcare options and support working parents in Tennessee,' Lee spokesperson Elizabeth Johnson wrote in an email. 'Homeschools are not currently regulated by DHS, and this bill does not change that.'
THEA represents about 3,500 homeschool families in Tennessee — a fraction of the estimated 70,000 homeschoolers in the state.
Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@tennessean.com.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee homeschoolers warn bill could regulate them; change promised
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