Latest news with #HomeschoolLegalDefenseAssociation
Fox News
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
School choice activists warn parents about blue state's homeschool bill with jail-time provision
From one blue-state parent to another, activists in California are warning Illinois families about a bill advancing through their state legislature that would create more regulations, and penalties, for homeschooling parents. It's the latest high-profile battle dealing with school choice, a campaign issue President Donald Trump ran on. "Illinois, California, Colorado, they all compete with each other. They're coming after homeschooling, just like they've been coming after public schools," California parents rights activist Sonja Shaw said in a video posted to X on Wednesday. "They're attacking families, stripping parental rights, and pushing their radical agendas while our kids are failing at reading, writing and math." At issue is HB2827, the Homeschool Act, which would charge parents with a misdemeanor if they fail to register their kids in a "homeschool declaration form" to the nearest public school they would otherwise be attending. Failure to do so would be considered truancy, and parents could face up to 30 days in jail with fines. The bill passed a major hurdle passing out of the Democrat-dominated House education committee in a party-line vote on Wednesday, despite having upward of 50,000 witness slips in opposition and only 1,000 in support, including the Illinois State Board of Education. California parents opposed a similar bill that failed to make it out of committee in the state legislature in 2018, AB 2756, only after hearing three hours of testimony from parents and homeschoolers. Opponents say the Democrat-led bill would have mandated all homeschooling families in the state to adhere to involuntary home inspections, after the Turpin-family child abuse case. "This is calculated. This is how they do it. They do it in increments, slowly taking control away while people sit back thinking that their kids are safe and it doesn't affect them," said Shaw, who is a school board member in Chino and running for state superintendent of public instruction. "Every parent needs to be in this fight. If we don't stand up now together, there will be nothing left to fight for our kids in their future. Please get involved. Please speak up. Please show up, because our children are worth this fight." Will Estrada, senior counsel for the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, told Fox News on Wednesday that the bill's language was left "open-ended for unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats to be able to write different sections of regulations." "If this bill is passed into law, it's going to be expanded in future years to put even more restrictions on homeschool and private school families," Estrada said after testifying at Wednesday's hearing. "The record of homeschoolers shows that we do well academically, socially, emotionally and so why are we messing with them? That's the question. This bill is a solution in search of a problem." Democrats say the bill – which contains a portion that requires parents to hand over teaching materials if its suspected the child isn't being educated properly – will strengthen oversight of homeschooling. Democratic state Rep. Terra Costa Howard introduced the bill following an investigative story by Pro Publica, which has a left-leaning bias according to the nonpartisan news rating company AllSides, entitled, "How Illinois' Hands-Off Approach to Homeschooling Leaves Children at Risk." The report included cases of abuse that went unnoticed because children were not in school. But opponents of the bill pushed back, saying in the hearing that there's no correlation between homeschooled students being more at risk of abuse than those in the public school system. "I believe this bill will help protect abused and neglected children and leave in place the freedom of parents to decide how to best meet the educational needs of their children," Tanner Lovett, an opponent of the bill, said Wednesday. The Illinois homeschool bill will now head to the state House of Representatives for a floor vote. If passed by the House and Senate, it would land on the desk of Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat considered a potential 2028 presidential hopeful. The bill passed out of the committee as President Trump is expected to sign an executive order Thursday dismantling the federal Department of Education.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hundreds gather at Illinois State Capitol to oppose Homeschool Bill
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — Hundreds of homeschool parents have flooded the halls of the Illinois State Capitol to oppose a bill that would regulate homeschooling in Illinois. Proposed bill seeks increased oversight for homeschool families The Homeschool Bill is expected to be heard in the House Education Policy Committee Wednesday morning. The Homeschool Legal Defense Association currently classifies Illinois as one of 12 'free' states for homeschooling. This is a developing story. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill in Illinois statehouse would create framework to regulate homeschooling
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) — Illinois is among the states with very little oversight for homeschooling. A bill in the statehouse hopes to create a framework to ensure homeschooled students are accounted for and are learning what they need. The Homeschool Legal Defense Association classifies Illinois as one of 12 free states for having no requirement to notify the state and a low amount of regulation for homeschooling content and approaches. The state's homeschool system stems from a 1950 Illinois Supreme Court ruling where justices ruled a couple was allowed to homeschool for religious reasons as a form of 'private school.' IL Republican lawmakers file batch of bills to boost relief for families Rep. Terra Costa Howard (D-Lombard) filed a bill that has more than 15 co-sponsors, which proposes the Homeschool Act tightens the rules. It requires parents to notify schools annually of their intention to homeschool and keep a portfolio of their children's academic work and immunization records. Parents also must have a high school diploma and not be convicted of child sex crimes in order to homeschool. The Coalition for Responsible Home Education is a nonprofit of homeschooled adults advocating for protections for homeschooled children. The group said the bill will keep kids safe. 'Every child has the right to be safe, to learn, and to access resources. HB 2827 would protect those rights for children who are homeschooled in Illinois,' said CRHE Executive Director Angela Grimberg. 'We are grateful for this opportunity to work with Illinois lawmakers and the homeschool community to help bring HB 2827 to fruition.' The bill has been met with fierce opposition, with HSLDA President Jim Mason calling the bill an 'attack on our freedoms.' 'Homeschool freedom works,' Will Estrada, HSLDA's Senior Counsel, said in a video on the organization's social media. 'Homeschool families work. Home schoolers love their kids.' The full bill can be found here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
