Latest news with #TerraCostaHoward
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Homeschool Act stalls in House ahead of April 11th deadline
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (NEXSTAR) — The sponsor of the controversial bill to regulate homeschooling in Illinois did not call the bill for a vote Friday ahead of the crucial deadline in the House. 'Protecting our children is a moral imperative,' Bill sponsor Rep. Terra Costa Howard said on the floor Friday. 'Thirty-eight states care enough about these kids to make sure they're okay. We are an outlier to the victims who are out there. We see you. We hear you, and we will keep fighting for you.' Friday's third reading deadline was supposed to be the cut off for bills to pass out of the chamber they were originally filed in. However, the fact the bill did not pass by Friday does not mean the bill is dead. There are several legislative hoops lawmakers could jump through to eventually pass the language later on. Bill to ban carbon sequestration projects around the Mahomet Aquifer passes out of Senate The language could be added to a larger package of legislation later on this session through what is known as a shell bill, which is a bill that was passed out of the original chamber with very little substance only to be amended later in the year. The Speaker of the House could also extend the deadline for this bill to pass out of the chamber. As of Friday at noon, the house had not made any decisions on extensions for any bill on its docket. The bill could also come back in veto session, or could be refiled in a future legislative session. Rep. Terra Costa Howard (D-Glen Ellyn) said the conversation around the bill had become rife with misinformation, as fears of strict curriculum requirements and possible criminal investigations spread. 'It's really important for us to be intentional that we are listening to any opposition to understand their claims,' Costa Howard said. 'But I want to point out that there's a great deal of misinformation that is out there. It is easy to stoke fear and dissension among individuals, and that's what I would say the opposition has done.' Rep. Costa Howard amended the bill twice to address concerns, but the changes were not enough to quell the outrage. Illinois bill requiring food handlers to undergo celiac disease training passes Senate The bill saw massive pushback from homeschool families, Republicans in the capitol and right-wing school choice advocates. They came out in droves to protest the bill, with many seeing the proposal as an overreach by the state. 'It is an overreach to me,' Leslie Lovin, a homeschool parent from Springfield said in an interview Thursday. 'Our children have been entrusted to us to choose what is good for their educational paths, to know our children, to understand them. And this bill reaches in and is questioning whether we can lead them, asking us to present documentation of curriculum and things that I just think is unnecessary at this point.' The bill would put Illinois in line with almost 40 other states. It would require parents to register their children who are homeschooled with their local school district. It would also put basic curriculum guidelines in the homeschool setting to make sure core courses are being covered, and it would open up homeschool families to the same truancy investigations as public school families. Currently, Illinois has no way of knowing exactly how many children are being homeschooled in the state. Rep. Costa Howard said the bill was inspired by a ProPublica report showing the lack of laws, regulations and protections for homeschooled children in the state. The bill was meant to shine a light on the sector that has seen cases of abuse and even death for children. Bill to block cell phone usage in Illinois classrooms passes Senate 'We found that Illinois has zero regulation,' Costa Howard said. 'Thirty-eight states actually have regulations. So Illinois is an outlier. So as we did more research about this, we realized that the fact that Illinois had no regulations, we needed to do something.' Lovin — who has taught as both a homeschool teacher for her own children and a public school teacher in Texas — said she was worried about the precedent that this bill set. She also argued that the bill did not actually do anything to prevent those cases of abuse from happening. 'I don't think this policy addresses that,' Lovin said. 'You will have families who will, if they are forced to comply and register their families, they're going to do that and they're the upright standing individuals that are taking care of their children, that we are taking care of them and stepping into those zones. I don't think it's going to address those families that are maybe under the table announcing their homeschooling and are secretly not taking care of their children in that way.' The House of Representatives is off next week, before returning for the home stretch of the legislative session. The final scheduled days for the session are the end of May. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Illinois lawmaker says death threats tied to homeschool bill misinformation
The Brief Rep. Terra Costa Howard says her office received death threats over her homeschool bill, now under investigation by Lombard police. Critics say the bill criminalizes homeschool parents; Costa Howard says that's misinformation. Tensions continue between lawmakers over what the proposed law would actually do. CHICAGO - The debate over the future of homeschooling in Illinois is getting personal. What we know State Representative Terra Costa Howard (D-Lombard) says Lombard Police are investigating death threats her office has received. Costa Howard blames the threats on what she says is misinformation coming from opponents to her bill, HB 2827, known as the Illinois Homeschooling Act. "Unfortunately, what we have are people spinning falsehoods into the narrative," Costa Howard said. "So much so that we have death threats to my office and active investigations because people are spinning false narratives about this bill." Opponents to the bill claim it will put onerous new restrictions on homeschool parents, forcing them to register with the state or face criminal charges. Opponents also say the bill would put new limits on curriculum. Costa Howard says there's nothing in the bill that regulates curriculum beyond what is already enshrined in state law. The other side State Representative Travis Weaver (R-Pekin) is opposed and says the bill "demonizes" homeschoolers. "Apparently, Terra Costa Howard hasn't read her own bill," Weaver said. "Fact: this bill criminalizes parents that don't fill out the form. Fact, ninety-thousand Illinoisans have filed witness slips in opposition to this bill." Costa Howard shot back that Weaver wasn't listening and had never asked to talk to her about the legislation. "It will allow us to make sure we have a better handle on how many families are homeschooling their children and put an extra layer to make sure children are safe and receiving an education," Costa Howard said. The Source FOX 32's Paris Schutz reported on this story.
Axios
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Axios
New Illinois bill would require homeschool families to notify state or face truancy
Illinois lawmakers are considering a new bill that would require parents to tell the state when they choose to home school their children. Why it matters: Illinois does not require parents and guardians to notify schools when they pull kids from the district, leaving no mechanism to monitor if students are meeting necessary benchmarks. Supporters of the bill say it will prevent kids from slipping through the cracks. State of play: Current required subjects for home school students, according to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), are: Language arts, math, biological and physical science, social studies, fine arts and physical development and health. There are no specific classes or duration of study required in those subjects. There is no requirement to administer tests, projects or grades or mandate to report any student assessment to the state. Parents or guardians do not need a high school diploma or GED to homeschool. Zoom in: The bill would require the ISBE to create a Homeschool Declaration Form that homeschool families submit to the school district where the child would otherwise attend. If the form's not submitted, the student would be considered truant. If a child wants to enroll in a public school or school activities, they will need to have required immunizations or a signed Certificate of Religious Exemption. Context: Rep. Terra Costa Howard (D-Lombard), the bill's sponsor, told WGN she introduced the legislation in February after a ProPublica investigation last year reported on a homeschooled boy in central Illinois who told welfare officials he was beaten, denied food and had no school lessons. Howard, who is also chair of the Adoption and Child Welfare Committee and an attorney involved in child welfare, said the concern in cases like that is the lack of adults who could spot and report signs of abuse at home. "For the vast majority of homeschooling families, these changes will have minimal impact," Howard told Axios in a statement. "The intent of this bill is to help in cases of child abuse, in which adults are claiming to 'homeschool' in an attempt to isolate children, or when families are flagrantly neglecting their legal responsibility to educate their children, in violation of the principles of homeschooling." The other side: The Illinois Home School Association in a statement calls the bill "a very expensive unfunded mandate," and that many parents have chosen this route because "the public school system is clearly failing many of our students." "This bill will not save lives. In every single case they have brought to us of an abused child not in school it has become clear that Child Protection Services already knew of the family and was stretched too thin to help," the association added. Reality check: The bill would ask that parents maintain a simple portfolio providing evidence of education in required subjects, in the case that a truancy investigation is launched. "Nothing in the bill provides for random investigations or 'checks' by a local school district or Regional Office of Education," Howard said. Yes, but: ISBE does recommend that home schoolers check what colleges require if students plan on applying. Zoom out: Homeschooling became more popular during the pandemic and stuck through the 2022-23 school year, a Washington Post analysis found. The Post estimated there were between 1.9 million and 2.7 million home-schooled children in the United States that year. Yes, but: Illinois is not included in the analysis since families are not required to notify the state when they decide to homeschool.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers advance homeschooling bill as thousands pack Capitol to voice opposition
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois lawmakers on Wednesday advanced a controversial bill that would place a number of regulations on homeschooling as a few thousand opponents occupied the State Capitol building and decried the legislation as a prime example of government overreach. Republicans, religious groups and families who've preferred to teach their kids at home instead of sending them to public schools have rallied against the bill, and testimony and debate inside a packed hearing room was emotional at times as each side of the debate stated their case. 'Currently Illinois has zero, I'm going to say it again, zero regulations,' the main sponsor of the bill, state Rep. Terra Costa Howard said, speaking slowly and in a stern voice. 'Zero regulations. Thirty-eight states have regulations. Illinois is an outlier. This is not something we want to be an outlier on.' State Rep. Amy Elik, the Republican spokesperson for the committee and a staunch opponent of the bill, said many homeschool parents are concerned about having to share personal information with the state government, as would be required under the bill. 'Maybe they had a child young, and they really don't want to share that information,' said Elik, of Godfrey. 'Maybe there's various reasons they don't want to provide that information. But one of those important reasons could be 'We don't know how you're going to use this information, so why do I have to give it up?'' The legislation was filed in early February following an investigation by ProPublica and Capitol News Illinois last year that showed the state doesn't do its part to make sure homeschooled students are shielded from potential harm and receive a proper education. The investigation found parents don't have to register their children with the state or school districts, and authorities cannot force the parents to keep track of attendance, show how they teach or how much their children are learning. The legislation would require the Illinois State Board of Education to create a homeschool declaration form, which would be submitted by whoever is in charge of the homeschooled student to the school district or principal of the public school that the child would otherwise attend. The child would be considered truant if the homeschool administrator does not submit the form, which in addition to information about the student would require an assurance that the person administering the homeschooling has earned a high school diploma or its equivalent. Homeschool administrators could be charged criminally with a Class C misdemeanor if they are found in violation, under the measure. 'There's a lot of information in this bill and anyone who's actually read it also understands that this is a bill about making sure we keep kids safe, that families continue to have the ability to homeschool if that's what they so choose to do,' said Costa Howard, a Democrat from Glen Ellyn. 'We are talking about a form.' The bill, which is expected to be amended, passed through the committee by an 8-4 vote with one Democrat, state Rep. Fred Crespo, of Hoffman Estates, voting 'present.' Will Estrada, senior counsel at the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, said the bill is 'premised on two mistaken assumptions and will do two harmful things,' including that homeschooled kids 'are at greater risk of abuse and neglect,' which he said some research refutes. He also suggested some of the proponents' claims that homeschooling is 'unregulated' in Illinois are misleading. He said the bill would lead to 'criminalization of the failure to file a piece of paperwork.' 'This will make our most vulnerable communities at risk to prison, a criminal conviction, when we're going in a direction of trying to reduce the people in the criminal justice system,' Estrada said. Aziza Butler, a homeschool parent from Chicago's South Side who used to work in the city's public school system, argued the bill is based on 'the underlying assumption' that education cannot work 'without legislators and district bureaucrats and school administrators.' 'This is not just a homeschool issue. This is an issue with our broader education system,' Butler said. 'Too often we do not trust parents to take the lead in their children's education, especially when those parents are Black and brown, and especially when those parents are poor. This bill targets homeschool parents and treats us as criminals, guilty until proven innocent.' The bill would require private schools to share the same information as homeschoolers with the state. Bob Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois, raised concerns in an interview earlier this month that sharing that information could be risky, considering that Chicago Public Schools recently announced information on more than 700,000 current and former CPS students was exposed in a February data breach. In his testimony before the committee on Wednesday, Gilligan reiterated his data breach concerns, especially in light of the federal government's crackdown on immigration. 'There are legitimate concerns about a small number of people gaining access to sensitive data,' Gilligan said. 'With the number of undocumented children in our schools right now, it would be a tragedy for personally identifiable information to wind up with certain government agencies.' 'Truancy and safety of children are challenges for all, those in the homeschool, nonpublic school and public school settings alike,' he said. 'However, this bill is an intrusion into people's personal identity, making nonpublic schools and homeschoolers complicit in sharing that information with the government.' State Rep. Margaret Croke, a Chicago Democrat who sits on the committee, downplayed privacy concerns, and also expressed disappointment over opposition from Catholic schools — noting that she sends her child to one. The bill's requirement for information 'is something that is so bare minimum in order to be able to say that we know a kid exists,' Croke said. 'So I just would keep that in mind as we talk about, like, what someone is having to give up and what we're potentially being able to receive as a society because of this bill.' Parents, their children and others who attended the rally wore stickers and brought in signs, one of which read, 'Lincoln was home educated.' Charity Cunningham, of Woodridge, said she pulled her sons out of public schools because she wasn't happy with the quality of education they were receiving, and that after a couple of years of homeschooling they're 'blowing their peers out of the water.' 'My sons were the subject of educational neglect. They were falling behind. They were not being challenged appropriately,' she said. 'We pulled them out, and it's been the best decision we've ever made.' She said she's against the homeschooling bill because 'it's a complete infringement of our freedoms and our rights as parents and as educators in this state.'
Chicago Tribune
19-03-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Lawmakers advance homeschooling bill as thousands pack Capitol to voice opposition
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois lawmakers on Wednesday advanced a controversial bill that would place a number of regulations on homeschooling as a few thousand opponents occupied the State Capitol building and decried the legislation as a prime example of government overreach. Republicans, religious groups and families who've preferred to teach their kids at home instead of sending them to public schools have rallied against the bill, and testimony and debate inside a packed hearing room was emotional at times as each side of the debate stated their case. 'Currently Illinois has zero, I'm going to say it again, zero regulations,' the main sponsor of the bill, state Rep. Terra Costa Howard said, speaking slowly and in a stern voice. 'Zero regulations. Thirty-eight states have regulations. Illinois is an outlier. This is not something we want to be an outlier on.' State Rep. Amy Elik, the Republican spokesperson for the committee and a staunch opponent of the bill, said many homeschool parents are concerned about having to share personal information with the state government, as would be required under the bill. 'Maybe they had a child young, and they really don't want to share that information,' said Elik, of Godfrey. 'Maybe there's various reasons they don't want to provide that information. But one of those important reasons could be 'We don't know how you're going to use this information, so why do I have to give it up?'' The legislation was filed in early February following an investigation by ProPublica and Capitol News Illinois last year that showed the state doesn't do its part to make sure homeschooled students are shielded from potential harm and receive a proper education. The investigation found parents don't have to register their children with the state or school districts, and authorities cannot force the parents to keep track of attendance, show how they teach or how much their children are learning. The legislation would require the Illinois State Board of Education to create a homeschool declaration form, which would be submitted by whoever is in charge of the homeschooled student to the school district or principal of the public school that the child would otherwise attend. The child would be considered truant if the homeschool administrator does not submit the form, which in addition to information about the student would require an assurance that the person administering the homeschooling has earned a high school diploma or its equivalent. Homeschool administrators could be charged criminally with a Class C misdemeanor if they are found in violation, under the measure. 'There's a lot of information in this bill and anyone who's actually read it also understands that this is a bill about making sure we keep kids safe, that families continue to have the ability to homeschool if that's what they so choose to do,' said Costa Howard, a Democrat from Glen Ellyn. 'We are talking about a form.' The bill, which is expected to be amended, passed through the committee by an 8-4 vote with one Democrat, state Rep. Fred Crespo, of Hoffman Estates, voting 'present.' Will Estrada, senior counsel at the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, said the bill is 'premised on two mistaken assumptions and will do two harmful things,' including that homeschooled kids 'are at greater risk of abuse and neglect,' which he said some research refutes. He also suggested some of the proponents' claims that homeschooling is 'unregulated' in Illinois are misleading. He said the bill would lead to 'criminalization of the failure to file a piece of paperwork.' 'This will make our most vulnerable communities at risk to prison, a criminal conviction, when we're going in a direction of trying to reduce the people in the criminal justice system,' Estrada said. Aziza Butler, a homeschool parent from Chicago's South Side who used to work in the city's public school system, argued the bill is based on 'the underlying assumption' that education cannot work 'without legislators and district bureaucrats and school administrators.' 'This is not just a homeschool issue. This is an issue with our broader education system,' Butler said. 'Too often we do not trust parents to take the lead in their children's education, especially when those parents are Black and brown, and especially when those parents are poor. This bill targets homeschool parents and treats us as criminals, guilty until proven innocent.' The bill would require private schools to share the same information as homeschoolers with the state. Bob Gilligan, executive director of the Catholic Conference of Illinois, raised concerns in an interview earlier this month that sharing that information could be risky, considering that Chicago Public Schools recently announced information on more than 700,000 current and former CPS students was exposed in a February data breach. In his testimony before the committee on Wednesday, Gilligan reiterated his data breach concerns, especially in light of the federal government's crackdown on immigration. 'There are legitimate concerns about a small number of people gaining access to sensitive data,' Gilligan said. 'With the number of undocumented children in our schools right now, it would be a tragedy for personally identifiable information to wind up with certain government agencies.' 'Truancy and safety of children are challenges for all, those in the homeschool, nonpublic school and public school settings alike,' he said. 'However, this bill is an intrusion into people's personal identity, making nonpublic schools and homeschoolers complicit in sharing that information with the government.' State Rep. Margaret Croke, a Chicago Democrat who sits on the committee, downplayed privacy concerns, and also expressed disappointment over opposition from Catholic schools — noting that she sends her child to one. The bill's requirement for information 'is something that is so bare minimum in order to be able to say that we know a kid exists,' Croke said. 'So I just would keep that in mind as we talk about, like, what someone is having to give up and what we're potentially being able to receive as a society because of this bill.' Parents, their children and others who attended the rally wore stickers and brought in signs, one of which read, 'Lincoln was home educated.' Charity Cunningham, of Woodridge, said she pulled her sons out of public schools because she wasn't happy with the quality of education they were receiving, and that after a couple of years of homeschooling they're 'blowing their peers out of the water.' 'My sons were the subject of educational neglect. They were falling behind. They were not being challenged appropriately,' she said. 'We pulled them out, and it's been the best decision we've ever made.' She said she's against the homeschooling bill because 'it's a complete infringement of our freedoms and our rights as parents and as educators in this state.'
