Tag: homeschooling

New Jersey Lawmakers Are Considering 2 Bills To Heavily Regulate Homeschooling

New Jersey has as many as 94,518 homeschooled students, according to 2022 data from the National Home Education Research Institute. A series of bills being considered by the New Jersey Legislature aim to heavily regulate homeschooling and restrict parents’ and students’ educational freedom in the state.

In June, Assemblyman Sterley S. Stanley (D–East Brunswick) introduced Assembly Bill 5825, which would require all homeschooling parents at the beginning of the school year to send a letter to the local school district’s superintendent that includes the name and age of the student and the name of the instructor administering the home education program. Parents will also be mandated to share a copy of the homeschooling curriculum, “which shall be aligned with the New Jersey Student Learning Standards.” In addition to setting requirements for mathematics and science, state learning standards require lesson plans to cover issues such as climate change and diversity, equity, and inclusion in K-12 classrooms.

The bill would also require supervisors of the homeschooling program to maintain a portfolio of student records, such as writing samples, worksheets, and reading lists. The portfolio, which is to be submitted to the district superintendent annually, must also include a written evaluation of the student’s educational progress by a qualified evaluator. That person can be a licensed psychologist or teacher but not the student’s parent or guardian.

New Jersey is one of 12 states that don’t require families to check in with, obtain approval from, or file with the government to legally homeschool. Will Estrada, senior counsel at the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, tells Reason that no states currently require a homeschool curriculum to align with the public schools. Many parents, he adds, have pulled their children out of public school specifically because the public education system’s one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for their child’s individualized needs.

New Jersey is also considering A.B. 5796. Introduced by Assemblyman Cody D. Miller (D–Turnersville) in June, the bill requires homeschooling families to annually meet with a public school official for a basic child welfare check.

While preventing abuse is a noble goal, lawmakers’ concerns over the welfare of homeschoolers appear to be misguided. Estrada points to a 2022 peer-reviewed study that found homeschooled children do not face higher rates of abuse and neglect. The study incorporated nationally representative data from 1,253 “previously homeschooled and conventionally schooled (public and private schools) adults,” who were asked to anonymously report about school-age experiences of abuse and neglect. The survey found that the type of school students go to “is a non-issue” in determining the likelihood of abuse “after considering the role played by demographics” such as family structure, years in foster care, large family size, and household poverty. The report’s findings are supported by a 2017 study, which found that “legally homeschooled students are 40% less likely to die by child abuse or neglect than the average student nationally.”

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NJ to Consider Bill that Would Mandate Monitoring and Publishing Data of Homeschoolers

The New Jersey Senate is set to consider a bill on Thursday that would require families who homeschool their children to register with their local governments and the governments to publish their data.

Senate Bill 1796 (SB 1796), sponsored by New Jersey state Sen. Angela McKnight (D) would require a “parent or guardian to annually notify” their local school district, in written form, of their intention to homeschool their children.

“The letter shall include the name, date of birth, and grade level of the child, and the name of the person who will provide instruction to the child,” the latest version of the bill’s text reads.

Under SB 1796, the school district will be required to “annually compile and make available for public inspection on its website information concerning the number of children who reside in the district who are being home-schooled” and what grades they are in. It does not include any provisions to protect the privacy of the individual children or families in question and does not provide a legal definition for the term “homeschool,” which opponents have observed does not formally exist in New Jersey law.

The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), which opposes the bill, alerted its members on Tuesday that on Thursday, June 5, a legislative hearing will be held regarding SB 1796. The bill appears on the docket for a New Jersey Senate Education Committee hearing scheduled for that day.

The HSLDA opposed the bill on the grounds that it would create “pointless and burdensome red tape”:

Senate Bill 1796 would require every homeschool family in New Jersey to file a letter with their public school superintendent expressing their intent to homeschool their children. The birth date and grade level of each child would be required as well, and the bill provides no privacy protection.

In a post on X, HSLDA encouraged homeschool families in the state to “call or email” their state senator and to ask them to oppose SB 1796.

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Homeschooling Is Our Best Defense Against the State

There’s a battle going on right now in our neighboring state of Illinois concerning the Illinois Homeschool Act. This Act takes the current minimal oversight of homeschoolers in Illinois and places families at risk of violation by state appointed truant officers right in their homes. The bill would require parents to file a homeschool declaration form as well as an education portfolio to their local school district effectively putting their children under the jurisdiction of the very system from which many of these parents are trying to get away. The form discloses personal information of the child and opens each family to the mercy of a truancy officer who might show up at the child’s home to demand evidence of the child’s education.

The American education system is a disaster on its way to self-destruction. It was always going to fail, but so committed are some Americans to the unrealistic ideal that education can be carried out by a centralized state, they cannot see its failure even when the quality of education has been in consistent decline for decades. This decline is evidenced by the ever-decreasing test performances, lowered quality of education, and the increasingly violent atmosphere of the schools. Homeschooling parents saw the red flags and slowly began to secede from the public schools back in the 1970’s. Since then, homeschooling has experienced a gradual increase, until the pandemic, when the number of homeschooling families doubled.

And something else happened during the pandemic. Parents began to realize with horror that their children couldn’t read, despite being reassured by various “assessments” given by the government schools that their children were on the appropriate level. The fraudulent teaching practices involved in the reading scandal currently rocking the education community were covered extensively by education reporter Emily Hanford in her docu-series Sold A Story. Those running the education system failed American children at a most basic skill: reading. Yet somehow, these same administrators believe they are qualified to offer proper evaluation of children who are being homeschooled.

The fact that education administrators want to do everything they can to keep control over homeschooling families is understandable. Homeschooled children are primarily cared for and educated by their parents. A parent’s first duty is to their children. Raising children is hard work. It is physically and emotionally taxing. The moment you bring your baby into the world there is a shift. Suddenly, each day’s rhythm revolves around your child. For some, this shift grounds them ever-more deeply to a sense of family and belonging. They surrender to the rhythm, welcoming the obligations of training and teaching their offspring, passing on their cultural and religious beliefs that define them as a family, or clan, or community. They lean into the demands and respond by stepping up and deepening their bond.

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Ready for Your Home to Become a Government School?

One hundred years ago, in the case of Pierce v. Society of Sisters, the Supreme Court struck down an Oregon law that required all children to attend public schools, affirming that parents had the right under the 14th Amendment to direct the upbringing and education of their children.  

The Supreme Court wrote, “The child is not the mere creature of the State; those who nurture him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.”

This court decision launched the parental rights movement that has become controversial since the pandemic school lockdown.

The longstanding trust in public schools was shattered when parents were given an unprecedented window into what was happening in the classrooms.  The most common response from parents was, “I had no idea!”  Parents who had never known much about what students did all day were suddenly alarmed by the prevalence of radical dogmas.

As a result, many turned to homeschooling, which now has become the fastest growing type of education in the nation, across all demographics.  In the black community, there has been a fivefold increase over a few short months of parents homeschooling their offspring.

As expected, the left is fighting back.  Leftists have no intention of allowing “domestic terrorist” parents to leave the public school system because it would mean loss of government control over what students are taught and over shaping their worldview.

Hillary Clinton popularized the phrase “it takes a village to raise a child,” which signals that children are considered wards of the state, to be reared and educated as the state sees fit.

In Illinois, Democrats have filed a bill that, if passed, will expand vastly the control of government over the education of children.  House Bill 2827, dubbed the Homeschool Bill, would bring government control of home schools as well as private and religious schools.  Home schools and private schools would become de facto government schools. 

Homeschool parents would be required to provide local and state education authorities annual reports with their children’s personal information, including gender identity, without any restrictions on what data would be mandated.  If parents fail to file this home school paperwork properly or in a timely fashion, they could be charged with a Class C misdemeanor and spend up to 30 days in jail. 

The question is, why do public school educators and politicians believe they need personal information on students and families not enrolled in public schools?  The Supreme Court has already ruled that parents have the sole right to direct the education and upbringing of their children. 

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There’s Been a Major Change in Attitude at the Department of Education

Each day, it seems like we learn a little more about the new Donald Trump administration. On Friday, Trump’s Department of Education made it appear as if it might embrace homeschooling. If so, this is a huge change from the Joe Biden administration, which was downright hostile toward any type of education that didn’t involve placing children in public school classrooms and indoctrinating them. 

Trump’s Education Department has a new blog on its website, and the very first post, which was published on Friday, is called “Homeschooling: The Lifeline We Didn’t Know We Needed.” It’s written by Stephanie D. Birch, a mother of two and homeschool advocate.  

It starts by recognizing that every child is unique and learns in different ways at different speeds, a concept that’s seemingly been lost in this country for a while: 

I remember how shocked I was when my three-year-old began reading. I quickly realized the educational pathway we planned would not meet her needs. I saw in her eyes that she had unlocked the magic of reading, and I knew the prescribed educational path would stifle her, leaving her mind yearning for more.  

We set out on an empowering journey that led us to homeschooling – the lifeline we didn’t know we needed. It gave us the space and flexibility to craft an education as unique as our children, nurturing their hearts and minds, and giving them the chance to grow into their best selves.   

Birch goes on to explain that she once fell for the stereotypes about homeschooling herself but that, upon embracing it, it her family saw changes she couldn’t imagine: 

I once believed in stereotypical misconceptions about homeschooling: Children lacking socialization, overly sheltered, and stuck completing worksheets. The truth is, homeschooling allows my children to learn, grow and blossom at a pace tailored to their rhythm for each individual area of study. For the kids who are neurodivergent, creative, or otherwise don’t fit the “traditional” mold, homeschooling allows them to shine. We’ve witnessed our kids thrive in things like STEM, art, robotics, fencing, martial arts, dance, and traveling to new places where they can immerse themselves in different cultures and histories in ways textbooks alone could never teach.  

I will point out that the fine print on the Education Department’s blog says, “Blog articles provide insights on the activities of schools, programs, grantees, and other education stakeholders to promote continuing discussion of educational innovation and reform. Articles do not endorse any educational product, service, curriculum or pedagogy.”  But if the first post is about homeschooling, I’m going to go out on a limb and say we’re heading in the right direction. 

Of course, this comes just a few days after Trump signed the “Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families” executive order, which promotes school choice and supports putting decisions about education back into the hands of a child’s family, regardless of their geographic location or socioeconomic status. And it’s a complete 180 from the last administration, which wanted to have total government control over, well, just about everything, but especially education. 

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Trump Pledges to Grant Homeschoolers a $10,000 Per-Child Tax Write-Off

Donald Trump has pledged to expand his former Trump tax cut education savings account plan (which allowed up to $10,000 dollars a year tax-free on tuition for grades K-12) to the homeschooling community.

Trump first outlined his previous tax incentives for school choice.

“When I am reelected I will do everything I can to support parents who make the courageous choice of homeschool. Under the Trump tax cuts, we allowed families to use 529 education savings accounts to spend up to $10,000 a year tax-free on tuition for grades K-12. This was a tremendous win for school choice, very important, school choice. Remember that term? And yet that benefit did not apply to homeschoolers,” Trump said in a recent video.

The GOP candidate then outlined his new initiative, bringing the school choice tax incentives to homeschooling.

“So to support the growing homeschool movement, in my next term I will immediately fight to allow homeschool parents the same incredible benefit, $10,000 dollars a year per child, completely tax-free to spend on costs associated with homeschool education. I will also work to ensure that every homeschool family is entitled to full access to the benefits avaliable to non-homeschool students, including participating in athletic programs, clubs, after-school activities, education trips and more,” Trump said in a recent video.

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Homeschooling Parents Are No Threat to Their Kids

Homeschooling is surging, as parents want more agency over their child’s education. An estimated 4.7 percent of kids are now homeschooled, up from 2.8 percent in 2019, the most recent year reported by federal data. But with public school enrollment down by nearly 1.3 million students compared to pre-pandemic levels, some are taking notice and calling for more oversight.

The Washington Post editorial board recently made that case, arguing, “It’s not the average home-schooler policymakers should be worried about—it’s the child who is left far, far behind.” In their view, “where there’s no oversight, there’s no guarantee that children will learn skills considered foundational in public education and essential to adult life.”

While more level-headed than many attacks on homeschoolers (Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Bartholet’s call for a presumptive ban comes to mind), the editorial misses the mark.

Homeschool regulations vary across states, ranging from mandating subjects such as math and reading to demonstrating academic achievement on annual tests. New York has some of the most stringent laws, requiring parents to file quarterly reports, maintain hourly attendance logs, and submit annual instructional plans to their local school district, according to the Home School Legal Defense Association.

Michigan, which has few regulatory hurdles for homeschoolers, is in the national spotlight as an example of homeschooling supposedly run amok.

Critics point to the bone-chilling case of Roman Lopez, an 11-year-old boy who was locked in closets, beaten with extension cords, and eventually poisoned with table salts. They claim his father and stepmother, Jordan and Lindsay Piper—who each pleaded no contest to second-degree murder for Roman’s death—took advantage of lax homeschooling laws to hide their abuse from authorities.

Likewise, the cases of Jerry and Tamal Flore and Tammy and Joel Brown have Michigan policy makers calling for more oversight. The two couples allegedly adopted dozens of children in a moneymaking scheme that involved “prolonged, routine and systemic mental and physical abuse,” said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. According to her, homeschooling gave the Flore family cover to hide the abuse. “There has to be some sort of monitoring so that those children also benefit from those protections,” she says.

In response to the charges, state Rep. Matt Koleszar (D–Plymouth) pleaded for action: “Michigan is one of only 11 states that doesn’t count or register homeschooled children, and abusive parents are taking advantage of that to avoid being found out. It’s time to support all Michigan students and change that. Michigan cannot allow this loophole to continue.”

These stories are horrifying, and registration requirements might seem like a reasonable step to protect kids from abuse. But it’s unlikely any amount of regulations would have prevented these tragedies. In fact, they’d likely cause hardships for the vast majority of homeschool families who do right by their kids.

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Nazi Homeschool Network Under Investigation by Ohio’s Department of Education

The Department of Education in Ohio is investigating the openly antisemitic and racist Nazi homeschooling group with thousands of members being operated by a couple from Upper Sandusky, Ohio, an official at the department told VICE News.

On Sunday, VICE News and the Huffington Post reported that Logan and Katja Lawrence were the operators of the neo-Nazi Dissident Homeschool group which now boasts over 2,500 members on its Telegram channel, based on the research from anti-fascist researchers at the Anonymous Comrades Collective. The group openly advocates white supremacist ideologies with the aim to make sure the children they teach
“become wonderful Nazis.” 

The Lawrences share their classroom schedules, homework assignments, and lesson plans with other parents in the group, the vast majority of which are infused with Nazi ideology or open praise for Adolf Hitler.

Katja Lawrence, 37, also shares examples of how her family embraces Nazi ideology, including baking a Fuhrer cake for Hitler’s birthday and sharing a recording of her children shouting “sieg heil.”

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Inside a US Neo-Nazi Homeschool Network With Thousands of Members

Earlier this month, while the rest of the country was celebrating the achievements of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., parents and children in the “Dissident Homeschool” network opened a lesson plan and were greeted with the words: “As Adolf Hitler wrote…”

The contents of the MLK lesson plan would be shocking for almost anyone, but for members of the 2,400-member “Dissident Homeschool” Telegram channel, this was a regular Monday at school. 

“It is up to us to ensure our children know him for the deceitful, dishonest, riot-inciting negro he actually was,” the administrator of the network’s Telegram channel wrote, alongside a downloadable lesson plan for elementary school children. ”He is the face of a movement which ethnically cleansed whites out of urban areas and precipitated the anti-white regime that we are now fighting to free ourselves from.”

Since the group began in October 2021 it has openly embraced Nazi ideology and promoted white supremacy, while proudly discouraging parents from letting their white children play with or have any contact with people of any other race. Admins and members use racist, homophobic, and antisemitic slurs without shame, and quote Hitler and other Nazi leaders daily in a channel open to the public. 

VICE News joined the group simply by clicking on a link, though the list of members was not publicly visible.

What’s even more disturbing, however, is that the couple who run the channel are not only teaching parents how to indoctrinate their children into this fascist ideology, they’re also encouraging them to meet up in real life and join even more radical groups, which could further reinforce their beliefs and potentially push them toward violent action.

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