The Democrat-run legislature of Illinois is moving quickly on a bill that some critics claim threatens to outlaw parents ‘ rights to homeschool their children in the Prairie State.
According to Will Estrada, senior counsel for the Home School Legal Defense Association, this act” continues that prison network for preschool families.”
The Homeschool Act ( HB 2827 ), as it is known, appears to be a means of enforcing more restrictions on homeschooling in Illinois.
According to Fox News, the initial version of the law had provisions intended to” demand families with a criminal if they fail to register their children in a’homeschool charter type’ to the nearest public school they would otherwise be attending.” The initial costs apparently attempted to require parents to give “documentation of vaccinations and wellness exams for children who wish to participate in public college activities.”
Prior to a March 19 reading before the House Education Policy Committee, the controversial legislation caused a sizable reaction in Illinois. The council did, however, vote to pass the bill before it was introduced.
But, the legislation’s reaction endured. A further protest over the plan led legislators to submit a revised version of the bill, which detractors claim includes provisions that “make it even worse.”
The Illinois Policy Institute’s Mailee Smith, an counsel and schooling family, claimed in her written evidence that the amended edition of HB 2827 is “arguably more dangerous than the version that passed out of this committee on March 19” and that it is “arguably more dangerous than the version that passed out of this committee on March 19.” She particularly made attention to a segment of the modified bill that requires homeschooling parents to involve “any syllabus purchased or used for the homeschool.”
According to Smith, “it is costly and confusing” for parents to submit a monthly list of curricula. Public colleges are not required to list or post this, unfortunately.
Smith even raised concerns about the bill’s delinquency investigation into homeschooling families.
A misbehaving agent shall look into any record of absenteeism or academic neglect that has been referred or made to a local office of education, middle service center, or local superintendent, per the measure. Should the officer find “evidence that supports a reasonable cause of suspicion that the student is being treated unfairly or not receiving an adequate education,” he” shall refer the case to the relevant State Attorney’s office for further action.”
However, as Smith pointed out, it is not until the final pages of the bill that the authors allegedly reveal that these “reports of truancy” could be filed against homeschooling parents by anonymous actors.
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has received a report that a family may be homeschooling without submitting a form or not providing an “adequate” education. Smith wrote. The department shall notify the caller that the report must go to the local regional office of education and provide a website where the contact information can be found. That’s 59 pages into the bill, where it amends the” Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act” to add the following requirement.
A potentially anonymous report appears to be the mechanism that triggers everything. A nosy neighbor. Or someone who simply opposes homeschooling, she continued.
The bill also grants truancy officers the authority to “meet with the child or children complained of” without parents present and “make an initial determination of whether there is cause to start a truancy investigation” when they are notified of potential truancy or neglect.
According to Smith,” we’re not talking about an ongoing investigation but an investigation into whether there should be any investigation at all.” The harm is already done because children have already been interviewed by a stranger without their parents present, even if a finding of” no cause” is made.
The House Education Policy Committee on Wednesday approved the modified version of HB 2827. According to The Center Square, it must now pass the Senate by Friday night. The House had re-referred the legislation to the Rules Committee as of publication.
The Federalist staff writer Shawn Fleetwood graduated from the University of Mary Washington. He previously worked for Convention of States Action as a state content writer, and his articles have appeared in numerous publications, including Conservative Review, RealClearPolitics, and RealClear Health. Follow him on Twitter at @ShawnFleetwood
