Illinois has long enjoyed a free state when it comes to homeschooling. The homeschool laws have not changed since 1950’s in People v. Levisen when homeschooling was ruled as private schools with parents having the constitutional right to educate their children. Many of you have heard about homeschooling in Illinois in the news recently with the Pro Publica news article and representative Terra Costa Howard’s response.

What does all this mean and how should we respond as homeschoolers?

I want to remind you of the long hard fight our predecessors fought in the name of defending the right to homeschool. We are so thankful and blessed to benefit from their work. Let us not see their work in vain. There has been a buzz among the homeschool community that we need to be gearing up for a fight. With the many new homeschoolers in recent years due to covid and government overreach, many do not realize how far we have come. As you go to your homeschooling activities, I would ask you to share with others where we have been and how much we have been enjoying the right to homeschool freely. Let us be on guard and ready to defend what we believe.

Meet your state representatives

As the Illinois representatives are in recess currently, now is the perfect time to introduce your family to your local representative. Let them get to know you and your family and what homeschooling looks like in your home. Homeschooling does not need more regulation. The few cases that have been cited in the news lately has been a failure at the CPS level not homeschooling. Let the representatives know how regulating homeschooling will put an undue burden on your family. Talk to your homeschool friends, especially those new homeschoolers who may not understand what is at stake.

Illinois is not the only state that has come under fire recently, because of homeschooling

Many states are feeling the pressure. In fact, the Coalition for Responsible Homeschooling, a left leaning lobbyist group, is currently trying to work on a bill to make homeschooling “safe.” Unfortunately, many aspects of this bill will be damaging, hurtful, and bring bureaucratic oversight into our homes. Do your research. Look into the Coalition for Responsible Homeschooling group to see how dangerous their agenda would be. It is sad to see some of the organizers of this lobby group had a poor or harmful education experience. This does not justify a call to regulate homeschooling on the experience of the few. Many families do care about their children and want the best for them. In fact, research has shown the majority of homeschoolers are homeschooling out of love and compassion for their children. Research the details about the bill “Make Homeschool Safe Act.”

After you have done your research, ACT!

Some expect a bill to be introduced in the state very soon. Meet with your representatives. Bring your kids along and turn it into a homeschool lesson. If a representative personally knows homeschooling families and how any legislation would impact them, it would be very difficult to be in favor of such legislation. Look to the PAACH newsletter. We are in the process of arranging a tour in Springfield in November. This would be a great time to personally meet your rep. Make sure you are signed up for HSLDA email alerts at www.hslda.org. They are actively monitoring the situation. We have listed below some links and articles to help get you started in your research.

Resources

• Coalition for Responsible Home Education - website
• Make Homeschool Safe Act - download
• ProPublica News Article - read
• Illinois Lawmaker Calls for Strengthening Protection for Homeschooled Children - read
• Contact Your IL State Representatives - website

 

Arkasia Cox
PAACH Legislative Liaison