In March a few of us PAACH Dads met for coffee at Leaves ‘n Beans in Morton. We had really good discussions centered around our common chord of being Christian homeschooling dads. Moving forward PAACH will host a Dads Coffee once a quarter. We will be rotating the venue and adjusting the time in hopes to increase the number of participants. Please look out for the next Dads Coffee which should be some time in June.

 

McClean Wendt
PAACH Membership Liaison

 

Would you like to be featured in our upcoming spotlight? We are searching for families eager to share their homeschooling experiences with others. By sharing your story, you may encourage a family to continue or start homeschooling, and you may gain a deeper understanding of yourself as a homeschooling parent. Sign up today to be showcased at info@apachecentralillinois.org.

The intent of the ASM scholarship application form is to recognize and financially assist talented and dedicated students interested in a career in Metallurgy and/or Materials. It was established to encourage qualified students to take an active role in promoting the field of materials through active participation in ASM. Completion of this form confirms your eligibility for the Julia Bjerke, Richard Van Pelt, Gerald Hoefft, and other possible ASM scholarships.

Applications must be submitted by Friday, May 30th, 2025.

Apply online

Join us for Hosanna Homeschool Choir’s spring concert, “Simple Gifts,” a musical exploration of America’s rich folk tradition. The concert will be on Friday, April 25 at Bethany Baptist Church in Edwards, IL. The performance begins at 7 p.m. with preconcert selections beginning at 6:30 p.m. We look forward to seeing you there and sharing this wonderful collection of music the students have been working on this semester!

Hosanna students will be giving an encore performance as part of the "Arts in Education" program on Thursday, May 1 from noon to 1 p.m. This year, the musical presentation will be at the Riverfront Museum at Washington Square. HHC is excited to be a part of this opportunity!

We want to congratulate those of our students who participated in the High School Solo and Ensemble Event earlier this month in East Moline. We extend a special note of congratulations to Lilly Hoover on her high distinction as “Best of the Day” for Strings! Well done, Lilly!

Peoria Cooperative Academy's top vocal jazz ensemble "Out of the Blue" presents I Got Rhythm, an evening of vocal jazz music. 2 performances April 24 and 25, 2025 at 7 p.m. at Calvary Baptist Bible Church in Peoria, IL.

Peoria Cooperative Academy also presents Acts: A City Rising, with 3 performances at Calvary Baptist Bible Church in Peoria, IL:

• May 15 at 7 p.m.
• May 16 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Enjoy FREE admission to both events - donations accepted.

Are you interested in a standardized test for your homeschooler that is recognized by over 250 colleges and offers cost savings? PAACH members will receive a discount with CLT or Classic Learning Test by using our PAACH member discount code.

Designed with homeschool families in mind, the Classic Learning Test (CLT) offers assessments that fit students of all educational backgrounds. CLT's college entrance, college preparatory, and end-of-year exams for 3rd-12th graders test foundational skills in reading, writing, grammar, and mathematics, equipping students to reach their academic goals. Homeschool families love CLT exams because they offer:

• Online, at-home testing
• Flexible testing times
• Traditional content instead of Common Core
• In-depth analytics reports
• Opportunities for unique awards and thousands in scholarships
• Group testing at discounted rates

At TeenPact, our goal is to help students understand the political process, value their liberty, and engage the culture through hands-on learning and practical teaching. Our students were at the Capitol to experience first hand the Committee Meeting for HB 2827 and a second class will be at the Capitol the week of April 7-11. Consider incorporating TeenPact into your homeschool year spring. The 4-day class is given 1/3 High School Credit.

It's not too late to register your 8-13 year old students for the One Day class this year which will meet April 11, 2025.

Register online

At TeenPact we're changing lives to change the world! Contact Christy Doering with any questions at ChristyDoering@yahoo.com

Written by Kirk Smith

As we have been predicting for several months, Representative Terra Costa Howard (D – Downers Grove) has introduced HB2827. This bill is an egregious action taken against homeschooling families, seeking to overturn 75 years of homeschooling freedoms. It not only affects homeschoolers but also non-public brick and mortar schools. However, the clear motivation is to drastically change the way homeschooling is governed in Illinois, and to remove the parents as the primary gatekeepers of their children’s education.

This is not a registration bill but a comprehensive set of rules, procedures, and qualifications for anyone considering homeschooling. It is written in such a way that it becomes a Pandora’s Box, opening the door for future legislative infringements on our freedoms beyond our present comprehension. For example:

• It puts a greater burden on homeschool parents, who are already working hard, and makes Illinois the only state to go backwards in homeschooling freedoms rather than forward.
• It mandates a “Homeschool Declaration Form” that demands certain private information and gives the Illinois State Board of Education authorization to add more data collection to the annual form without legislative approval.
• It empowers a public-school district to demand—without any reason given—a family produce an “educational portfolio” which would be approved by a local school official.
• If homeschool children participate in any public-school activities, they will have to comply with all medical and immunization requirements of the public school, unless you have a religious exemption. This is worded in such a way that it could be a segway to require all homeschooling children to comply as well.
• This will have a significant, negative impact on special needs children who have IEPs or other assistance programs

Action Points

1. Pray for God’s mercy and ask Him to give us favor in the eyes of the legislators.
2. Be gracious, kind, and professional in your communications (online, on the phone, and in person). Some legislators have used disrespectful interactions with homeschoolers to deepen their anti-homeschool bias.
3. Have every voting adult in your home call your state representative and state senator at the Capitol and/or district office. Respectfully, but firmly, ask them to oppose HB2827. Hopefully, the line will be busy, so keep on calling. (Your senator may not yet be aware of this bill as it was just filed, but you can inform him.) If possible, a face-to-face meeting is even more impactful.
4. Share this information with all your homeschooling friends, coop members, private school friends, etc., encouraging them to make phone calls. It does not matter if they are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, non-sectarian. The more diversity the better.
5. Bring your family to Cherry Pie Day in Springfield on March 6.

Suggested Script

Representative ____________, I respectfully urge you to strongly oppose HB2827, ironically called the Homeschool Act. Homeschooling works as is evidenced by our academic and social success. This proposed bill infringes on our rights and adds undue burdens on homeschool parents who are already working hard to see their children succeed in life. As the old adage says, “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” Thank you for protecting our rights in the past and continue to do so into the future.

Remember, freedoms are not free. We must stand vanguard over them. This is our time.

Full text of HB2827

Greetings PAACH homeschooling families. I hope your family is doing well as you seek to honor Christ in your home every day. I have been dwelling a lot on my theology of the family, especially God’s design for and sovereignty over the family. Much of this has come from reviewing struggles in my family and church over the past decade or more. I have noticed that it seems like too many Christians just do not have a good understanding of God’s design for the family or how involved God is in every aspect of the family. I want to make a few observational statements that I hope will challenge you to trust God more, not only in your family, but in the other families in your church.

Let Me Start with This

God has specifically chosen every detail of your family. He has given you the exact children He wants you to raise at the exact right time. Whether through natural birth or adoption, every child that God gives you has been “formed and knit together” with you in mind to parent and disciple him or her. (Ps 139:13-16) This same passage also says that God has written and planned out every one of their days. Another passage confirms that every person’s “steps are ordered of God.” (Ps 37:23) Paul tells us that God knows every one of us from before the beginning of the world. (Eph 1:4)

Here is my challenge

1. Do you lead your family in a way that shows you believe this?
2. Do your interactions with other families reflect this belief?

Your Family

Scripture is clear that you are responsible to disciple your own children to know the Lord. (Deut 6:4-9) Scripture is also clear that you cannot save your children, but only point them towards God. Rather, it is God who saves them through the work of the Holy Spirit who opens the eyes of those he has chosen and leads them to Jesus’ work on the cross. As a parent, you have the opportunity and privilege to walk alongside them on their journey. You get to cheer them on when they succeed and pick them up when they fail. The relationship you build with them as they grow up does influence how much they will trust you to continue to guide and walk alongside them as an adult. It does not guarantee that they will walk a straight path or even a path that leads to salvation. What you can do is pray for them, teach the Bible, point them towards God, and love them with grace and mercy no matter what.

Other Families

I have had the opportunity to come alongside someone else’s child to walk them back into the arms of his parents after he had walked away and made a mess of his relationships. I have also experienced other well-intentioned believers being too quick to believe the lies of a child walking in rebellion and to give very bad, unbiblical advice to that child. These poor advisers, instead of obeying scripture, end up both sinning themselves as well as steering that child deeper into sin. So, how should you respond when a child of a Christian family comes to you complaining about their mom’s or dad’s parenting? If your first thought is to agree with them or point them anywhere other than back to their parents, think again. You really ought to dig a little deeper to find out the child’s motives. Often a child is looking to be justified in their disobedience and far too often they find it. If you think there could be something to the child’s complaint, then scripture is clear that we are to bring accountability directly to a person in private first. The intent of going to that parent yourself may be to help them see a blind spot or even find repentance for a bad choice. It should never be to play “gotcha” or assume guilt and crucify that person. This requires courage, humility, often a bit of tact, and likely preparation in prayer. Our goal in the lives of other Christian families should be to bring scripture to their situation that will edify, encourage, or even bring correction. (2 Tim 3:16) It is biblical for experienced parents to help teach and train new or less experienced parents. (Titus 2) Remember, God has given that child specifically to those parents…on purpose. He does not make mistakes putting a child with parents who are “too strict.” It could be that child needs precisely the kind of parenting they are getting.

I hope these thoughts will challenge you to think through what you believe and grow in your family as you walk out your relationship with Jesus Christ. Please remember to be quick to listen and slow to speak. (James 1:19) Be slow to make assumptions or quick judgements based on hearsay. You want God to use you to encourage and build up the family. He may even use you to restore a family. Be careful not to get caught up and sow into the destruction of a family.

The PAACH board desires to help and support you throughout your homeschooling journey. We also desire to help you disciple your children by providing encouragement, wisdom, and resources that will enable you to be Godly parents who lead your children towards Christ. We pray that your family learns together, grows together with others in community, and glorifies Christ in everything you do.

James Cox
PAACH President

 

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