By Sarah Buchwalder
In this 132nd session of the Maine state legislature, Homeschoolers of Maine currently
has a short list of 11 bills we’re watching closely and a much longer list of bills that, as yet, do not have document numbers or text but do have titles that potentially concern us. To give you a sense of the scale of our undertaking, over 2,300 bills have been proposed in this session alone in the state legislature.
As an organization, we keep track of proposed laws within the state that either directly affect homeschoolers OR that affect parental rights, which is really at the core of the right to direct our children’s education. This involves much more than simply reading the legislative documents; we listen to or attend public hearings, follow up during the work sessions, make many phone calls and send many emails to state representatives and senators (and bite our tongues when a particularly cranky or combative one is on the other end of the line), enlist the help of our national partners such as HSLDA or The Parental Rights Foundation as needed, and, most importantly, ask our fellow homeschoolers and constituents to write or call representatives and submit testimony when action is clearly warranted. In 2023, one state senator remarked in a public hearing that he had received calls from hundreds of homeschoolers and thus amended the bill in question as asked. We can’t do this without you!
Most of the bills we track are ones that we think will negatively impact home education; these include school choice measures. Others are neutral and include things such as changes to high school diploma requirements for all Maine students; some we actively promote, such as proposed amendments to the state constitution that codify parental rights. Most of these bills originate in the Education and Cultural Affairs committee; some within Health and Human Services or the Judiciary; but bills that can affect home education or your right and duty to raise your children can pop up anywhere. Historically we’ve had to deal with bills that have originated even within the Transportation committee. We mention this because it highlights the need for attentiveness and vigilance on our part. Many times the drafters of these bills have no intention to harm or affect home education in any way; but a lack of knowledge about current statutes, legal precedents, or simply a wrong choice of words could undo many decades worth of hard work on the part of HOME and homeschoolers to establish home education in Maine as we enjoy it today.
Since January of this year, we’ve already had a number of conversations with lawmakers and most have been responsive. We’ve been assured that a concept draft with a concerning title is NOT, in fact, a school choice or educational savings account proposal. We’ve had many conversations about a couple of school choice bills (one of which is LD 220, An Act to Establish the Hope and Inclusion Scholarship Program in Order to Provide Funding for Students Attending Certain Private Schools and Students Receiving Home Instruction) and encouraged legislators to consider instead non- refundable tax credits: we seem to have converted one of our representatives who, instead of drafting a school choice bill that would have also netted homeschoolers as he originally intended, has proposed a tuition tax credit for private schools. We’ve gotten the sponsor of LD 482, An Act to Expand Educational Opportunities and Broaden Educational Services for Students Enrolled in Equivalent Instruction Programs to agree to change language that would have inadvertently compromised home education - and we are working with The Parental Rights Foundation to make sure LD 492, a
RESOLUTION, Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine to Provide for Parental Rights is airtight and something we should cheer on.
Public hearings that potentially affect home education have already begun. We need your ongoing prayers and support, and, if and when it comes down to it, your time and your voice to help defeat bad bills and champion those that establish measures that reflect what we all believe to be good and true. This is what’s happening in Maine; we unfortunately need to now turn our attention to what’s happening on the national level, to an organization called the Coalition for Responsible Home Education.
Responsible home education sounds good, right? Isn’t that something we all uphold and practice? Unfortunately, CRHE ultimately has other things in mind and a personal axe to grind. They have proven themselves to be adversary of religious parents in particular, and their influence has been growing in momentum. Their model bill, the “Make Homeschool Safe Act,” suggests enshrining in law many more obstacles for families to home educate and seriously hampers families from home educating as they see fit. It presumes the state is better informed and equipped than parents and sees the state and its agents as necessary intermediaries between children and parents in all cases. It would place a homeschool on probation if a child does not meet proficiency standards for that state. (To illustrate the absurdity and pointed villainization of home education this displays, currently only one quarter of fourth grade students in Maine public schools meet proficiency requirements for reading. Would a state place itself on probation for its woeful lack of ability to educate students?) It requires homeschool families to follow the same immunization requirements for entry for public schools each year. In one breathtaking swoop, it presents the potential for a parent who has committed any past crime, of any nature, to be prohibited from home educating their child.
Within this year, two bills have thus far appeared in other state legislatures (Virginia and Illinois) that appear to have the Coalition for Responsible Home Education behind them or at least to have taken their cue from CRHE’s model bill. In Virginia, Senate Bill 1031 would have abolished the state’s religious exemption for compulsory public school attendance – and the reason and means many families home educate.
Thankfully, this bill was defeated – hopefully to never return in any iteration. However, in Illinois, House Bill 2827 introduces many of demands of the Make Homeschool Safe Act, (many more than currently exist under Illinois homeschool law) and would in effect impose severe penalties – including jail time and the placement of children in state foster care – on parents who resist.
Why is such opposition to homeschooling rearing its head now and why is it gaining traction? It’s a huge topic with many factors and much to be surmised, but what most concerns us now is a number of high-profile child abuse and/or child death cases that involved so-called homeschooled students, including one in our state. We say so-called because some of these children were described as “homeschooled” by their abusers but were in reality just truant – their parents or guardians had not complied with homeschooling statutes in any way, or else privacy laws prohibit us from knowing whether these children had ever been, under law, homeschool students. It’s an extremely difficult topic. Children who are horrifically abused and neglected and hidden from any other eyes deserve our attention and protection more than anyone. But when the wider public hears “abuse” and “homeschool” in the same breath, all responsible, loving, and reasonable homeschool parents become suspect and subject to undue scrutiny. How do we balance these disparate realities?
Our success always depends on the efforts of lots of homeschoolers speaking up to our elected representatives. Be sure to stay tuned, alert, and ready to take action. Follow HOME on Facebook and sign up for our email updates for the latest news and information.