Homeschooling and Abuse
Know the Facts
Abuse cases are horrific crimes against children and are beyond our understanding. Some in the media and academia have made connections to homeschooling and the need for increased regulation. Child abuse is unlawful behavior and has nothing to do with educational choice.
Here are some facts:
1. Current legislative efforts to regulate homeschooling focus on the wrong group. 70% of national child abuse fatalities occur among children younger than 3 years old. Further regulation of homeschooling does nothing to protect the age group most affected by abuse.
2. Within the remaining 30% of children, the vast majority of perceived "homeschool" abuse cases are cases of children who are at home, but truant with no evidence of having been homeschooled. They are not real homeschoolers.
3. Increased homeschool regulation diverts limited DHS resources away from actually protecting abused children.
4. Homeschool students have 40% fewer abuse fatalities than the national average. Imposing unreasonable regulations on a group with a lower than national abuse rate is discriminatory and ineffective.
5. The homeschool statute in Maine is adequate as it now stands. Education laws should not be used in an attempt to correct what is actually a failure to enforce truancy.
Read the research and more facts in the articles below.