A previous post or so made reference to SB 0136 which has been filed here in Illinois and would require all homeschoolers to be register either with the state Department of Education or the Regional Office of Education. It has created a furor. Here is an article about it by Fran Eaton that appeared in the Southtown Star, which I believe is a suburban Chicago newspaper associated with the Chicago Sun Times.
Homeschool parents ask, Why state registration?
By Fran Eaton, Feb 9, 2011
Why? and Thats odd are the two responses weve heard to state Sen. Ed Maloneys (D-Chicago) proposed legislation requiring parents of non-public school students to register them with Illinois State Board of Education.
Is there a compelling reason for parents of non-public, parochial or homeschool students to register with the state? asked former state Sen. Patrick OMalley (R-Palos Park). That seems odd.
Thats a question many interested parents are asking this week after learning about the buzz-creating Senate Bill 136. Tuesday morning, Maloney said things had slightly changed.
Were not after private school students. Were going to amend the bills language. What we want is to know where the homeschoolers are, he said.
There are virtually no regulations on homeschools. No curriculum, no periodic checks on their progress. Regional superintendents tell me they have no way of knowing whether a home-taught student is truant or not, he said. We want more accountability.
I need to give full disclosure before proceeding: We home-taught our children for 15 years rather than enroll them in the public system. We homeschooled and worked with close to 500 families in the south suburbs during those years. Education specialists suggest that about 2 percent of schoolage children are taught at home. In Illinois, that would be up to 60,000 home-taught students.
Homeschooling really isnt that controversial. History tells us that 15 U.S. presidents were taught at home by their parents or formal tutors. We have elected officials in Illinois who homeschool their children. There are thousands of tax-paying adults who were taught by their parents at home. Many of them are now second-generation homeschoolers, teaching their own.
Maloney, a former school administrator, said he plans to hold a subject matter hearing on Illinois homeschoolers accountability in the next few weeks. Hes not ready to table the legislation, as David Smith, a Will County homeschooling dad of five, would like him to do.
Were hopeful that Sen. Maloney will come to his senses and table this legislation, Smith said after leaving a meeting with Maloney at the State Capitol on Tuesday. Well be encouraging homeschoolers to call, write and pressure the senator to keep government out of the way of parents and their responsibilities.
And Maloney said, Certainly, for the most part homeschoolers do a conscientious job that exceeds standards. Ive heard many anecdotal stories about home-taught students doing well, but there are some out there that arent. We need minimally to know who the home-taught kids are.
For Terri Koyne, a homeschooling mom in Macoupin County, southeast of Springfield, that simply isnt acceptable.
He says he wants to just register us, then says we dont have curriculum requirements, the mother of four said. Some of our curriculum is religious. Should a public school system be able to accept or reject that?
This isnt the first time a well-meaning state lawmaker has proposed making homeschoolers accountable to the state.
In 1999, state Rep. Ricca Slone (D-Peoria) introduced legislation requiring homeschool parents to have their local school superintendent evaluate their childrens curriculum, test their academic progress and accumulate their childrens immunization records. After an avalanche of phone calls from her constituents and concerned homeschool parents statewide, Slone tabled her bill, a rare occurrence in the Illinois House.
Shortly thereafter, she was replaced by Republican state Rep. Aaron Schock, who now is a U.S. representative.
Homeschooling parents are passionate about their freedoms and responsibilities toward their childrens education. They are committed to the task and ask only to be left alone, nothing more. And all the time they are paying property taxes to subsidize government schools.
Its disappointing that the direction of Maloneys legislation is directly opposite of where Illinois education philosophy was headed in the 1990s, OMalley said.
Then, state law was headed toward empowering parents to choose what education was best for their children, OMalley said. We worked toward cutting the red tape, not adding on more government regulation and bureaucracy. These parents arent costing the state, theyre taking an active role in their childrens education. There seems to be more need to balance the states budget than take this on.
Homeschooling parents are required to obey Illinois compulsory school attendance law that says every Illinois child ages 7 through 17 must attend a school that teaches the branches of education comparable to those taught in the public school system. The law also says those subjects must be taught in the English language.
In 1951, the Illinois Supreme Court determined that it didnt matter where the school met, and required only that school-age students attend school or be questioned as to whether they are truant. Truancy may be decided before local judges, not by regional superintendents who are agents of the public school system.
Theres more to develop in this story over the next few months, but theres no doubt the homeschool movement in Illinois has awakened and now will be called to arms by a new generation of parents turned off by a failed public school system and emboldened by the freedom to teach their children individually.
Maloneys legislation will not sit well in a time when freedom-loving voters have been activated.
And it does seem odd for Maloney to point to homeschoolers perceived lack of accountability when the public system is facing a mounting crisis with its own academic standards and financial shortages.
But its easier to focus on distractions than address real problems.
Still, it all seems very odd.
Note: There were five comments to the article. Only one was negative.
concernedgrandma wrote: “All” students should be registered with the state. It doesn’t matter what type of school they attend; even homeschooling. Why aren’t homeschoolers tested on the subjects they are being taught? Are these children ahead or behind in their learning? We will never know if they are not tested. These children are minors and who is looking after their best interests? How will they succeed in college and/or the job market? Are they homeschooled for the same amount of days or hours that public school children are required? Probably, most homeschooled children are doing well, but what about the homeschooled children that are not doing as well? Parents that do not want to reveal their curricula are hiding something. There are so many questions and wish someone could provide some answers for the benefit of these children. [Note: My guess is that concernedgrandma is or was a public school teacher.]
harriem wrote: A state senator working hard to direct taxpayer funds to truly pointless knowledge and activity. Sen. Maloney doesn’t need to know my kids’ curricula, and neither does the state education establishment or anyone in state government. No nannies needed, thank you.
momforever: wrote: IL is about to declare bankruptcy and they need to know where the homeschoolers are? We also homeschool and don’t need the government directing our children’s education. When IL public schools tout a 100% graduation and higher test scores than IL homeschoolers, they may have something worth listening to. Until then, we’ll keep on keepin’ on.
Name withheld wrote: The only people who should be making decisions for children are their parents. “Experts” decide when a person should learn something, and what it should be. What makes that right for my children? I teach Latin, ancient history, home ec and life skills in addition to reading, writing, math, spelling, handwriting, geography, and more. Is that Latin going to be on some standardized test? Is Latin an unworthy subject just because some “expert” decided it shouldn’t be taught anymore? Compare students from 200 years ago with today’s students. Public education is sadly lacking much read education. It’s filled with skills instead of knowledge. Skills are important, but we want our kids to get a stellar education, not just a job.
amy h. wrote: Where is their accountability? The public school is failing as a whole with a large number of students. How should they be allowed to ask us to be accountable to them when they can’t be accountable themselves? I agree…a distraction away from the real issue…they are lacking so they go after those of us who are just fine with the way things are. Very odd indeed!
Note: Here is a link to the original article–
http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/news/eaton/3719092-452/homeschool-parents-ask-why-state-registration.html
walkerhomeschoolblog 