Obtuse big government leftists in Illinois haven’t gotten the message through their concrete skulls that Americans want smaller government and especially want big government leftists to stay out of their business. Evidence of their obtuseness comes in the form of legislation just sponsored by two of Illinois’ worst lawmakers, the arrogant Terra Costa Howard and arrogant, angry lesbian Kelly Cassidy, “wife” of “genderqueer,” cannabis activist Candace Gingrich.
If passed the Homeschool Act (HB 2827) would add additional regulatory burdens on families that are sacrificing time and labor to educate their own children on their own dime and doing a better job than public schools.
For their sacrifices, are they thanked by our paid public “servants”? No way, not a chance. Instead, our paid public servants come after them hammer and tong again and again.
Here is what have these presumptuous women socially constructed and seek to impose on all homeschooling families:
- The bill “Requires the State Board of Education to create a Homeschool Declaration Form to be used by a homeschool administrator to submit information indicating that a child is enrolled in a homeschool program to the principal of the public school or to the school district that the homeschooled child would otherwise attend.” If parents fail to submit this form, their children will be “considered truant, with penalties applying.” The Homeschool Declaration Form will be created by the leftist Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and will be required to be resubmitted annually. (Note that the ISBE is composed of nine members appointed by the governor.) The bill does not provide any limitations as to what may or may not be included in this form.
- The bill gives a “regional office of education or intermediate service” the right to request that homeschool families “submit an educational portfolio” that “includes, but is not limited to” a “log, which designates by title the curricular materials used; samples of any writings, worksheets, workbooks, or creative materials used or developed by the child; and the homeschool administrator’s individualized assessment of the child’s academic progress in each subject area of instruction.” Illinoisans should always pay close attention to “not limited to” language.
- The bill requires “that if a child in a homeschool program seeks to enroll part time in a public school or participate in any public school activities taking place on or off of school grounds, the homeschool administrator must submit proof that the child has received all required immunizations and health examinations or a signed Certificate of Religious Exemption.” [emphasis added]
Currently, Illinois homeschoolers with special needs may get Individual Education Plans (IEPs), which can include speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy, through public schools. And Illinois homeschool students are eligible to take driver’s education in public schools. Presumably, this vaccination requirement would apply to them.
Capitol News reported last summer that Costa Howard,
called for action following a Capitol News and ProPublica investigation, which revealed little accountability for parents who pull their kids from school and then fail to ensure they receive an education. In the worst cases, the investigation found, parents isolated and mistreated their children.
“Isolated” seems to be the operative word, since the investigation detailed only two cases. Neglect and abuse are always terrible, but two cases do not justify a new law affecting hundreds of families.
One of the cases involved a nine-year-old boy who died from an accidental, self-inflicted gun shot in December 2022. He had been enrolled in public school until August 2021, and according to Capitol News, the “family had a long history of abuse and neglect investigations by DCFS, and [the mother] had lost two kids to foster care in Illinois nearly two decades because she mistreated them,” all while the family’s children were apparently enrolled in public schools.
Now the failures of this family, of the family’s public schools, and of DCFS are being dumped at the doorstep of homeschoolers. Two isolated cases are being exploited as a pretext to oppress all homeschoolers.
The ProPublica article profiled two families that abused their kids and ignored their responsibility to educate them. Consider those two families compared to the number of students abused by school employees, the number of public school students failing academically, the number of public school students abused by their parents, and the number of public school students whom the Department of Children and Family Services fails to help.
According to ProPublica, “the number of students from preschool to 12th grade enrolled in the state’s public schools has dropped by about 127,000 since the pandemic began. Enrollment losses have outpaced declines in population.” Maybe this statistic has something to do with the desperation of Illinois leftists to grasp for greater control of homeschooling.
One of the more laughable rationales Illinois leftists put forth as a reason more homeschooling laws are needed is that currently Illinois is one of the least restrictive states for homeschoolers. Conservatives have one good thing going for them in this God-forsaken state: homeschooling freedom. And leftists want to take it away. They want to make Illinois more like Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont—the most oppressive, least free homeschooling states.
As a former State Representative, Jeanne Ives understands how the swampsters think:
No one should be duped into believing this bill is about ensuring homeschooled kids are meeting educational standards, because they are. This bill is about stripping parents of choices in education and furthering government oversight of families.
Cassidy and Costa Howard seek to kill homeschooling via a thousand regulatory cuts.
Lying through her pearly whites, Costa Howard said “she supports homeschoolers.” Yes, she thinks Illinoisans are just that gullible.
She and Cassidy do not support homeschooling or homeschooling families, especially religious conservatives. They want to keep encroaching on homeschooling step by step until the state controls homeschooling curricula.
Leftists have tried repeatedly to regulate homeschoolers, and repeatedly they have failed because of the willingness and tenacity of homeschooling families to take on the fight. But leftists never say die when it comes to attacking the rights of conservatives. They can’t tolerate the idea that some kids are unavailable for indoctrination.