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CV NEWS FEED // A model bill titled “Make Homeschool Safe Act” could threaten the rights of homeschooling parents, the Homeschool Legal Defense Agency (HSLDA) recently warned.
According to a November article from the HSLDA, the Coalition for Responsible Home Education (CRHE) drafted the model bill for state legislatures to review and adapt. The bill is framed as a way to protect children, but the HSLDA states that “philosophy behind this bill represents one of the more dangerous threats to homeschool families and homeschool freedom in recent memory.”
CatholicVote spoke with HSLDA senior counsel Darren Jones about the bill in a phone interview Dec. 19. He stated that while no states have pre-filed the model bill, the HSLDA is still monitoring whether any legislators seem open to adopting it.
The bill would require that all parents notify schools every year 30 days before their decision to homeschool, whether that decision is made in the beginning or the middle of the year. The waiting period does not include exceptions for a child’s health or safety, meaning that if a parent felt the need to remove a child from school mid-year, the child could be required to stay in a school for an extra month despite health or bullying concerns.
The bill would also require annual academic elevations, as well as the same immunizations required at local public schools.
Jones stated that there were three ways parents could stay on top of this legislation: by joining the HSLDA, by joining the local state homeschool organization, and by contacting state legislators.
Jones also responded to the CRHE’s framing of the bill as a protection against child abuse.
“HSLDA is strongly against child abuse, whether that’s education or physical or anything,” Jones said. “But we don’t see this bill as the way to fight child abuse. We see reform of the child abuse laws as the way to fight child abuse.”
