A highly controversial bill moving its way through Connecticut’s legislature would significantly heighten the state’s scrutiny of homeschooling families, requiring child welfare checks, increased educational progress reports, and in-person registration with public schools, among other measures. Public outcry has snowballed over the legislation, with parents and homeschool advocates arguing that the bill constitutes state infringement on the constitutional rights of parents to freely educate their children.
On Wednesday, the Connecticut House’s Education Committee passed H.B. 5468 by a close margin of 26-20. The measure is still far from becoming law, as it will need a full vote in both the state House and Senate and would also need Governor Ned Lamont’s (D) signature. Observers like Ralph Rodriguez, who serves as an attorney at the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), say that the level of public opposition to the bill is reaching record levels.
“[T]he meeting to present the bill before the committee [lasted] almost 19 hours, which is unprecedented in the time that HSLDA has been doing advocacy in the state level,” he noted during “Washington Watch” Wednesday. “Nineteen hours of families waiting to have their voice heard. … [J]ust a tremendous response in opposition to the bill that would really be the most significant shift in homeschool policy in the country, and we’re talking about 50 years of backwards policy here.” Rodriguez further highlighted how almost 4,000 written testimonies were submitted in opposition to the bill.
As he went on to emphasize, Connecticut’s H.B. 5468 “would require in-person registration with the school district to file a notice of intent. It would require annual continuation filings if the family wishes to continue homeschooling. It would require proof of educational progress through certain state-approved methods. And most egregiously, it would involve the Department of Children and Families when a child is withdrawn from the public school system.”
Rodriguez underscored that this provision of the bill could empower the state to remove homeschooled children from their homes. “[I]t would empower them to basically render the withdrawal effective or ineffective based on prior involvement with the agency. … [T]hat’s what’s so problematic. The language of the bill speaks to whether there’s an open case. … So it’s just very vague, and it empowers the state to sign off on the parents exercising a constitutional right to home educate their children.”
Currently, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island have the highest level of regulations on homeschooling in the country, and Rodriguez observed that other states like New Jersey are moving in the direction of increasing regulations. “[T]hey’ve just introduced … [a] requirement for an annual health and wellness check with school officials. So just imagine you’re homeschooling your child, and once a year, a public school official gets to come into your home and check up on your child for ‘health and wellness.’ And there is no definition in the bill for that. But we believe it doesn’t need a definition because it’s unconstitutional either way.”
Still, Rodriguez pointed out that states like New Hampshire are moving in the opposite direction by rolling back regulations hamstringing homeschooling families. He also believes that the massive level of opposition being displayed against Connecticut’s anti-homeschooling measure points to its likely defeat.
“[W]e believe there’s tremendous momentum to that end,” he emphasized. “… [E]very representative in the state [will be allowed to] examine the bill and look at it upon its merits, and we believe that all the facts are in our favor. We think that we have a solid chance to defeat the bill at its next stage. … Engagement is critical because we’ve seen all these efforts elsewhere in the country so far be defeated, and so that’s why Connecticut would be such an anomaly. It would be the first and only state to go backwards in homeschool freedom.”
Perhaps the most important question in the debate over homeschooling is how kids taught at home fare when compared to their public school peers. Rodriguez insisted homeschoolers are doing just fine.
“There are a lot of peer-reviewed studies that demonstrate that homeschoolers are on par, at least, or do even better than their public school-educated peers,” he explained. “… [S]tudies show that … home schoolers are not just surviving, they are thriving. And that’s because of the flexibility it affords these students. Parents can allow their child to learn at their own pace. Perhaps there’s a struggle in a certain subject, or they show great aptitude in a subject and they want to accelerate in that area. Homeschooling affords that ability, that flexibility to those students, and they thrive as a result. They don’t have to be subjected to being in an institution for seven, eight hours a day and sometimes dragged down by their peers or dragged down by other school policies that don’t forward their interest or educational progress.”
Going forward, Rodriguez urged believers to closely track and engage any legislation designed to impede the right of parents to educate their children as they see fit.
“[B]e paying attention to the direction these policies are heading,” he underscored. “Truly, it’s not a partisan issue. It’s not a red versus blue issue. We see homeschool freedom coming under attack in virtually every corner of the country. … [S]ome states are expanding oversight in ways that would fundamentally change home schooling in your state, while others are reducing regulation. … [T]hese decisions and the legislatures will truly shape the future of homeschooling all across the country.”
