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Home school advocates are barraging Illinois legislators with voicemails, emails and social media messages to try to kill a measure that would require them to register with their local school districts.<\/p>\n
The issue is so contentious that State Rep. Terra Costa Howard, D-Lombard, is accusing some advocates of \u201cbullying.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThreats and intimidation. Constituents calling my office, demanding meetings and telling my staff that they would be protesting outside my home if I did not meet their demands,\u201d Costa Howard said. \u201cIn this political climate, it seems to be something that is encouraged.\u201d<\/p>\n
The measure that is dividing the state Capitol would require homeschooling families to notify school districts when they home school, and require administrators to have a minimum high school education. It would also require the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to notify the Illinois State Board of Education if someone in their care is being home schooled \u2014 which would allow them to check in to confirm the student is indeed being home schooled.<\/p>\n
A school district can also request that a home school administrator provide an educational portfolio as evidence that the instruction is \u201csufficient\u201d to satisfy education requirements. Another provision would allow the state to charge a parent with a Class C misdemeanor, with a criminal conviction amounting to a $500 fine or 300 days in jail, for failing to fill out a home school declaration form \u2014 which is already standard practice in truancy laws. <\/p>\n
An immunization records requirement in the bill applies only if home school students access public school activities, and is not a point of contention for opponents.<\/p>\n
Costa Howard said some of the \u201cantics\u201d home school advocates are using \u201cis actually turning people off.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe as legislators should never be intimidated by individuals who are bullying. To need a police escort to get in and out of my office in the Capitol, I think, is a bit much,\u201d Costa Howard said. \u201cHeckling in chambers, heckling during committee. Those are things that are not helpful for someone\u2019s cause.\u201d<\/p>\n
Proponents of home school regulation tried to pass a similar bill in 2011 but were met with intense opposition. This year, in addition to bringing pies to legislators on Illinois Christian Home Educators\u2019 annual \u201cCherry Pie Day\u201d earlier this month, home school advocates have been jamming up legislators\u2019 inboxes, Facebook pages and voicemails with pleas to nix the measure.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, it ranks in the calls of strong advocacy. It\u2019s right up there with my 18 years here, where you get calls about bills and they trickle in, but you also have issues that rank very high where the advocacy is strong,\u201d State Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, said. <\/p>\n
Ford, who voted present on the measure during a committee, said a mega-church pastor from his district has been urging him to oppose it. Another Chicago Democrat said they were surprised to get a message from their neighbor, who is home schooling their children and is actively lobbying against it. Americans for Prosperity Illinois is also running TV ads on cable in the Chicago area, urging people to call their legislators to vote against the bill.<\/p>\n
Costa Howard said discussions on changes to the measure are ongoing \u2014 but she\u2019s still fighting for the bill\u2019s passage despite the onslaught of opposition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the request is to drop the bill and have zero protections for Illinois, for Illinois children, that\u2019s not [under] negotiation,\u201d Costa Howard. \u201cI am not giving up on the children of Illinois.\u201d<\/p>\n
The measure cleared a House education committee on Wednesday as thousands of home school advocates flooded the Capitol.<\/p>\n
Will Estrada, chief counsel of the Home School Legal Defense Association, calls allegations that home school children aren\u2019t really receiving an education or are truants \u201cjust not true.\u201d<\/p>\n
But a ProPublica and Capitol News Illinois investigation last year revealed little accountability for parents who take their kids out of school and then fail to give them an education. In some cases, the children were abused at home \u2014 which went unnoticed because they were not in a school.<\/p>\n
Estrada fought back on that characterization, calling them \u201coutlier examples.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have been numerous peer-reviewed studies looking at, are home school students more at risk of abuse or neglect, and the evidence is clear that they are not,\u201d Estrada said.<\/p>\n
Estrada said the measure would put an additional burden on regional offices of education, Chicago Public Schools and DCFS, whom he called \u201calready overworked\u201d and \u201cunderfunded.\u201d<\/p>\n
As of Thursday afternoon, there were 42,154 opponents and 1,045 proponents to the bill on submitted witness slips. Among those opposing the measure is Illinois House Republican Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re looking for a problem that doesn\u2019t exist,\u201d McCombie said. \u201cObviously it adds several requirements and adds burdens to not just the home schooler and the parents, but school districts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked if she would support any type of regulations for home schoolers, McCombie called it \u201ca slippery slope.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we need to worry about our public schools first,\u201d McCombie said. <\/p>\n
Contributing: George Wiebe<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n