“your children and all other home-schooled children will be protected from unwarranted government intervention ….” ~ Representative Bob Evans, in a standard email to those who complained about the House Bill 464
House Bill 464 is one of the scariest bills to come down the pike to attack homeschooling in a long time. HB 464 stated that a parent who wanted to homeschool would have to gain permission from a judge. In addition, HB 464, would require school attendance officers to collect and maintain unspecified and unlimited information on all homeschooled children. The information would then be reported to a judge of a youth court. They claim this is “for the purpose of exempting such children from the truancy laws of this state.”
I cannot imagine having to obtain the permission of a judge to homeschool my children. Thankfully, many other homeschoolers felt the same way and bombarded the representative’s office with emails and phone calls. Finally, homeschoolers were reassured that the bill would not pass.
Lesson #1: Your calls and emails make an impact. I have to admit that I feel as if my emails are meaningless on these issues. However, this proves that every one does count. Never back down and never think you are not making an impact.
Lesson #2: Homeschooling is under attack. If rights of homeschoolers are threatened it will pave the way to threaten parental rights in general. If the government can get away with forcing parents to have a court date to homeschool, then what other decisions will we have to consult a judge for? Do not be deceived; homeschoolers rights are closely tied to parental rights.
Lesson #3: Know your rights. You cannot win a fight if you do not show up. Guard your rights or they could be taken away. I know this may sound paranoid to some but the spirit is not paranoia but the love freedom.