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LEGISLATIVE ALERT
Dear Fellow Home Educators:
At a Capitol Briefing Press Conference on March 25 with Speaker of the House Matt Ritter and Majority Leader Jason Rojas, there was discussion of problems with HB 5468 (and SB 6) such as FERPA violations, the question of what constitutes "equivalency," and how equivalency would be enforced. The leaders also mentioned the possibility that the bill will be amended.
In a similar vein during a podcast with Connecticut Education Association (CEA) and Representatives Patrick Biggins and Ron Napoli, there was discussion of how the goal of the homeschool bills began as "just tell us that you are homeschooling." Further discussion revealed why that is important to them: there are thousands of children missing from public schools and they are trying to figure out why that is: "Are they homeschooling or are they just gone? Are they afraid because of immigration related questions, like, what is happening?"
Connecticut laws (CGS 10-249 and CGS 10-250) require local school boards to determine and Superintendents to report the number of school age children within their district. These statutes do not prescribe a method of enumeration and have been implemented without requiring direct supervision or registration of homeschool families. A new tracking mechanism isn't necessary to satisfy existing law.
We agree it is important for public schools to know where enrolled students are. Municipalities have been gradually reducing the number of attendance/truancy officers due to budget constraints, despite the law that still provides for them. A major shift occurred in 2017, when the legislature passed a law removing truancy as grounds for referral to juvenile court, in favor of social interventions instead of punitive measures. These changes have brought us to a point where schools are "missing [tens of] thousands of children." Yet the state is looking to track law- abiding homeschoolers, who exercised their right to withdraw from the public school system.
The suggestion of tracking homeschoolers as a way to find missing children is disingenuous. Enacting such a system would penalize parents for making a lawful choice without solving the systemwide problem of truancy or keeping children safe. Meanwhile, tracking homeschoolers would take resources away from investigating an alarming fact – that nearly 90,000 children within the state system are chronically unaccounted for.
To close out the podcast, a CEA representative commended the legislature on handling the pushback from "a robust group of people who feel attacked", noting that the legislators let us "have our say" but that they have a "responsibility to make a decision based on a wide breadth of understanding." The arrogance demonstrated by such a statement dismisses the basics of a representative form of government in favor of control by a "knowledgeable" elite over constituents.
Be assured that a possible amendment "just requiring notice" would be a defeat, not a win. Such a requirement is really a government registration system that tracks families. Once established, it provides the framework for monitoring and future regulation. Making a lawful choice of education should not trigger monitoring.
HB 5468 and SB 6 began with a "hidden abuse" narrative used to veil goals of surveillance and tracking, making homeschoolers a targeted group . These goals distract from systemic failures rather than do the hard work of fixing broken systems.
Once freedom is lost, it is extremely difficult to regain. It took New Hampshire 36 years before its law was changed to recognize parents as the primary decision makers of their children's education. It took Wyoming 40 years before removing its notification mandate.
Connecticut homeschoolers should not be the scapegoats for failure of the child protection system or the public school system. Stand firm for our freedoms!
ACTION:
1.PLEASE CONTACT your legislators and ask them to vote NO on HB 5468 if this is called for a vote in the House, even if it is amended. There is no amendment that can fix a bad bill! The bill needs to be killed.
Your message needn't be long - simply the bill number and a few reasons why you oppose any oversight of homeschoolers, whether in the bill's current form or if it is amended to lesser surveillance.
You can find your legislator HERE.
2. PLEASE CONTACT the Governor as well! We know that his office was involved in drafting this bill.
You can email Governor Lamont HERE.
The telephone number is 860-566-4840 or 1-800-406-1527.
If you email put in the subject line: Vote No on HB 5468. If you are a Democrat, you can add that information as well. For example: "I am a Democrat and I oppose HB 5468."
This information will also be available on our website, our Facebook page, TEACH CT, and in our Facebook group, TEACH CT Homeschoolers.
Your involvement has made a difference! Large participation by homeschoolers contacting their legislators and coming out for a public hearing has moved the discussion to the problems with the bills.
Finally, be in prayer! Continue to pray. Talk to your parents, neighbors, friends, and church family about this issue. And don't give up. When this comes up for a vote before the House and Senate, we must be ready again to go and represent the family against the assaults of those who wish to supplant parents.
Thank you for standing with us to protect parental rights and homeschooling freedoms in CT. Every voice and every body makes a difference!
Prayerfully yours,
Pam Lucashu, Legislative Liaison
1 Cor 16:13 Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.
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