There are two bills in the California legislature that unfairly target homeschool families. The bills are AB 2756 and AB 2926. These are knee-jerk reactions to the tragic Turpin case, which doesn’t represent homeschool; it represents abuse. Statistics show that homeschooled children are no more likely to be abused than children in public schools. In fact, the largest population of abused children are those who are under the age of 3. Should we take away the rights of all parents with children under 3 because of this? No, because it’s a violation of the 4th amendment. You cannot search homes without probable cause or a warrant. Homeschool is not probable cause. We cannot give the government unlimited access to invade the privacy of homes and search them just because the family has chosen to educate their own children.
AB 2926 has the potential to require specific curriculum and teaching credentials for homeschool parents. However, statistics show homeschooled children excel above public schooled children regardless of curriculum or parental teaching credentials. Parents who homeschool want to tailor curriculum and educational experiences to the needs of their children. They do not want or need to teach the same curriculum that is failing our public schooled children. Some argue that this bill only creates an advisory committee. However, these committees are concerning because they would be formed by public school superintendents who typically have a negative view of homeschool. I do not believe these committees would be fair toward homeschoolers for this reason. Assemblymember Eggman said she doesn’t know enough about homeschool. If she would take some time to research the statistics and meet with homeschool families, we would love to help her learn everything she wants to know. Then she could see first-hand how beautiful homeschool is and that it is not a threat to children or anyone else.
If you don’t know much about homeschool, seek out homeschool families and learn about them. We are a wonderful community of people like you who only want the very best, individualize education for our children so they can be successful adults who make positive contributions to society. Ignorance is what led to these unfair bills. Knowledge will lead everyone to see that homeschool does not need to be fixed and homeschooled families deserve their right to privacy in their private homes.
