Free YOUR Children has been tracking legislation nationwide and working closely with advocates in multiple states while issuing calls to action. There is a common theme—there is an attack on parental and educational rights in this country.
As of the penning of this article, we are watching HB 268 (a “school safety bill”), which has been sent to the governor in Georgia. This bill violates student data privacy, threatens due process, criminalizes free speech, undermines parental rights, empowers bureaucrats, and weaponizes state agencies against parents and families. This is a veiled attempt at government overreach with claims of protecting students under the guise of “school safety.” The bill will create a school safety commission with data tracking capabilities. Georgia Emergency Management Agency is noted several times throughout the bill. In reality, it is nothing more than the encroachment of big government into the lives of families. Horrifyingly enough, it even paves the way for state agencies to remove children from homes. HB 268 can initiate termination of parental rights. As I previously warned, it medicalizes schools with a focus on mental health.
In the State of Georgia, masters-level licensed school counselors (Licensed Professional Counselors, LPCs) are authorized to diagnose mental health disorders.
Meanwhile in Illinois, HB 2827 is threatening parental and educational rights. This is not just a home-schooling bill. This piece of legislation is setting a precedent for the entire U.S. It is a threat to educational freedoms and parental rights. I also believe that this bill is a concerted attack on Second Amendment rights. Additionally, Illinois’ HB 2827 is a data collection bill. Parents would be required to register their home-school child with the school district. Under current law in Illinois, home-school families are not required to register. The punishment for not filing would be potential criminal penalties for truancy. Educational portfolios would be required and must be in line with the public school standards. Under this bill, if a home-school student participates in any school activity or does partial enrollment, they would be required to abide by all the school’s health requirements, including a medical exam. Immunization records would also be required. If a home-school child is referred to child services, the school system would then be notified and would be providing checks on your home. This piece of legislation is being used as an attempt to criminalize parents who choose to home-educate their children.
In Tennessee, two bills—HB 106 and HB 87—resulted in changes to home schooling. HB 106 was a child care licensure bill that would inadvertently affect home-school co-ops and tutorials. The Tennessee Home Education Association (THEA) made a statement on their social media page asking home schoolers to give them a week to work out a resolution regarding this bill before contacting their legislators in opposition to this bill. This was a position that Free YOUR Children staunchly opposed and we immediately issued a call to action directing home-school families to contact their legislator and ask them to vote no on this bill. THEA announced they had come to an agreement with bill sponsors that would make their proposed amendment stronger. It would supposedly carve out protection for home schoolers and co-ops; however, the language of the bill does not reflect this protection. Instead, it is listed in the Fiscal Memorandum in the bill as an assumption.
On the heels of HB106, SB 134 surfaced, which then resulted in an amendment being passed that completely rewrote the original bill to enact The Learning Pod Protection Act. THEA supported this bill. Free YOUR Children, again, staunchly opposed this bill. It redefined co-ops and tutorials into Learning Pods and codified this definition into law. Co-ops and tutorials are not “Learning Pods.” This terminology was coined during COVID and the State Policy Network (school choice proponents) released an article with instructions on how to protect Learning Pods.
It is important to note that The State Policy Network is closely associated with the American Legislative Exchange Council, was founded by a Heritage Foundation board member, and has received donations from both the Bradley Foundation and The Walton Family Foundation, all of which are major players in the globalization of education via the school choice agenda.
The State Policy Network also partners with The Beacon Center, which was integral in the push for school choice legislation in Tennessee.
Why do these entities have a vested interest in learning pods?
Many of these learning pods will likely apply as vendors in Tennessee in order to capitalize on The Education Freedom Scholarship dollars that will soon be offered to the home-schooling community. This is not home schooling. These are private businesses. This muddies the waters for the home-school community and will have dire implications because, as we know, the strings attached to the money offered to home schoolers will result in an erosion of freedom.
It is not a coincidence that the sponsors of this bill were also staunch supporters of Governor Lee’s school choice effort in Tennessee.
It is concerning that our state’s home-school organization would advocate for co-ops and tutorials to be legally redefined when voucher proponents have made it clear that their intent is to protect private businesses that plan to capitalize on the privatization of education.
The Learning Pod Act also requires homes used by a learning pod to meet the building and fire safety standards. This is another red flag, because governments have used fire codes as a way to gain entry into home schools in other states.
Additionally, this Learning Pod Act contains compulsory attendance language. This raised suspicions because our bill, The FREE Act, when passed, will exempt home schoolers under this category from compulsory attendance.
Even though THEA made a public statement of support for The FREE Act and reached out to me personally after our bill was filed, they did not respond to my following requests:
“Would THEA be willing to share our calls to action in local support groups and at the statewide level?Additionally, we feel it would be beneficial if THEA would be willing to host a webinar allowing me to explain the FREE Act and what it does and does not do.”
After the bill failed, I was contacted and asked if we would be willing to rewrite the bill with THEA addressing the compulsory attendance portion of the bill for the upcoming legislative session. My answer was no. That would jeopardize the integrity of the bill and we are not willing to compromise on our freedom and our constitutional rights.
Ultimately, if an organization or an individual is instructing you to allow them to negotiate on your behalf and requesting that you not contact legislators, that is a red flag.
We encourage every citizen to get engaged on a personal level. Read the bills and contact your legislators and elected officials. It is your duty and your right. The position we find ourselves in today is because we as a society have abdicated our responsibilities and the protection of our freedoms to others.
Are you willing to take a gamble on compromises, handshakes and backroom deals? I hope not. The time is now. Get educated and get involved. I encourage you to exercise your rights and responsibilities in your respective states. It is our civic duty.
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Photo, top, courtesy of FeedYourVision / Pexels
