Learning Is For Everyone!

Homeschooling has an interesting history, that varies somewhat depending upon who’s telling that history. Some see modern homeschooling as an outgrowth of secular education reform movements started by John Holt and Ivan Illich in the 1960s. Others identify religious origins. However it sprouted, homeschooling, the practice of fully family directed learning, has blossomed into a vibrant and thriving educational choice for well over a million students.

S.1691
Title: A bill to amend selected statutes to clarify existing Federal law as to the treatment of students privately educated at home under State law.
Sponsor: Sen Craig, Larry E. [ID] (introduced 9/13/2005) Cosponsors (10)
Related Bills: H.R.3753
Latest Major Action: 9/13/2005 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

Home School Non-Discrimination Act of 2005 - Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) with respect to: (1) student aid eligibility of home-schooled students who have satisfied certain secondary education standards; and (2) institutional aid eligibility of the higher education institutions that such students attend.

Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to provide that, if a parent does not consent to an initial evaluation or special education or related services for a child with a disability, the local educational agency shall not be required to convene an individualized education program (IEP) meeting or develop an IEP for such child.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code with respect to qualified elementary and secondary education expenses (the Coverdell Education Savings Account) to include home schools if they are treated as a home school or private school under state law.

Amends the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 to prohibit release of certain information on and educational records of students in nonpublic education, including any student educated at home or in a private school in accordance with state law, without written parental consent.

Amends HEA to include students at home schools, whether treated as a home school or a private school under state law, among those prospective secondary school graduates eligible to apply for the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program for higher education.

Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to direct the Secretary of Labor to extend the hours and periods of permissible employment of employees between the ages of 14 and 16 years who are privately educated at a home school, whether the home school is treated as a home school or a private school under state law, beyond those hours and periods applicable to employees of such ages who are educated in traditional public schools. (Thus allows home-school students to be employed during the traditional school day.)

Amends specified federal law with respect to policies on recruitment and enlistment of home schooled students in the Armed Forces.

Considerations
The Homeschool Nondiscrimination Act is the first federal legislation ever introduced that identifies specifically the practice of homeschooling. The bill has been hotly debated in the homeschool community since its introduction in 2003, pushed largely by the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), a religiously conservative legal insurance firm.

There are supporters of the bill, and there are many detractors. Many find the bill problematic for several reasons, including the fact that homeschooling is not currently federally regulated but is overseen at the state level, and because the is considered over-reaching omnibus legislation that affects several existing federal laws.

The Council for Excellence in Government http://tinyurl.com/y83lx7 , features an article title,"The Role of Congress in Restoring Public Trust in Government" and observes about omnibus legislation:

"... Congress is increasingly unable to pass its spending bills on time, and then makes major legislative decisions through huge omnibus measures that are shaped in a great hurry and in secret by a limited group of congressional leaders and staff. 5 of 13 appropriations bills were dumped into one omnibus bill this year, totaling $385 billion and composed of 2,000 pages. These bills - often gauged more by weight than the number of pages -- are -- from the standpoint of good process, if not content -- an abomination."

While omnibus legislation has long been more common in Europe, it is gaining in popularity in the US for several reasons:
• It's far easier to surgically insert (or delete) language into a bunch of different laws in a single place, than to push for those changes individually, which would require more congressional discussion, assessment and public dialogue than simply tying it all up in a neat little bundle aimed at pleasing -
• And approval for changes can be achieved more quickly.

The question, of course, is whether omnibus legislation affecting the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act , Child Find, Child Labor laws, federal tax issues & scholarship programs focused on the needs of one group - whether homeschool students, or private religious school students, or addressing the special needs of particular ethnic students attending a particular type of school, or yet more narrowly considered groups - is in the majority of citizen's best interests, or only in the service of special interest needs?

Is it ethical to create laws that spell out each type of individual that needs to be served? Or do we work together (as opposed to working in small special interest groups) to create, support and maintain clear and simple legislation that guarantees equal rights and service to everyone across the board?

The concerns that those opposing this legislation have is not that possibly some of the changes aren't helpful -- but that those changes and concerns should be addressed as they relate to the IDEA or child labor laws or the IRS, by taking up discussion specifically relating to those laws, and in relation to how it affects everyone, not just homeschoolers.

And of course there are concerns about the potential problems of writing "homeschooling" into federal law where it didn't exist before, thereby creating the potential for further, undesired legislation and regulation later on.

Resources to learn about all aspects of HoNDA include:

Tracking
GovTrack: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h109-3753

In early December 2006, the Home School Legal Defense Association resurrected an issue peripherally related to HoNDA. Spurred largely in response to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child ,the conservative legal group called for renewed efforts to create a Constitutional amendment "to protect the rights of parents to educate their children at home." (http://www.hslda.org/parentalrights/default.asp):

"HSLDA is drafting a constitutional amendment and circulating it to friendly lawyers and organizations for review and comment. Once the text is done, we will find sponsors in the House and Senate. Achieving sponsorship, passage, and ratification will take an unbelievable effort from all of us and all of our allies. But we must not rest until the amendment becomes law."

Homeschoolers nationwide who are aware of the effort, have reacted almost universally against it, particularly concerned about a constitutional amendment being forwarded by special interests with specific agendas in mind. (The website, Homeschooling is Legal, provides a comprehensive list of HSLDA "causes" outside of homeschooling.)
HSLDAs renewed convictions about the need for a parental rights amendment stands in stark contrast to their (logical and well rooted) arguments of the past that federal law already protects parental rights (http://parentalrightslegislation.blogspot.com/2006/04/new-parental-
rights-amendment-proposal.html)

"The Supreme Court of the United States has made it repeatedly clear that the right of parents to direct the upbringing of their children is protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment." (Michael Farris, "Federalism and the Parental Rights and Responsibilities Act," HSLDA Resource Library document, no longer available)

*"The U. S. Supreme Court has long held parental rights to be primary in American law. This primary role of the parents in the upbringing of their children is now established beyond debate as an enduring American tradition." ("Historic Parental Rights Bill passes Indiana House," Home School court Report, February/March 1996, page 15)

It appears clear that HSLDA is pushing for this amendment for other, more problematic reasons than those stated, and many are concerned, especially those who believe that amending the Constitution for any reason is a bad idea.

Many believe that if "parental rights" protection is written into the constitution specifically, then we will have to define parents , and then marriage - the latter a pet project of HSLDA, which supports a federal marriage amendment, as well. Ultimately, opponents of the effort say, we're defining families, and the truth is families take many forms that simply can't be constitutionally defined or rigorously legislated.

Many believe that our rights as citizens, and commensurately as parents, and families, and homeschoolers are already protected without itemizing them. List them, they say, and ultimately, we can loose those rights. Amendments 1, 4, 9,10 and 14 can all be said to guarantee our freedoms as individuals, as parents, and as children.

Some express fears that "the state owns our children." The state does not own our children. We don't own our children; we are charged with protecting them, and their rights. Our children are autonomous beings with their own inherent rights and freedoms. Learning is for Everyone believes, like many others, that the best way to protect those freedoms is to use them, by speaking out on our own behalf and that of our children, for ourselves, and for others whenever we can, and we don't want anyone else deciding who "parents" are and what a family should look like.

Recent News: The Parental Rights Amendment is reintroduced as HJ Resolution 42 in March 2009. You can follow the bill's progress here:

Home School Opportunities Make Education Sound Act of 2008
S 3076

LA Senator David Vitter recently introduced a bill to amend the US tax code to provide tax deductions for homeschoolers.

On the one hand, it would certainly seem to open to the door to legislating homeschooling – what expenses would be covered, which ones wouldn’t, and why? Who decides, and then what else can be decided with respect to how we homeschool. Although despite Vitter’s suggestion that private school families are afforded some kind of “relief” for their educational choices, beyond state vouchers, there doesn’t seem to be any kind of IRS provision along the lines of what he’s asking for homeschoolers provided to private schoolers. If we really want to provide tax relief to people who choose a form of education outside of public schools, it seems all forms of alternative education should be equally included.

On the other hand, there a lot of people would really appreciate and benefit from the type of relief offered in this bill.

A thoughtful evaluation of all the pros and cons of this legislation would seem to be in order.

Relevant Information:

Home School Opportunities Make Education Sound Act of 2008 (Introduced in Senate)
S 3076 IS To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a tax deduction for itemizers and nonitemizers for expenses relating to home schooling.

The bill was introduced by Senator David Vitter to “provide education-related tax relief to families who home school their children. The Home School Opportunities Make Education Sound Act would allow home school families to take advantage of tax deductions to help alleviate education-related expenses. “

From Senator Vitter's website:

“Like those who choose to send their children to private schools, home school families pay an inequitable share of education-related expenses,” said Vitter. “Even as they pay for expenditures related to home school activities, they fund public schools through their tax dollars. We need to provide them with the same relief offered to private school families, and this bill is intended to do just that, by minimizing the financial burden of these families.”

Vitter’s bill provides for a deduction of $500 per child with an annual limit of $2,000 for expenses related to K-12 homeschooling activities. For families that do not itemize their taxes, the bill would allow for a standardized deduction of $500 per child, not to exceed $2,000 in one year. Families with children who attend private schools are already eligible for education-related tax benefits.

“All families should be provided with a full spectrum of choices when it comes to the education of their children,” Vitter said. “We need to take the necessary steps to remove the undue financial burdens that are currently placed on home school families. As individuals empower themselves to take responsibility for the proper education of their children, we should in turn provide them with the appropriate tools to do so. To that end, this legislation is a positive step in that process.”

Read others' thoughts on this effort at:

Informed Parent
Home Education Magazine News blog
National Home Education Legal Defense (Bulletin 62)

Follow the Bill’s progress at GovTrack ( http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s110-3076 )

Read on to see a comprehensive list of "Quick Links" for all issues.

Quick Links: Resources for Understanding National Homeschool Issues

With clockwork regularity, several issues come up nationally that bear closer scrutiny and cross referencing for better understanding. These issues include things like the impact of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and Parental Rights legislation.

We provide these "Quick Links" to help you become more informed on these issues, so that you can act according to your own conscience and convictions, and not at the reactionary behest of those with private agendas. We hope you find these helpful and interesting.

Home School Opportunities Make Education Sound Act of 2008
S 3076

Quick Links: Resources for Understanding National Homeschool Issues

Homeschool Impact of UN Convention on Rights of the Child

Homeschool Non-Discrimination Act (HoNDA) - HR 2732/ SB 1562

Family Education Freedom Act of 2007

Parental Rights Constitutional Amendment Issue (related to UN Convention on Rights of Child)

Federal Marriage Protection - As Tied into Homeschooling

Home School Opportunities Make Education Sound Act of 2008 S 3076

Quick Links: Resources for Understanding National Homeschool Issues

Homeschool Impact of UN Convention on Rights of the Child

Homeschool Non-Discrimination Act (HoNDA) - HR 2732/ SB 1562

Family Education Freedom Act of 2007

Parental Rights Constitutional Amendment Issue (related to UN Convention on Rights of Child)

Federal Marriage Protection - As Tied into Homeschooling

Home School Opportunities Make Education Sound Act of 2008
S 3076