Many journalist and talk show hosts try to play Chicken Little to boost ratings or get clicks. ICHE tries to steer clear of doomsday prophecies, never calling for a major legislative protest unless numerous quiet efforts fall short. Happily, this has not happened in over four years.
About six months ago I started sharing my growing concern about an attempt to throttle down homeschoolers in the nation. Nothing was really going on to warrant these thoughts, but I couldn’t shake it. Recently, a tremor has become a fault line in our sister state to the Northeast … Michigan.
A new compulsory age bill has been introduced with the governor’s outspoken support, dropping the age of mandatory attendance down to five years old. What is worse, however, is some of the language that is being used. “Demonstrated enrollment” is a term that rightfully has Michigan homeschoolers more than a little concerned about the possibility of a following registration enactment. After all, how can you demonstrate enrollment without some type of registration?
mlive.com reporter, Martin Slagter, shared the following exchange with Senator Dayna Polehanki, D- Livonia:
The Senate bill is “not a gateway to a registry,” Polehanki said, while acknowledging her colleagues in the legislature “may introduce one.”
“Nothing’s been introduced yet, and if it is, I think it’s not the worst thing in the world that we know where kids are being educated,” she said.
“It’s not a gateway to registry,” but the legislators, “may introduce one.” What!?! Even the most casual reading of these lines should cause the hair on the back of homeschooling necks to stand straight up.
One homeschool leader lamented that many homeschoolers did not seem to have the fiery reaction he hoped for. Many new homeschoolers are unaware of the hard-fought battles thirty to forty years ago, so they don’t understand how government oversight could negatively impact their personal visions for their families. Sadly, many lack the political savvy to realize how hard it is to regain rights once they are lost. Let that not be said of Illinois homeschoolers. We should never yield one inch of ground. If someone should say, “I don’t see the big deal,” those who know better should quickly, yet graciously, instruct them on why it is a big deal.
This is one of our motivations for holding the annual ICHE Cherry Pie Day. We want to keep an active presence in Springfield. In addition to our relationship with Homeschool Legal Defense (HSLDA), we are an active part of the AdHoc Committee for Illinois Homeschool Legal and Legislative Matters. Furthermore, we encourage all homeschoolers to maintain positive relationships with their legislators.
Gratefully, the homeschooling sky is not falling in Illinois, but we don’t want to wait until it does to start our efforts. We are to remain vigilant and proactive in preserving our right to homeschool according to the dictates of our hearts and not the whims of any Big Bad Wolves in Springfield.
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