Oklahoma Senate Bill 375 Faces Opposition from Homeschoolers
Many homeschool families in Oklahoma are opposed to this bill possibly becoming law. The Home Educators Resource Organization (HERO) of Oklahoma sent out a Legislative Alert via their email announcement group February 1st warning their members of this upcoming bill. They urged their members to call, write, or email the Senator and let them know that they oppose the bill and why.
Senator Wilson hopes that the bill will help children who are not accurately being homeschooled and to stop parents who are neglecting the education of their children. The problem with a bill of this nature is that it is not only costly to implement but it is also impractical. Public schools would be faced with the burden of monitoring the students with already minimal funds and personnel. The increased regulation does not add any additional support to the already satisfactory laws against truancy and educational neglect that Oklahoma has. It has been pointed out that criminals do not comply with the law in any case and it is not at all likely that they would comply with this law as well making it the honest families who would suffer from this, not those lawmakers are seeking to control.
Many feel that forcing parents to report their children's education is an invasion of their rights. The U.S. Supreme Court in Troxel v. Granville (2001), stated: "In a long line of cases, we have held that, in addition to specific freedoms protected by the Bill of Rights, the 'liberty' specifically protected by the Due Process Clause includes the right to direct the education and upbringing of one's children".
Rick Williamson, OCHEC Media and Legislative Liaison, gives a practical example of how this bill will infringe upon the personal privacy of homeschool families. "Substitute 'parents who are not homeschooling' for 'meth lab.' What do we do about the problem of meth labs being run illegally in homes in Oklahoma? True, most residents are law-abiding citizens. But, some have meth labs in their homes. We don't even know how many there are out there. The answer is to have every citizen sign a document declaring that they are not running a meth lab in their home. To insure that there is no meth lab abuse in their home, each citizen will be required to allow government authorities access to their homes twice a year, so that the state can verify that their home is meth free. What are citizens trying to hide? If they are not running meth labs in their home, this should not be a problem."
Citizens who oppose this bill are urged to contact Senator Wilson and let your opposition be known.
Senator Jim Wilson
2300 North Lincoln Blvd.
Room 426
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
E-mail: wilson@oksenate. gov
Telephone: 405-521-5574
Published by Summer Minor
Summer Minor is a mother of 3 who practices Attachment Parenting and believes that with gentle guidance children can grow to be who they were meant to be. She blogs about parenting at http://mama2mamatips.com View profile
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4 Comments
Post a CommentI hope this bill does not pass. For all who say homeschooling is bad. My sister was homeschooled and now has a Masters Degree in Bio Chemistry. I was homeschooled and am currently in college and making good grades. This just big government trying to shove their liberal propaganda on all children. Power to the people not the government.
Nice work, Summer. Sadly, this is the 'brave new world' we live in with the No Child Left Behind mandates. Each state has a certain amount of freedom in how they will manipulate their documentation to prove to the 'education police' that they are making efforts to meet the requirements - Oh, and of course this is all with LESS money than they had last year from their federal budget portions. My guess is that Oklahoma is trying to 'beef-up' thier figures, without having to put ALL the pressure on the classroom teachers. The homeschoolers are the easiest way out - They can put all sorts of requirements on them, without actually having to fund any of it, and use that to look better to the feds. Just a theory.
I really like that quote. Totally tells it how it is. As if there isn't enough support for homeschooling familys as is...and might I add those that don't like their children and want to "abuse them and sleep all day" send their children to public school so that their children are "out of their hair"....ugh. Here's hoping they're open to debate.
Summer, excellent aricle. My parents homeschooled almost all of my brothers and sisters. I was an exception and went to school my whole life. Seeing a bill like this pass could be a good thing. My younger brother was homeschooled until he was a junior in high school. When he went to school, he couldn't do the work and failed the first semester. I hope they make the right decision because both sides have valid points.