State Representative Terra Costa Howard (D-Lombard) just filed another amendment to HB 2827, “The Homeschool Act,” in hopes of picking up more votes among her colleagues in the Illinois House of Representatives. They are working overtime to try to pass this bill (and hundreds of others) out of the House and move it over to the Senate this week.

Please pray that this bill falls short of the 60 votes needed to pass in the Illinois House.

TAKE ACTION: HB 2827 is scheduled to be heard in the Illinois House Education Policy Committee this morning at 8, so please act immediately.

Click HERE to file a witness slip in opposition to HB 2827.

Section I. Enter your name, address, city and zip code. You can use “self” for any field that requires something.

Section II. Leave it blank if you are not a representative of a group or business.

Section III. Check your position: Opponent.

Section IV. Unless you are filing a written statement, select Record of Appearance Only.

Lastly, agree to the terms of agreement by checking the box.

Click Create (Slip).

If you missed the short window of opportunity for witness slips, please call your state representative to urge him/her to vote NO to HB 2827.  Click HERE for their contact info. You can also send an email:

MORE ACTION: Send an email to your state representative by clicking HERE.

Background

This new version of the bill, under Amendment 2, is deeply troubling. Although it eliminates the truancy penalties on home education families, it specifically allows is a truancy officer to come to your home and interview your children without parents being able to be present. This is outrageous.

Homeschool Legal Defense Association’s Will Estrada points out that:

Section 30 creates a rebuttable presumption that a homeschool student is NOT truant IF a homeschool notification form was submitted. Section 55 allows truant officers to request educational portfolios as part of a truancy investigation. Sections 60(b), 65(c), and 70 give truant officers the power to refer homeschoolers to the State Attorney. And Section 20(b) gives parents who withdraw a child from public school during the school year (we see this often when children are being bullied by their peers) a mere three days to file the homeschool declaration form, or potentially face a truancy investigation. It’s hard to overstate how harmful this will be to loving families who are simply trying to protect their children and begin homeschooling.

Section 20 requires homeschoolers to file a homeschool notification form. Section 20(a)(1)(2) says that “the notification form may include…any curriculum purchased or used for the homeschool[.]” This raises the concern that HB 2827 as amended will open the door to the Illinois public education system supervising what curriculum families use.

And there is more to be concerned about!  Attorney Estrada points out that:

Page 40 of Amendment 002 contains new language which is deeply concerning: “The truant officer or county truant officer notified of a homeschool in violation of Section 30 of the Homeschool Act, shall meet with the child or children complained of and make an initial determination of whether there is cause to start a truancy investigation.” (emphasis added) This means that if a family forgets to file the new homeschool notification form, a truant official who has the power to refer their case for prosecution to the State Attorney, will have an in-person meeting with their minor child (maybe even in the family’s home?).

Section 15 of the bill (page 3) creates a completely new and draconian new regulations and definitions of what is homeschooling. It mandates that every family keep a detailed homeschool portfolio, and redefines “homeschool” to mean “a program where instruction is provided in a student’s home environment and which may have more than one student so long as all students in the homeschool are members of the same household … “Homeschool” does not mean a group of 2 or more households who provide full-time  instruction to students of separate households under a cooperative agreement or communal living arrangement.” This may end the ability of homeschool families to use co-ops, popular programs like Classical Conversations, or do anything outside of the home (including, ironically enough, where their kids would be around other families and mandatory reporters!).

Why are the focused on homeschooled students and their families when they do so much better academically than those who attend public schools?

The home-educated typically score 15 to 25 percentile points above public school students on standardized academic achievement tests.

A 2015 study found black homeschool students to be scoring 23 to 42 percentile points above black public school students.

Homeschool students score above average on achievement tests regardless of their parents’ level of formal education or their family’s household income.

The IllinoisReportCard web site “is the state’s official source for information about public schools across Illinois.”

In 2024, only 31.1 percent of Illinois public high school students reached or exceeded proficiency in English Language Arts on average.

In 2024, only 26.1 percent of Illinois public high school students reached or exceeded proficiency in Math on average.

In 2024, only 53.1 percent of Illinois public high school students reached or exceeded proficiency in Science on average.

Illinois should focus on taxpayer funded government schools problems and leave homeschooling families alone.