The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is sounding the alarm about a new law being proposed in the state of Connecticut, saying it will lead to a “surveillance state” for homeschooling families.
The bill in question, H.B. 5468, would reportedly lead to sweeping changes to the Connecticut homeschool law, requiring significant additional oversight when parents withdraw their children from public school.
Not only would families be required to submit annual education portfolios, but the government would also collect and record data on the families.
Parents would also reportedly need to get permission to homeschool from the Department of Children and Families (DCF) in certain circumstances.
“One of the most troubling aspects of the proposal is the idea that parents could need permission from a child welfare agency before teaching their own children at home,” HSLDA Associate Attorney Ralph Rodriguez said. “That represents a significant shift in how homeschooling families are treated under the law.”
HSLDA reports that thousands of homeschool families have submitted written testimonies to the Education Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly, opposing the bill. And hundreds showed up to speak against the measure.
One high school junior was one of many students who testified that she has found homeschooling to be highly rewarding. “I believe that this bill will create more problems than solutions,” she testified. “Under Connecticut’s state constitution, parents have the ultimate authority to educate their children. Homeschool families should not be put under government surveillance.”
Rodriguez said, “Their testimony reminded lawmakers that homeschooling is not an abstract policy issue, but it’s about real families and real children.”
He also spoke at that Education Committee hearing, and he further argued against the bill in an op-ed for The Federalist entitled, “Connecticut Poised To Create A Surveillance State For Homeschool Families.”
He pointed out that even the Department of Children and Families is opposing the measure. “In one of the more striking moments of the hearing, a DCF investigator took the microphone to oppose the bill, testifying against the very provisions that would have expanded her own agency’s authority over homeschooling families,” Rodriguez wrote. “When the people who would administer a new regulatory power are telling lawmakers they do not want it, that is worth noting. This was not ideology. It was broad recognition, cutting across the usual divisions, that the bill gets the problem wrong.”
