Home Study Legislation

Today the Vermont Senate is expected to pass bill H.862, a bill that will make some changes to Vermont's Home Study statute. The bill originated in the House Education Committee and was the result of work done by Education Commissioner Richard Cate and a group of homeschool parents. It passed in the House and the Governor is expected to sign it when it presumably passes the Senate today.

Vermont has one of the strictest Home Study statutes in this country. Our state government does not seem to get that educating one's children is the parents' right, not the right of the state. At least our current elected officials have collectively agreed to lighten the paperwork burden for the parents. Of course, I'm sure the Department of Education had a more selfish reason for wanting to reduce the paperwork coming in to their office.

This bill was a compromise and it in no way accomplishes everything homeschoolers would like to see accomplished. Rarely exists a piece of legislation that does. In this case, the government is not ready to relinquish the power they took and give parents back their rights, but it is a good first step.

This legislation came about because of a "special interest group." It really irritates me that this is so often used as a dirty word. A special interest group is nothing more than ordinary people who unite for a common cause.

In this case the special interest group was a few homeschooling parents, led by one woman who worked day and night to get this legislation hammered out, while trying to accommodate the opinions of an eclectic bunch of parents who all homeschool for different reasons. She often faced opposition from within and without, but she kept on going for the benefit of other homeschooling parents, for her years of homeschooling are almost done.

I would like to publicly thank Retta Dunlap of Vermont Home Education Network for her tireless work on behalf of all parents' right to educate our own children. Well done!