‘Homeschool Act’ attacks religious rights of homeschool, private school parents

House Bill 2827 would require the collection of personal information – including religious affiliation – of private school and homeschool families all over the state. That violates families’ constitutional rights.

Illinois House Bill 2827 – the “Homeschool Act” – has generated a lot of attention, and not for the right reasons.

The bill goes much farther than simply gathering the number of students across the state engaging in homeschooling. Instead, it forces both homeschool families and private schools to divulge personal information to the state.

As of March 14, more than 29,000 people had filed “witness slips” in opposition to the bill. Not even 700 had filed in support.

The opposition is warranted. Nothing in HB 2827 is about what’s best for kids or somehow improves education for those students who are struggling. Instead, it’s about tracking and regulating every single family and school that is not a government public school.

The bill sponsor, state Rep. Terra Costa Howard, D-Lombard, claims the bill just involves “filling out a declaration form that you and your family have chosen to homeschool, that’s all. And that’s it.”

The bill language shows her claim is an outrageous minimization of the truth.

Here’s what the bill really does – and why you should contact your lawmaker to tell them to vote “no” on HB 2827.

The Homeschool Act is not just a required “form”

Among many requirements in HB 2827, two are particularly problematic: an annual “homeschool declaration form” and an “educational portfolio” that can be demanded at any time for any reason.

The “homeschool declaration form” must be filed correctly with the local school district annually, or parents would face truancy charges. Here’s what the form requires, at a minimum:

• Child’s name.
• Child’s birthdate.
• Child’s contact information.
• Address of the “home school administrator.”
• Assurance that the “homeschool administrator” has received a high school diploma or a recognized equivalent.

But there is no limitation on what can be required in the declaration form. The Illinois State Board of Education is tasked in the bill with creating the form and could require any information it wants. Homeschooling families would have no say over what private information they must report to their local school district. It’s a situation vulnerable to government abuse and a quagmire of potential constitutional violations.

Then there’s the required “educational portfolio” that can be demanded by a regional office of education as “evidence” that the “homeschool program provides a course of instruction that is sufficient to satisfy the education requirements” of the state. That portfolio includes the following:

• A log designating the title and curricular materials used.
• Samples of any writing, worksheets, workbooks or creative materials used or developed by the child.
• The homeschool administrator’s individualized assessment of the child’s academic progress in each subject area.

Ironically, there is no similar requirement in state law that public schools report their own curricula or provide sample learning materials to the families of enrolled students. Under the state’s “education requirements” – the standard against which homeschool families will be measured in the bill – not even 1 in 3 public school students in 11th grade are reading at grade level. Perhaps the state should work on cleaning up its own house before intruding in the homes of others.

This also means the regional office would be collecting a list of what students are being educated using religious curriculum, akin to creating a list of families that subscribe to a particular religion or denomination.

It doesn’t stop there. The bill does not limit the circumstances under which a regional office could demand the portfolio, making it ripe for abuse. The reasoning and requirements could be executed differently from region to region, creating uncertainty across the state regarding what is required.

The private school regulations will create a state list of families and their religious preferences

HB 2827 also regulates private schools, requiring all elementary and secondary private schools to register annually with the state. It also requires private schools to report the following on all enrolled students:

• Student name.
• Student date of birth.
• Student grade.
• Student address.
• Parent or guardian name.
• Parent or guardian address.

That information must be reported to both the Illinois State Board of Education as well as to either Chicago Public Schools, for children residing in Chicago, or the regional office of education for non-Chicago children.

If this bill were just about tracking the number of students engaged in private education, it could have required private schools to simply report the number of enrolled students by grade. But this goes much farther, requiring the transmission of personal information to the state – which has a checkered past when it comes to safeguarding that information. There is no provision allowing parents to opt out of having their children tracked by state and local authorities.

As such, HB 2827 is a prime example of government overreach.  The state doesn’t need to know exactly which school every child is attending.

What’s more, there are religious liberty implications. Thousands of Illinois school children attend parochial schools. This regulation is akin to the state creating a log of what religions those parents affiliate with – something the government cannot do. And it’s that type of government tracking that influences many parents to choose private school or homeschool in the first place.

Notably, the bill begins by surreptitiously saying “Nothing in this Act applies to non-home-based, nonpublic schools.” However, that initial disclaimer only applies to the new homeschool potions of the bill. Then 23 pages in, the bill amends the Illinois School Code to require the annual registration and reporting of personal information of private school students.

It’s not a good look for Illinois. The national trend is to support parental rights by implementing or augmenting school choice for students. Illinois already bucked that trend by stripping 15,000 students of the ability to attend private schools. Now lawmakers are going after the personal information of those students who still attend private schools, making them the tracked subjects of the education system their parents rejected.

Tell your lawmaker to protect the rights of private school families

Illinois should empower parents to be in charge of their child’s education rather than empower bureaucrats to track parents’ schooling decisions.

Use our Take Action tool to contact your lawmaker and tell them to vote “no” on HB 2827.