Illinois Democrats again attack parents’ rights to choose best education for their children

Democratic state lawmakers are making another attack on parents’ rights and educational choice in Illinois. A bill would require homeschooling parents to file annual reports to avoid truancy charges, be credentialed and have their curriculum reviewed.

A bill filed by Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly would attack parental rights and educational choice in Illinois, seeking to undermine 75 years of homeschooling freedoms granted by the Illinois Supreme Court in People v. Levison.

It would make Illinois the first state in the nation to increase restrictions on parents’ freedom to educate their own children. It would also make it easier to create additional restrictions on homeschooling.

Illinois already made history in 2023 when it became the first state to remove a private school choice program for 15,000 low-income students and limit parents’ educational options. It did so after intense pressure from teachers unions, which have put $20 million into campaigns since 2010, including funding 4 in 5 lawmakers as of 2023.

House Bill 2827 was filed by state Rep. Terra Costa Howard, D-Lombard, and has been co-sponsored by eight other Democratic members of the House as of Feb. 18. Teachers unions have invested over $2 million in the nine sponsors’ campaigns.

Their bill seeks to change the way homeschooling is governed in Illinois by requiring homeschooling parents to file private information with their local school district annually or face truancy charges. Parents must produce an “educational portfolio” for approval by a local school administrator if requested for any reason and prove they have specific credentials.

It also provides an avenue for lawmakers to enforce more regulations on homeschooling families in future legislative sessions. That’s because it creates a new section in the school code outlining requirements and regulations for homeschooling.

Restricting parents’ rights and limiting educational choice is nothing new in Illinois. Despite voter support for Illinois’ private school choice program, Illinois lawmakers listened to teachers unions and ended the Invest in Kids tax-credit scholarship program in 2023, taking away scholarships from more than 15,000 low-income students benefiting from the program.  The teachers unions dropped nearly $1.5 million on lawmakers ahead of that vote.

Illinois lawmakers have also already tried to limit the rights of homeschooling parents. A similar bill in 2011 would have required homeschooling families to register with the state, but fierce opposition from homeschooling families in Illinois put an end to the bill.

Now, Illinois parents once again face an attack on their freedoms and educational choices.

What does House Bill 2827 mean for Illinois homeschooling families?

The Illinois school code does not currently have a specific statute governing homeschools. Instead, based on the 1950 U.S. Supreme Court decision in People v. Levison, Illinois treats a homeschool as a private school.

Current Illinois state law does not require parents to notify the state if they intend to homeschool their children. The only regulation Illinois currently imposes on homeschools is a requirement to provide instruction in certain subject areas.

The proposed HB 2827 creates the “Homeschool Act,” which is a new statute to specifically govern homeschools. Creating a statute governing homeschools makes it easier to impose future legislation to regulate or restrict homeschooling families by amending or adding to the new homeschool statute.

While the precedent set by creating a new homeschool statute is cause for concern for the rights of homeschooling families, the statute itself also imposes new regulations and restrictions on homeschools in Illinois.

First, the bill would require homeschool parents to file private information with their local school district at the beginning of each year or within 10 days of withdrawing their child from public school or moving to a different school district. Parents risk truancy charges if they fail to comply.

Homeschooling parents would be required to submit a “homeschool declaration form” to the principal of their child’s zoned school or school district. The bill outlines the minimum information which the declaration form, created by the Illinois State Board of Education, must include about the child and homeschooling parent such as their name, birth date, grade level, contact information and home address.

But this is just a minimum requirement and does not limit what information can be required on the declaration form. That means what information is required could be expanded by the state board through regulation, rather than through legislation, giving homeschooling families little say over what private information they must report to their local school district.

Additionally, the bill includes a section that says the state education board “may adopt any rules necessary to implement and administer this Act.” According to the Home School Legal Defense Association, “This would mean the Illinois State Board of Education is authorized to add more data collection to the annual form, or even place more restrictions on homeschooling families, without new legislation, simply because state education bureaucrats feel like doing so.”

If parents were to fail to file information with their local school district using the homeschool declaration form, the bill outlines their child would be considered truant and the parents would face criminal truancy charges and the subsequent penalties outlined in sections 26-10 and 26-11 of the school code. Those penalties could include a criminal misdemeanor charge, punishable by up to 30 days in prison and up to $500 in fines.

The bill also authorizes a public school district to demand a homeschooling family produce an “educational portfolio” to prove their homeschool provides a “sufficient” course of instruction, satisfies education requirements outlined in the school code and is comparable to the standards for public schools. The bill does not limit the circumstances under which a school district can demand homeschooling parents provide an education portfolio. That means local school district leaders could demand this information without cause. It also means this could become a de facto annual requirement.

Finally, the bill requires homeschooling parents to have a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent to educate their child at home. It also allows public school leaders to request proof of a parent’s high school diploma or recognized equivalent, and this could also become a de facto requirement if the bill passes.

Tell your lawmaker to protect the rights of homeschooling families

Illinois should empower parents to be in charge of their child’s education rather than empower bureaucrats to restrict parents’ schooling rights and options.

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