The Cheyenne Post reported that the âHB0070 Definition of home-based educational program which gives more freedom and latitude for families who homeschool to network and collaborate in Wyoming was signed by Governor Gordon.
âAuthored by House Majority Floor Leader Chip Neiman, HB0070 was among the first bills signed into law by Governor Gordon during the 67th General Session of the Wyoming Legislature.â
HF 1269 will impose restrictions on Minnesota homeschoolers.
On February 3, 2023, Minnesota introduced HF 1269, a bill that would require homeschool parents in Minnesota to submit:
These requirements would force parents to maintain additional paperwork for no justifiable reason while creating the potential for friction between parents and school districts.
Because the bill was submitted Friday afternoon, parents were only given two and a half days (including the weekend) to sign up to testify before the House Education Policy Committee to express their thoughts on these proposed changes. That opportunity has passed, but you can still write and call your legislators.
You can find out who represents you and obtain their contact information here. Please feel free to use our template to structure your letter, email, or phone call. Furthermore, HSLDA and MĂCHĂ both offer great talking points for your convenience.
And, above all, Minnesota and your fellow homeschoolers could use your prayers.
Together, we can protect our liberties. Please take action today!
Even if you arenât a Colorado resident, it is important to keep abreast of the political climate in other states because it wonât be long before itâs in your state. Be prepared for whatâs coming your way.
Carolyn Martin, the Director of Government Relations for Christian Home Educators of Colorado, sounds the warning on HB23-1003, a bill currently under consideration that represents an outright assault on parental rights.
The question we need to ask is: âWhere does the civil governmentâs authority and jurisdiction stop?
“This year an introduced bill, HB23-1003 School Mental Health Assessment, grants children twelve years or older the ability [to] override a parentâs wishes concerning a mental health assessment given in a public school. Although the bill allows parents to opt their child out of the assessment, it also authorizes the school to ignore the opt-out when the child dictates. Children can also keep parents from seeing the results of the assessment. Note: If your child participates in a part-time public-school program, this bill applies to you as well!“
Keep reading here.
Education policy jargon is enough to make anyoneâs head spin! What in the world is the difference between school vouchers and ESAs? How does taxpayer-funded education threaten your educational freedom? And how does so-called parent choice (or school choice) actually eliminate your educational options?
The Constitutional Home Educators Alliance has created a fantastic video to answer these questions and more. And have you read our blog post, All That Glitters Isnât Gold, published on December 28, 2022? Be sure to check it out!
Capitol Days, Legislative Days, Homeschool Day at the Capitol, Pie Day, and other similar events foster communication between parents and their elected representatives. This is a great opportunity for you to teach your children the importance of the legislative process and help them mature into civic leaders who will help protect American freedoms. While the chart below lists January and February Capitol Days, you can check your stateâs dates here if not listed below.
| Arkansas | February 21, 2023 |
| California | January 18â19, 2023 |
| Hawaii | February 27, 2023 |
| Idaho | February 8, 2023 |
| Indiana | January 19, 2023 |
| Kansas | February 2, 2023 |
| New Mexico | February 2, 2023 |
| Oklahoma (Homeschool Oklahoma) | February 7, 2023 |
| Oklahoma (Constitutional Home Educators Alliance) | February 8, 2023 |
| Virginia | February 2, 2023 |
| West Virginia | February 3, 2023 |
Save the date for Unfragmented, a new book club hosted by our very own Leigh Bortins, beginning Thursday, January 5, 2023, at 8:00 p.m. EST. Just click the Unfragmented book club banner on the home page of Leigh’s website to find the Zoom link and join in the discussion.
January will feature author Kevin Novak and his book, Abolition. No preparation is required, but it definitely helps to have the book in hand. Enjoy the relaxed conversation!
You can also listen to this interview between Leigh and the author.
Taxpayer-funded education goes by a variety of names these days, such as school vouchers, charter schools, and education savings accounts (ESAs), which different states variously call Education Freedom Accounts, Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, or Individualized Education Accounts.
These lovely names suggest a commitment to the principles of freedom and self-determination that define the homeschooling movement, but buyer beware: all that glitters is not gold.
Take No Child Left Behind: glittering name, pyrite legislation. Enacted with bipartisan support, NCLB promised to fix the substandard and ever-worsening quality of the public education system. In fact, one of the legislationâs objectives was to offer parents school choice! (Sound familiar?)
Instead, NCLB vastly expanded the federal governmentâs role in education while public schools continued to deteriorate and school choice was left by the wayside. Despite the glittering name, despite the promise of school choice, NCLB only eroded educational freedoms.
School choiceâa.k.a. âparent choiceââfunded by taxpayersâ money represents a similar bait and switch. The government offers this money to parents when they withdraw their students from the public school system, ostensibly because the money wouldâve followed the students anyway. Sounds great, right?
Hereâs the catch: this money is then deposited in government-authorized savings accountsâaccounts subject to government oversight. And thatâs where the trouble begins.
Government oversight means regulation. Regulation is the death of freedom and self-determination. Soon, you wonât be able to spend those funds according to your own wants and needs. Instead, youâll need the governmentâs approval for your expenditures.
And then your home school wonât be your home schoolârather, your home school will be just another government-run program in your living room.
Pyrite is called foolâs gold because it tricks people into believing itâs real gold. School choice funded by taxpayersâ money isnât school choice at allâitâs just foolâs gold. Like No Child Left Behind, taxpayer-funded education will only undermine legitimate educational freedom.
Donât trade your childâs future for pyrite.
Check out the latest episode from The Charlie Kirk Show, âIs âNorthâ Just an Opinion? LIVE from Classical Conversations with Q+A.â
In this episode, Charlie Kirk âissues a full-throated defense of homeschooling, explaining why an America that gets farther away from God is an America that gets farther away from its Founders, its true commission and national mission statement.â He also clearly reveals how subjective truth brings destruction to individuals and society, adding how to âbreak the spell of apathy.â
Classical Conversations joined with legislators around the country to draft and adopt a model policy to further protect churches that host homeschool communities in their facilities. The legislators anonymously adopted the model policy. Classical Conversations will work with state legislators in several key states to get this policy fully adopted, during the next legislative sessions. Do you know if your state has adopted this policy? Reach out to your state legislator to find out. If not, ask them to adopt it for your state.
The Christian Employers Alliance issued the followed statement regarding HR 8404, or the inappropriately named âRespect for Marriage Act,â a bill that endangers our religious freedoms:
âHouse of Representatives voted to pass the (dis) âRespect for Marriage Actâ that expressly overturns the Defense of Marriage Act, passed overwhelmingly in 1996, and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. Unfortunately, the Leader did not whip the vote, and 47 Republicans voted in favor of the legislation along with all Democrats. Senate Majority Leader Schumer announced the use of Senate Rule XIV last night â meaning it skips committee and can be called up at any time. He has announced his intent to bring the bill to the floor when he is assured of the ten (10) Republican votes he needs to win a cloture vote with a 60-vote threshold. Sources are telling us he could bring up the bill next week.â
Below are four arguments from our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom against the RMA.
Under the Respect for Marriage Act (the âRMAâ):
The federal government would be forced to recognize any marriage as valid by a state, including polygamy, which would also have significant impacts on tax and welfare provisions.
Granting âfull faith and creditâ to same-sex marriage, the RMA is a declaration by Congress that failure to recognize same-sex marriage is functionally no different than censoring free speech or denying someone their right to free speech. It places same-sex marriage on par with other fundamental rights. (Remember fundamental rights are those rights with the highest protections, such as free speech, freedom of religion, etc.)
During the Obergefell oral argument, then-U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli âcandidly acknowledged that the tax exemptions of some religious institutions would be in question if they opposed same-sex marriage.â The RMA makes that threat more concrete because it creates a private cause of action for activists to sue anyone âacting under color of state lawâ â which in certain circumstances could include individuals and private organizations. In other words, RMA potentially opens up religious individuals and organizations to harassing lawsuits and legal liability if they decline to recognize same-sex marriages or grant them the same rights as opposite-sex marriages.
RMA lays a foundation for the IRS, or other federal agencies, to strip tax-exempt status from religious non-profits that do not affirm same-sex marriage. If RMA is passed, it would represent a clear statement that Congress believes opposition to same-sex marriage is against public policy. That could allow the IRS to point to the RMA, Supreme Court cases recognizing same-sex marriage, and numerous administrative actions from the Biden Administration (and the Obama Administration before it) as evidence that all three branches of the federal government uniformly believe that everyoneâboth government entities and private individuals and organizationsâshould recognize same-sex marriages and grant them the same rights and benefits as opposite sex couples. The IRS could argue that an organization that fails to do so should not be tax-exempt.
https://www.christianemployersalliance.org/
Read the letter sent by ADF and more than eighty allies to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell asking him to oppose the misnamed âRespect for Marriage Act.â
There are countless other reasons to oppose the bill, some of which are expressed here, here, and here.
Five senators have announced their intent to support the legislation:
According to CNN, eight senators have announced their opposition to the legislation:
Contact your US senator to ask that he or she oppose this legislation and keep it from reaching the sixty-vote threshold.
Please thank your senator if they have already announced opposition to the bill.
