Homeschool Days at the Capitol, Legislative Days, Capitol Days, Pie Day, and other similar events foster communication between parents and their elected representatives. Seize this excellent opportunity to teach your children the importance of the legislative process. Help them mature into civic leaders who will help protect American freedoms.
The chart below lists October Homeschool Days at the Capitol. Check your state’s dates here if it’s not listed below.
Homeschool Days at the Capitol, Legislative Days, Capitol Days, Pie Day, and other similar events foster communication between parents and their elected representatives. Seize this excellent opportunity to teach your children the importance of the legislative process. Help them mature into civic leaders who will help protect American freedoms.
The chart below lists May Homeschool Days at the Capitol. You can also check your state’s dates here if they’re not listed below.
Homeschool Days at the Capitol, Legislative Days, Capitol Days, Pie Day, and other similar events foster communication between parents and their elected representatives. Seize this excellent opportunity to teach your children the importance of the legislative process. Help them mature into civic leaders who will help protect American freedoms.
The chart below lists March and April Homeschool Days at the Capitol. You can also check your state’s dates here if it’s not listed below.
By Carolyn Martin, CHEC Director of Government Relations
The march toward more government programs, government control over our families and livelihoods, and restrictions on our inalienable rights has begun. Last year was bad enough, but despite this being an election year, those who run our government have not finished implementing their complete transformation of our beautiful state. And so it begins again: today is the first day of the 2024 legislative session.
Parents have relinquished their rights in exchange for the rights of the child. Special rights, ostensibly granted to oppressed groups, have overshadowed religious liberty. What about homeschooling? So far, we have kept the dam from breaking on our freedom to educate our children how we see fit. Yet, there is much opposition coming from many directions. State alphabet soup agencies, departments, and boards. School choice and anti-homeschool advocates. Local school officials and boards. Legislators on both sides of the aisle.
There is no way I can withstand them alone. I rely greatly on God’s help to see and understand these attacks. But each of you also plays an integral part. First and foremost, this is a spiritual battle. God’s enemies hate what He has created – especially children, the family, and the church. Homeschooling is a lifeboat for the preservation of our families and our faith. You must stay true to His call to raise your families in the admonition of the Lord, or everything you do is meaningless. Pray to God for His protection and provision for me and every homeschooling family in this state.
Unfortunately, I foresee many liberties being taken away from us this year. Let us ensure that the ability to homeschool without government control is not one of them! We have experienced God’s faithfulness since the enactment of the homeschool law thirty-five years ago. As we ask the Lord to show us what it means to be eternally vigilant and how to safeguard what He has given us, it will require sacrifice from each of us.
“The price of liberty is vigilance.” – Author Unknown
Will you sacrifice some time to stay informed and engaged during this legislative session?
Attend CHEC’s Meet Your Legislator Day – February 15th!
Read the original CHEC article.
If you can do more, please contact me!
Carolyn Martin serves as CHEC’s Director of Government Relations, working for you and other liberty-loving families to protect homeschool freedom, parental rights, and religious liberty at the state capitol. Subscribe to the CHEC blog for Carolyn’s regular updates, learn more about legal issues in Colorado, and support Homeschool Freedom. Contact Carolyn directly at carolyn@chec.org.
By Carolyn Martin, CHEC Director of Government Relations
The following was originally published as “Legislative Update for December 20, 2023” at CHEC.org. It has been republished here with the author’s permission.
It is vital that homeschoolers meet their legislators and participate in Homeschool Day at the Capitol and Legislator Day events to protect homeschooling freedom. The legislature solely holds the authority to make laws, while the Executive Branch departments or agencies set the rules for implementing and enforcing those laws. They then use their rules to create guidance on how to follow the rules and comply with the law.
Over the past several years, the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) has been working on revising the rules around public school financing. The broad rule-making authority has been given to the State Board of Education (BOE) to promulgate rules around part-time programs (CRS 22-54-103(10)(e.5)). The BOE, an elected body, will be reviewing and voting on these rules in February. These changes will impact some part-time public-school programs utilized by homeschoolers.
Teacher Qualifications: Technically, they have not changed their guidelines around teacher qualifications for schools receiving funding. At the BOE meeting on December 13th, the CDE representative said they merely moved some of the language from their guidance document into the rules for clarity. School districts, charter schools, and BOCES can still receive waivers to allow teachers who do not have a teacher’s license to teach classes. Additionally, they made it clear in the rules that classes where the parents are the teachers will not be funded.
Eliminate K–5th Grade Online Part-Time Programs: They will no longer fund part-time pupils for asynchronous supplemental online learning for K–5th grade students. This is a change from current policy but is within their authority to decide. Those students must enroll in an online district school to receive those types of services.
Contracts With Instructional Providers: According to CDE, local school districts, charters, and BOCES have the authority to contract with third parties to provide educational services. From what they said, the proposed rules do not change the local control aspects of this provision, but they do add more accountability to these programs by adding additional documentation and hoops for them to go through to be funded.
As long as a homeschool family does not enroll in a public-school program, these rules do not apply. While the attitude of education bureaucrats remains opposed to our right to homeschool, these rules do not threaten the homeschool law. But, as Treon Goossen, one of the co-authors of Colorado’s homeschool law, wrote concerning the danger of the emergence of part-time public-school programs, “The public school system wants the public/parents to believe that ‘it is all homeschooling’ so when they make their move to eliminate the control of parents over their independent homeschools and thrust them back under state control — it will appear to be the most natural thing to do.” (Read the full article and connect the dots.) She contended that these programs are a threat to our liberties.
As you know, CHEC works closely with HSLDA on all matters related to homeschooling. HSLDA’s position is that the current proposed rule changes only affect taxpayer-funded public programs and do not threaten the homeschool law. Additionally, HSLDA does not support tax-payer-funded public programs as the programs themselves have the potential to undermine private home education. CHEC and HSLDA will continue to work to ensure homeschooling families remain as free as possible from government control.
Remember: what the government funds, the government controls. CHEC envisions families honoring Jesus Christ by embracing Christ-centered home discipleship and free from government control. We will continue to monitor these rules as they move through the process and keep you informed.
Find out what CHEC is doing this year and register. You won’t want to miss this opportunity for you and your family to help protect the homeschool law in Colorado!
Read the original CHEC article.
Carolyn Martin serves as CHEC’s Director of Government Relations, working for you and other liberty-loving families to protect homeschool freedom, parental rights, and religious liberty at the state capitol. Subscribe to the CHEC blog for Carolyn’s regular updates, learn more about legal issues in Colorado, and support Homeschool Freedom. Contact Carolyn directly at carolyn@chec.org.
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.
The chart below lists January and February Capitol Days; you can also check your state’s dates here if it’s not listed below.
| Arkansas | February 21, 2024 |
| California | January 17-19, 2024 |
| Colorado | February 15, 2024 |
| Florida | February 13, 2024 |
| Idaho | February 7, 2024 |
| Hawaii | January 29. 204 |
| Indiana | January 18, 2024 |
| Kansas | February 1, 2024 |
| Minnesota | February 15, 2024 |
| Mississippi | February 28, 2024 |
| Nebraska | February 7, 2024 |
| New Mexico | February 1, 2024 |
| Oklahoma | February 6, 2024 |
| Oklahoma | February 13, 2024 |
| Oregon | February 29, 2024 |
| South Dakota | January 18, 2024 |
| Utah | February 8, 2024 |
| Virginia | February 8, 2024 |
| West Virginia | February 2, 2024 |
By Edward Murray
“Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving . . . ” —Psalm 50:4 (ESV)
Fall is my favorite time of year, and for several reasons—one of which is because it marks the beginning of the holidays. However, one holiday stands out as my favorite: Thanksgiving. While this holiday may not recognize a biblically historical event, its intended is to direct us towards a biblical virtue of contentment: being thankful for what God has already given us. This month, let’s ask ourselves: Are we thankful for our freedom to homeschool? Put another way: Although homeschooling is our God-given right, are we thankful that our country currently recognizes our freedom to homeschool?
News outlets recently reported that states across the nation have seen exponential growth in homeschooling since the pandemic. In fact, “Homeschooling has become America’s fastest-growing form of education and continues to explode in popularity long after pandemic-era remote learning has ended . . . ”1
Are We Thankful for Homeschooling?
Mairead Elordi further reports, “Before the pandemic, there were 1.5 million homeschoolers in the U.S., according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Now, there are between 1.9 million and 2.7 million homeschoolers in the country, the Post’s analysis estimated. Only two states, Georgia and Maryland, have seen homeschooling return to pre-pandemic levels.”2
Although conservatives lost both houses in my state of Virginia recently, Danny Diggs (R) beat out Monty Mason (D) for the Twenty-Fourth Senate District, and for good reason. Recently, Mason was captured on hot mic mocking parental rights as “garbage, crap, and stupid.”3 Meanwhile, whatever is thought of his official performance, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin made visible the parental-rights undercurrent when he ran on these issues and won.
What do we learn from all this? Although previous homeschoolers understood the threats in the 80s and 90s, now younger generations are awakening to these realities. The state is not to be ignored, and infringement is a constant danger. In other words, awareness is leading us to thankfulness and action.
As a former pastor, I’ve made this principle a repetitive talking point. Thankfulness is not a passive state of being but an active discipline. Not to be too philosophical, but although we may reach a state of being thankful, biblically speaking, thankfulness is something we actively exercise, whether we are or not.
Many psychologists suggest beginning or ending each day with a list of at least 3–5 things we are thankful for. Why do we need this? Because we are naturally bent towards negativity and forgetfulness due to sin.4 This is why the Lord instructed His people to erect monuments and practice regular rhythms of festival and feasting in the Old Covenant. He knows our frame (Ps. 103:14) and knows our proclivity to failure when it comes to reminding younger generations (Josh 4:19–24). Throw all this in with these day-to-day realities:
Are we thankful for our freedom to homeschool? In many ways yes, we are! However, in many ways, we tend to drop the ball when it comes to being actively thankful. We’re distracted. If it takes sitting down and writing a daily list of three reasons to be thankful for our freedom, let’s do it.
As I mentioned earlier, we currently have the freedom to personally educate our children. But let’s not take this for granted. Don’t fail to properly appreciate what we possess at this moment in history. Although homeschooling is our God-given right, the government’s willingness to recognize this is not to be assumed in a fallen world.
Although homeschooling is biblically normative (and was historically normative prior to the twentieth century), the legal prohibition against this is relatively recent. This current freedom is very fresh. Remember, it has only been since 1992 that all fifty states officially recognized homeschooling as a legal option.5
Moreover, you’ll recall that the Romeike family fled Germany in 2008 for asylum in the United States, solely for the opportunity to homeschool. They’re now under the threat of deportation by the U.S. government, with a temporary delay granted just October 6 of this year. Their stay is not guaranteed, and they still need our support.
Find out how you can help the Romeike family with our friends at HSLDA.
Although our current moment is witnessing a rapid increase and appreciation for homeschooling, critics and legislators continue to push for more government oversight. This shouldn’t be underestimated. Every year across the country, legislation swarms the halls of our capitols, sparkling with subsidies and laced with infringements. Don’t take your freedom to homeschool for granted. It is on the docket and at the ballot box every election.
This month, reflect on this question: Am I thankful for my freedom to homeschool? Current trends indicate that more are awakening to this blessing and that it’s something to fight for. Yet given our proclivity to forgetfulness, we need to endure with active thankfulness. Don’t take for granted the hard-won battles of generations past. Future generations are depending on us.
Legend has it that Ben Franklin was asked what type of government was created from the Constitutional Convention. His pithy response was, “A republic if you can keep it.” This mantra should ring in our heads as we reflect on our liberty to homeschool.
The principle is clear: If we want to keep our liberty, we must fight for it. It’s only ours “if we can keep it.” We cannot remain idle.
This Thanksgiving, let’s pause to be thankful for our freedom to homeschool. Additionally, let’s pray, celebrate, and feast in the presence of the Lord for this blessing. And when our meal is over, let’s be actively thankful by engaging our spheres of influence with awareness of what’s at stake.
Happy Thanksgiving!
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” —1 Thessalonians 5:16–18 (ESV)
Edward Murray currently serves as Manager of Special Projects and Research for the Strategy and Corporate Affairs Team at Classical Conversations. He is a native of Augusta, Georgia, and an alumnus of Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he earned his Master of Divinity. He currently lives in Newport News, Virginia, with his wife and three children.
By Lauren Gideon
A few people have asked for my recommendations for upcoming school board seats up for election. I know of some good people running, and I will give you their names in a heartbeat because I have much respect for them. However, in the spirit of full disclosure, I am convinced that school board elections are a waste of good people, time, and resources in the year 2023.
Government schools are captured on so many levels. Unfortunately, there is little chance for reform. Even if you gave the necessary people, time, and resources to the cause, the reality is that liberating education is not in a growing government’s best interest. An education that teaches the proper affection toward liberty and a proper fear of consolidated power would threaten a growing government; thus, the state schools are incapable of giving you the tools needed to flourish. The government will use its schools to propagate the expansion of itself. (This we can already see.) At this rate, how many graduating classes currently stand between where we are at now and implementing and embracing absolute socialism?
The only mechanism to stop the suppression of liberty is to defund state education and the Department of Education. However, the moment you say that out loud, you had better expect a very loud and in-your-face question from an unimaginative population that screams, “BUT WHAT WILL WE DO WITHOUT STATE EDUCATION?!?”
Well, the first reality is that in the state of Iowa, where I live, $3.7 billion (thanks to the latest increase due to school choice policies) will flood back into the Iowa free-market education economy. Consequently, all sorts of options become possible.
Unsatisfied, the same doubters will insist that Iowans will not fund education through any other method than coercive taxation.
This also is no cause for alarm since, historically speaking, the free market has the potential to offer a higher quality education for less than 50 percent of the cost of government education.
But the ultimate concerns from skeptics will sound something like this: “What will happen if parents won’t self-fund or secure private funding for their children’s education? Will we end up with a population of uneducated children that will be a liability to our state? Consequently, it must be in our state’s best interest to fund and force government education on children.”
This question is powerful because it shows the true colors of our culture and reveals our flawed presumptions:
1. We presume that the state cares more for children than their parents.
2. We presume that the state is responsible for parental failures.
3. Finally, we reveal that we would rather trust our mechanisms of control than embrace the responsibility of freedom.
Because of this reality, the economics of the issue do not really matter.
Freedom is an invitation to responsibility, but it allows for the opportunity to embrace or reject that responsibility. Freedom does not protect from failure. The question has to be asked: do our states even want freedom? Does our nation? The Proverbs speak of two women, Lady Folly and Lady Wisdom, and the choice to be made. Similarly, in our modern context, there are also two women: Lady Liberty and the Lady “Nanny.” This choice is more fundamental than any political party, as the siren call from Lady Nanny beckons all. She whispers empty promises of safety and security and blinds us to the opportunity and blessings found with Lady Liberty.
When election day arrives, there will be choices. Step one is to vote for candidates that are appropriately shutting out the Nanny’s calls. Step two, after election day, will you build relationships in your community and with those that represent you? Will you advocate for Liberty and warn against the deceptive promises of the Nanny?
Lauren Gideon is the Director of Public Relations for Classical Conversations. She co-leads and teaches through an organization committed to raising citizenship IQ on U.S. founding documents. She and her husband homeschool their seven children on their small acreage, where they are enjoying their new adventures in homesteading.
By Carolyn Martin
“The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.”
Nahum 1:2–3 ESV
The Lord sees all that we are dealing with and will by no means let it go unjudged. As I try to prepare for the next session, the storm clouds continue to build on the horizon. The power of those legislators holding a Marxist worldview is growing, and the rhetoric against God’s created order continues to confound reason. Meanwhile, I can only sit by and watch as those advocating for the growth of government through private-public partnerships as a way to disrupt the status quo in education build their kingdom which is antithetical to His kingdom. Yet, God’s power is greater, and His way is in the whirlwind and the storm!
There is no doubt a storm is coming, bringing destruction in its clouds. The exact characteristics of the storm remain hazy. Knowing the Lord is in the midst of the storm gives assurance to all who trust in His way. Yet, to stand on the edge of the storm as the winds howl and push against your resolve can be overwhelming. I am thankful that God has each of you praying for me, for His will to be done, and for the protection of His people. I am even more grateful that He allows me to meet many of you and thank you in person for upholding me and having a heart for the work He has me doing even when we can’t see the results.
Please continue to pray that I will be guided by His hand and remain steadfast in following His way as the storm clouds strengthen and build.
PRAISE!
PRAY!
Action Items:
Carolyn Martin is the Director of Government Relations for Christian Home Educators of Colorado (CHEC). She and her husband, Todd, began homeschooling their three children in upstate New York before moving to Colorado in 2004. Her passion is to see homeschooling remain free from government intrusion for future generations.
From Classical Conversations & HSLDA
Within our organization there is unanimous conviction that all people have a right, not just a priviledge, to educate their children freely, without any intervention by state or any other organizations. One such family – The Romeike’s – fled Germany to the United States to exercise this freedom, but are now facing deportation.
The Romeike’s need your help, and they need it FAST. Please see the following message from our friends at HSLDA below, contact your Representative, and sign the petition.
The Romeike family fled Germany for the United States in 2008 seeking asylum so that they could homeschool their children without fear of persecution. After more than a decade of making the United States their home, the Romeike’s were abruptly informed they had four weeks to return to Germany.
Tennessee Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger has introduced private bill H.R. 5423 to stop this deportation from happening and make the Roeikes eligible for an immigrant visa or permanent resident status.
But the Romeikes also need your help!
Please take just a moment to ask your congressional representative to intervene on their behalf. It’s as easy as filling out this form.
Rallying support for the Romeike family and H.R. 5423 is so important—we need voices from both sides of the aisle speaking out for them.
Will you stand with the Romeikes and ask your representative to support H.R. 5423?
As always, thank you for your continued support of homeschool families and homeschool freedom!
HSLDA passionately advocates for the freedom to homeschool and offers support for every stage of your homeschool journey. To learn more about HSLDA, and various legal issues facing homeschool families, please visit herhttps://hslda.org/e.