Ohio lege set to require parents get 'license' to homeschool

[midnight rambler]

AFTER being investigated of course -

http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/law-would-allow-state-investigate-parents-permitting-homeschool

[Cebu_4_2]

OH Bill Would Require Parents to Undergo State Investigation Before Homeschooling "SB 248 turns fundamental American values upside down…This law replaces parents with unqualified social workers to make educational decisions for children." 12.20.2013
Trey Sanchez (http://www.truthrevolt.org/author/trey-sanchez)
(http://www.truthrevolt.org/news/law-would-allow-state-investigate-parents-permitting-homeschool#disqus_thread)


http://www.truthrevolt.org/sites/default/files/styles/content_full_width/public/field/image/articles/homeschool_mom.jpg?itok=S1diDbAA
A new bill proposed by Senator Capri Cafaro (D-Ohio) would require parents who have decided to homeschool their child to undergo an investigation by social services, who would then decide whether or not it would be permitted.
The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) website (http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/oh/201312170.asp) is reporting that on December 3, 2014, Senate Bill 248 (http://legiscan.com/OH/bill/SB248/2013) was introduced in Ohio. This bill is the latest attack against families from state legislatures who want to severely restrict choice to homeschool children. The HSLDA summarizes this bill:

It requires all parents who homeschool to undergo a social services investigation which would ultimately determine if homeschooling would be permitted. Social workers would have to interview parents and children separately, conduct background checks and determine whether homeschooling is recommended or not. If it is not recommended, parents would have to submit to an “intervention” before further consideration of their request to homeschool.
The reasoning for this bill stems from one incident in January 2013 where a 14-year-old boy died (http://www.wkbn.com/news/local/cafaro-supports-teddys-law) after being beaten by his mother's boyfriend while being taught at home. The mother had pulled him from public school after school officials reported signs of abuse to authorities. Seemingly, she attempted to cover up the abuse by homeschooling him, keeping him from the watchful eyes of public teachers.
However, that brings up an interesting point to counter the need for such a bill. The abuse was reported by the public school teachers to authorities and nothing was done. There is no reason to conclude that homeschooling the child had anything to do with facilitating a murder. This bill "unfairly targets homeschooling" by taking the focus away from the state - who did not protect the child when it was first reported - and laying it on an often stigmatized educational choice.
The HSLDA is fighting for withdrawal of this bill in the Ohio state legislature. They are on the side of protecting parents who choose this educational path for their children. Here is what they are saying:

SB 248 turns fundamental American values upside down…This law replaces parents with unqualified social workers to make educational decisions for children. Rather than target tens of thousands of decent Ohioans who homeschool, policymakers like Cafaro should try to discover what prevented police and social workers who knew what was going on from taking action and faithfully enforcing Ohio’s already adequate child protection laws. This bill is misguided and a step in the wrong direction.
The state should uphold the parent's right to choose an education that is best for their family, not restrict their choice because of one bad apple. They have the evidence from the thousands of families in Ohio that are successfully homeschooling their children without incident. If SB 248 passes, parents will be viewed as guilty until proven innocent.

[Hatha Sunahara]

They are going to make home schooling illegal. Licensing means it is illegal. It will be illegal in Ohio to teach your own kids. Ohio should just pass a law promoting the government to the status of God.

I would be very surprised if I hear about any opposition to this idiotic proposal, and would not in the least be surprised if it passes. People are distracted by the Holidays and Football to pay any attention to idiotic political moves like this.


Hatha

[Ares]

When you submit and sign a marriage license, the children belong to the state. You also admit to being a ward of the state and incompetent. Giving the state all the jurisdiction it needs to tell you how to raise IT'S children.

[iOWNme]

When you submit and sign a marriage license, the children belong to the state. You also admit to being a ward of the state and incompetent. Giving the state all the jurisdiction it needs to tell you how to raise IT'S children.


While you are correct (according to the scribbles of politicians), it is all done through FRAUD. Why do you consider a fraudulent contract 'legitimate' in ANY way? If you or I started a business where we defrauded/decieved people into giving us 'jurisdiction' (what the heck is that?) over their children to do what we wish, we would be shut down in 2 seconds, and be off to prison. What is the difference here?

You ALMOST sound like your blaming the victims of the oppressors?

[Ares]

While you are correct (according to the scribbles of politicians), it is all done through FRAUD. Why do you consider a fraudulent contract 'legitimate' in ANY way? If you or I started a business where we defrauded/decieved people into giving us 'jurisdiction' (what the heck is that?) over their children to do what we wish, we would be shut down in 2 seconds, and be off to prison. What is the difference here?

You ALMOST sound like your blaming the victims of the oppressors?

Just educating the users to what politicians THINK they can do with your children. Of course its all done in fraud, the only thing the state knows how to do is perpetuate fraud, coercion and use force to enforce the former. I never said I recognized their authority, was just explaining where they THINK they get their jurisdiction from.

[Ares]

UPDATE: Controversial Ohio Homeschool Bill Withdrawn After Grassroots Tsunami Opposes

On Wednesday I wrote about SB 248, an offensively intrusive bill introduced in the Ohio Senate by Senator Capri Cafaro. The bill, named Teddy’s Law for 14-year-old Teddy Tedesco who was brutally tortured and murdered by his mother’s boyfriend, would require all homeschooling families to submit to background checks and interviews with social workers before being permitted to homeschool or enroll in an online school in the state. Parents and children would be separated for interviews and any finding by a social worker that homeschooling was not “in the best interest of the child” would be grounds for denial of the right to homeschool or enroll in an online school.

In a stunning reversal, Cafaro, the bill’s sponsor, announced on Thursday that she intends to withdraw the bill. Declaring that the bill was never meant to provoke a policy debate on homeschooling, Cafaro said,

After consultation with Teddy’s family, we have collectively decided the best course of action is for me to withdraw SB 248, and instead pursue a more comprehensive approach to address the current challenges in the state’s social service and criminal justice system.

Ohioans for Educational Freedom (OEF), a statewide PAC that supports homeschooling, began telling Ohio homeschoolers and other supporters of freedom in education about the bill at 10:35 p.m. on Monday night. By Thursday afternoon the bill was dead.

The evolution of SB 248 from the time the Ohio education community first learned about it until the moment Cafaro announced she was abandoning it is an excellent example of what the grassroots can accomplish when they speak with one voice and work with laser-like focus on a single issue. Mark Stevenson from OEF reported:

By Tuesday morning, we sent around to all the Facebook home school groups we were in contact with. By Tuesday afternoon, the news had traveled so fast and furious that all the typical e-mail lists were sending out our RED ALERT quicker than we could keep up with.

CHEO [Christian Home Educators of Ohio] put out a thorough Alert of their own and it seemed most of the Ohio home school population became fully aware that this was the biggest encroachment of home schooling rights in Ohio.

By Tuesday afternoon Mike Donnelly from HSLDA [Homeschool Legal Defense Association] put out a statement saying ”This is the biggest over reach I’ve seen in a very long time if ever in the area of imposing regulation on home schoolers.” Later that evening, HSLDA sent out their evening e-mail that announced a headline of ”Worst-Ever Homeschool Law Proposed”. We were receiving intel reports that Cafaro’s office had been overwhelmed and inundated with phone calls all day on Tuesday and it was continuing through Wednesday.

Stevenson reported that his website received more than 300,000 hits in two days and the group’s Facebook group gained several hundred new members. The story was shared on blogs, newspapers, Twitter, and talk radio — I received several requests to discuss the issue on radio as a result of my article here. Opponents set up several Facebook pages to share information and a petition at Change.org received almost 1400 signatures in a day.

By Tuesday, Cafaro was already backing away from the bill in Facebook posts at the Teddy’s Law page, saying

I have no desire to have any power over anyone. And, there may need to be some significant changes to the bill to avoid possible constitutional challenges.

I spoke with several legislators who told me the bill had no traction whatsoever — D.O.A. It failed to enlist even one Republican co-sponsor and it became clear within a few hours that public sentiment was strongly opposed to the proposed law.

The backlash against Cafaro’s bill — by the public and by her fellow legislators — must have been overwhelming. In addition to saying she would pull the bill, Cafaro vowed to leave homeschoolers alone. Forever.

I will not include any content related to education in the home in a new bill, or in any other bill.

She added that she will work to craft a new bill to “honor Teddy’s legacy and to protect vulnerable children like him in the future.”

Hopefully Cafaro will follow through on her vow to reform the social service agencies that failed to act on multiple reports of Teddy’s abuse over several years, including while he was enrolled in public school. Of course, that will mean going up against those in union-protected jobs, but she needn’t worry, because, as she breezily declared in another Facebook post this week, “I am term-limited and am unlikely to seek another elected office in the near future.”

May it be so.

And may we see a whole lot more of this overwhelming grassroots cooperation and coordination in defense of our liberty!

http://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2013/12/20/update-controversial-ohio-homeschool-bill-withdrawn-after-grassroots-tsunami-opposes/