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From the HSLDA E-lert Service…
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Illinois: Contact Senator Maloney to Stop Homeschool Registration
Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:
Senator Edward Maloney has filed a bill that would force all Illinois
homeschoolers to register. The bill, SB 136, gives the Department of
Education blanket authority to mandate what information families must
submit. SB 136 threatens to expand government power into the realm of
private education on an unprecedented scale.
ACTION REQUESTED
1. If you live in his district (Senate District 18, which includes
parts of Lyons, Palos, Worth, Chicago, and Orland Townships in Cook
County) contact Senator Maloney and ask him to withdraw his bill. You
can also use our legislative toolbox at http://hslda.org/toolbox/ to
find your Senate district. Personal visits and phone calls have the
most impact. Letters and emails are useful as well. Your firm but
courteous message can be as simple as:
“Please withdraw SB 136. Studies show that private education prepares
students for college better than public schools. There is no need for
government to expand into an area that is already so successful.
Existing mandates on private education are sufficient.”
Springfield Office:
Senator 18th District
119A Capitol Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-5145
(217) 557-3930 FAX
District Office:
10400 S. Western Ave.
Chicago, IL 60643
(773) 881-4180
(773) 881-4243 FAX
Additional District Office:
6965 W. 111th Street
Worth, IL 60482
(708) 448-3518
(708) 448-3535 FAX
Home:
Edward D. Maloney
2808 West 11th Street
Chicago, IL 60655
(773) 233-6638
2. After you contact him, call or email us to confirm so we can keep a
tally of how many people have contacted him.
3. Pass this message on to other homeschoolers in Senator Maloney’s
district.
BACKGROUND
Right now, Illinois homeschools are not required to register because
they are classified as “non-public” schools. Many other states
likewise do not require homeschoolers to register, including New
Jersey, Indiana, Oklahoma, Missouri, Alabama, Michigan, Texas, etc.
There is a common myth that Illinois homeschools are unregulated.
While Illinois homeschools don’t waste time processing bureaucratic
red tape, they must comply with significant substantive mandates,
including the requirement that they teach the branches of education
taught to children of corresponding age and grade in the public
schools, that they teach in the English language, and, if challenged,
meet the burden of showing that they have in good faith provided an
adequate course of instruction in the prescribed branches of learning.
This sensible combination of no red tape plus meaningful mandates has
protected freedom in Illinois and produced outstanding academic
results.
SB 136 would give the Illinois Department of Education literally
unlimited power to dictate what information homeschoolers must submit.
Since the Department is composed exclusively of staff who are
appointed or hired, rather than elected, they have little or no
incentive to respond to the voice of citizens. In other states, when
education departments have been given power to act against citizens’
wishes, they have sometimes brushed aside overwhelming opposition and
done as they pleased to homeschoolers.
SB 136 is the greatest threat to Illinois homeschoolers in more than a
decade. HSLDA and Illinois Christian Home Educators are united in
opposing the bill and are committed to protect your freedom. This
fight belongs to every Illinois homeschool family.
Thank you for standing with us for freedom!
Sincerely yours,
Scott A. Woodruff
HSLDA Senior Counsel
