«		LEGAL/LEGISLATIVE UPDATES		»
ACROSS THE STATES

OREGON

Increased regulation proposed

On May 19, 2004, the Oregon Senate Interim Education Committee heard testimony regarding a proposal to increase the current requirements for parents who teach their children at home. Apparently, this hearing was prompted by a request from a truant officer in the Springfield School District.

Upon learning of the hearing, Oregon Christian Home Education Association Network (OCEANetwork) and Home School Legal Defense Association promptly notified homeschooling families across the state. Over 450 families traveled to the capitol building in Salem to help protect homeschooling freedom in Oregon.

Several state leaders testified on behalf of homeschooling families and against the proposed regulations. Among those wanting to increase the regulations, Senator William Morrisette stated that Oregon has a compelling interest in all of the children in the state and, therefore, increased regulation is needed. Senator Charlie Ringo expressed concern that the current regulations are not sufficient to catch truants and those not being educated. While he seemed to want to find a balance between the freedom of parents and the interest of the state, he was not opposed to increasing the regulations to require annual notification and tracking of homeschool students.

Numerous studies over the years have shown that homeschool students, on average, score 20 to 30 percentile points higher than their public school counterparts. These studies also show that there is no difference between the scores of homeschool students in states that are highly regulated and the scores of homeschoolers in states that have little or no regulation. There are already laws on the books to prosecute parents who fail to have their children educated. Increasing the homeschool regulations would not solve such parental irresponsibility; rather, it would infringe upon the freedom of parents who are doing an excellent job teaching their children at home.

While the hundreds of families who attended the May hearing made a very strong impression on the Interim Education Committee, the committee is still seriously considering increasing the current regulations. Please write to the committee members, who are listed on our website at http://www.hslda.org/elert/archive/2004/05/20040527124543.asp. You can use the sample message below or your own words:

Parents who have made the commitment to teach their children at home do not need to be further regulated. All research shows that homeschool students perform an average of 20–30 percentile points higher than public school students. Please do not restrict parents' right to choose to teach their children at home. Homeschooling has proven that it is most successful with maximum parental freedom.

For more information, please visit http://www.oceanetwork.org/alerts/alert.cfm?id=48.

— by Thomas J. Schmidt