Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Should parents who want to teach their children at home be required to take a teacher certification test? Michael Farris talks about one historic case today on Home School Heartbeat.

Mike Farris:


In June of 1988, the South Carolina General Assembly enacted a new homeschooling law. One troubling element was a requirement that parents without a college diploma needed to pass the Educational Entrance Examination in order to homeschool. This test, known as the Triple E, is taken by college students who want to become certified public school teachers.


In 1989, we filed a class-action suit in state court to overturn the Triple E requirement for homeschool parents. The Triple E was unhelpful, unnecessary, and unconstitutional, we contended, placing an undue burden on parents who sought to exercise their right to direct their children's education.


Tests of this nature require a proper validation study to comply with professional standards. The South Carolina Department of Education tried to validate the Triple E, but they used public school educators who knew nothing about homeschooling in their study.


On December 9, 1991, the South Carolina State Supreme Court unanimously agreed that the Triple E test had not been properly validated. Once again, God used this case to win a victory for the wider homeschooling community. No state requires teacher testing of homeschool educators today. I'm Mike Farris.