Purcellville, Va.—Illinois—The Franklin Williamson Regional Office of Education is illegally harassing homeschooling families. “The intimidation must stop,” said Chris Klicka, Senior Counsel for Home School Legal Defense Association.

An Illinois homeschooling family was visited by school officials who demanded to investigate the family to determine whether their homeschool complied with Illinois law.

According to the Illinois Supreme Court, in People v. Levison, public school officials do not have this authority, and consequently the visits by school officials are illegal.

Unfortunately this problem is a fairly regular occurrence in Illinois, where school officials use any means necessary to persuade homeschoolers to return to the public school system. It is traumatic for a homeschool family to be challenged in their home by a public official.

“School officials are wasting taxpayer money by investigating homeschoolers who fulfill all the requirements of Illinois law,” said Klicka. “They should concentrate their efforts on educating children in public schools, and not chasing after homeschoolers,” he added.

Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is a 22-year-old, 80,000 member non-profit organization and the preeminent national association advocating the legal right of parents to homeschool their children.