June 29, 2007
Legislative Victory—Homeschool Freedoms Preserved
Oklahoma recently ended the 2007 legislative season, and homeschoolers have reason to rejoice. This year, Oklahoma faced a bill that was extremely hostile to homeschooling. However, with the quick and decisive action by hundreds of Oklahoma homeschool families, their homeschool freedoms were preserved.
Of the many bills that were proposed in the legislature this past year, Senate Bill 375 was by far the most threatening to homeschool freedom. Senator Jim Wilson authored the bill that would have required homeschoolers to notify concerning their intent to homeschool before the first day of each school year.
Senate Bill 375 would have also have required parents to report to their local school district each child's academic progress at the end of each semester. The bill would also have subjected homeschool students to the jurisdiction of the local attendance officer, who would have been empowered to take temporary custody of any child found away from his or her home during normal school hours.
Before the bill began to gain much momentum, HSLDA sent out an e-lert. Hundreds of homeschool families took action. Homeschoolers first telephoned Senator Wilson and asked him to kill the bill. He refused to hear the overwhelming voice of Oklahoma homeschoolers, but the Senate Education Committee heard it loud and clear. The committee refused to even hear the bill, and both Oklahoma Christian Home Educators Consociation and HSLDA received word from the chairman that the bill was dead.
Thank you to all of Oklahoma families who stood up to fight for homeschool freedom!
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