2005 Homeschool Legislation Update
With many state legislatures beginning their 2005 session, homeschooling is once
again a hot button issue. Numerous states have targeted homeschoolers by introducing
legislation which would restrict homeschooling freedom.
States Seek to Impose Assessments on Homeschoolers
In violation of a federal provision in the No Child Left Behind Act, which forbids
states from requiring home educators to submit to state assessment testing, both New
Mexico and South Dakota have submitted bills which would force homeschooling students
to submit to the standardized testing requirements by the public schools or under the
supervision of a certified teacher.
New Mexico
HB 158: Homeschool Student Testing Requirements
This bill requires home school students to take required standards-based academic performance
tests; allowing the public education department to require home school students who do not
demonstrate adequate yearly progress to attend a public or private school.
South Dakota
SB 11: Homeschool Student Testing Requirements
An Act to require that all standardized achievement tests be monitored and that sanctions
be imposed when unsatisfactory academic progress is identified. No individual may instruct
more than twenty-two children. All instructions shall be given so as to lead to a mastery of
the English language. Children receiving alternative instruction who are in grades two, four,
eight, and eleven shall take a nationally standardized achievement test
New Jersey
A 1918: Requires testing and medical examinations of home-schooled children.
2005 has seen the reintroduction of a bill aimed to give the New Jersey Board of
Education unrestricted control and the ability to impose new regulations on homeschoolers
state-wide. This bill was introduced and soundly defeated in 2004. Under the proposed
legislation homeschoolers could be forced to submit to standardized testing based on
public school curriculum and to relinquish private medical information to public school
facilitators.
A 1260: Requires school districts to notify DYFS of pupil absences.
If any child enrolled in a school district has an unexcused absence from school for
five consecutive days, the attendance officer notify the district superintendent of the
absence, who shall then notify the Division of Youth and Family Services in the Department
of Human Services for its determination of whether the division is or has been involved
with the child and whether action, is warranted.
A 540: Permits home-schooled students to participate in the Interdistrict Public School Choice Program.
This bill permits home-schooled students to participate in the Interdistrict Public
School Choice Program and apply for enrollment in grades 1 through 10 in a school of the
choice school district. Under the current statute, in order to participate, a student must
be enrolled at the time of application in grades K through 9 in a school of the sending
district and have attended school in that sending district for at least one full year
immediately preceding enrollment in the choice district.
More Legislative News can be found at Local Homeschool.com
