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Liberal Judge Susan Crawford’s Husband Promotes Lawfare Against Homeschool Families
The Federalist ^ | 18 Mar, 2025 | Jake Curtis and Matt Batzel

Posted on 03/20/2025 6:29:31 AM PDT by MtnClimber

Progressive Judge Susan Crawford is running for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Her husband wrote a book against homeschooling.

For too long education experts have failed Wisconsin students. Too often the political left focuses on advancing a progressive narrative instead of simply teaching the basics. Recently, Wisconsin Gov. (and former education superintendent) Tony Evers proposed replacing mothers with “inseminated persons” in state law. Now, Dane County Judge Susan Crawford is running for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Throughout her career she has proudly advanced progressive causes. So it should come as no surprise that her husband, Shawn F. Peters, wrote a controversial book on homeschooling recommending the removal of parents’ right to homeschool their children in Wisconsin by using novel litigation tactics.

Wisconsin voters deserve to know whether Judge Crawford supports her husband’s extreme views on homeschooling. Should any litigation come before her that advances her husband’s extreme legal claims, will she be able to objectively consider the arguments? According to Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction statistics, “home-based” education continues to grow in popularity. While only 966 students were homeschooled during the 1984-85 academic year (0.10 percent), during the 2023-24 academic year almost 30,000 students (3.04 percent) benefited from a homeschool environment.

Book Proposes IQ Tests for Parents

It’s important to understand the arguments advocated by Judge Crawford’s husband. Peters co-wrote Homeschooling: The History & Philosophy Of A Controversial Practice with James G. Dwyer in 2019. Throughout the book, both authors take shots at “religious conservatives” and argue a “large percentage of homeschooling is objectively bad.” They knock homeschooling as instilling misinformation and bad habits and values.

In reality, they should be more concerned about public school outcomes. The most recent national test scores show only 31 percent of Wisconsin students are proficient in reading. Homeschooled students, in repeated studies, typically score at the 65th to 80th percentile on nationally standardized achievement tests, which is 15 to 30 points higher, on average, than public school students, who average in the 50th percentile.

The authors’ solution is to only allow homeschool parents to control their children’s education if they consent to IQ tests to determine if the parents are qualified. In addition, they would require standardized testing and assessments of homeschooled students. They argue governments should enforce serious consequences if children do not make sufficient progress and the “state should revoke the parent’s qualification to homeschool and mandate that the child attend a regular school.” Nearly all public school teachers have government teaching certificates, while only about 10 percent of homeschool parents have ever received any accreditation, yet homeschool students consistently outperform public-school students....SNIP


TOPICS: Education; Society
KEYWORDS: education; homeschooling; lawfare; leftism; susancrawford; wisconsin
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To: MtnClimber

It seems like many of these judges have family members who just happen to be enriched by very liberal jobs and other money making liberal grifts. Gee, I wonder how that happens?


21 posted on 03/20/2025 8:24:52 AM PDT by Flaming Conservative ((Pray without ceasing))
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To: Socon-Econ
Isn’t there a home school legal defense group?

Yes there is:
https://hslda.org/

I'm not a billionaire, but I purchased a lifetime membership for my son, who (with his wife) is home-schooling my grans.

A little here, a little there, then....you know.

22 posted on 03/20/2025 8:35:32 AM PDT by spankalib
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To: MtnClimber

How about IQ test for public school teachers?

And then a drug test?


23 posted on 03/20/2025 10:38:53 AM PDT by Scrambler Bob (Running Rampant, and not endorsing nonsense; My pronoun is EXIT. And I am generally full of /S)
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To: MtnClimber
"The authors’ solution is to only allow homeschool parents to control their children’s education if they consent to IQ tests to determine if the parents are qualified."

Leftists are fascists.

24 posted on 03/20/2025 11:52:58 PM PDT by Tired of Taxes
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