[RangerM]

Maloney, rhymes with....

[Clintonfatigued]

Has Illinois been known for being hostile to homeschoolers?

[ReverendJames]

Here in WA they want to include HS kids because it raises the test score averages. Without them the averages are basically in the toilet.

[SaveTheChief]

Illinois Fascists. Is there anything they won’t do?

[tutstar]

sounds like they should leave it like it is

[GeronL]

Why does the state need to know how many and who is being home schooled?

[EternalVigilance]

“I don’t know that there is any problem whatsoever. But let’s destroy the liberty of all just in case, okay?”

[metmom]

HOMESCHOOL PING

This ping list is for articles of interest to homeschoolers. I hold both the Homeschool Ping List and the Another Reason to Homeschool Ping List. Please freepmail me to let me know if you would like to be added or removed from either list, or both. The keyword for the FREE REPUBLIC HOMESCHOOLERS’ FORUM is frhf.

[Valpal1]

I think people do a good job at this, but how do we know that everybody does?”

Hey, Mr. Baloney, when you have epidemic truancy, drop outs and gang violence among home school kids, let us know. Right now, you're just a solution in search of a problem.

Why don't you fix the public schools instead of harassing the people using one of the few escapes from your dreary, failed institutions.

[ri4dc]

In AZ we have to register them as being home schooled .. one quick notarized form and their birth certs (YES their REAL long form ones) ... that’s it. No testing, no contact, no blather-by-bureaucrat. They send back the BCs even. In some states the requirements are very complicated, I hear. I say good for the Home School organizations in Il for keeping a close watch on this. Anyone who home schools in that state should read any proposed bill and scream if there is any sign of intrusion. I don’t know what would prevent some parents in AZ from claiming to home school their kids while actually sitting them in front of Oprah type programming for 7 hours a day; except perhaps self shame. All I can tell you is what my kids are learning, and that it is far superior to what they’d have learned so far in public schools.

[Spudx7]

Here in MN we have to submit forms to the local district,which then sends them to the state, each year. Also, if neither parent has at least a bachelor’s degree grades must be submitted quarterly.

[wintertime]

In Maryland, when we lived there, the government school police found homeschoolers by asking the government schooled kids on the first day of school if the kids knew anyone who should be in school that wasn't.

See!...By going to government school, the children even learn how to be compliant government informants.

Uh oh! Someone is sure to say that I am a troll for stating the truth about the government kiddie prisons ( oops!**public** “schools”)

[wintertime]

“This is just the first step toward establishing, I think, some accountability. I think people do a good job at this, but how do we know that everybody does?”

Homeschoolers should be held to the **exact** same standards as government imprisoned kids (oops! public schools). If complete illiteracy and innumeracy is passing for government held kids, then that should be the standard for homeschoolers.

In other words if government has no standards for the kids imprisoned in its collectivist "schools", then homeschoolers don't need standards either

[wintertime]

Home-schooled students must receive an education equivalent to public schooling, according to current Illinois state law.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

He is kidding? Isn't he? Illiteracy and innumeracy isn't hard to beat! :-)

[RocketRoland]

Aliens do not have to register and people do not have to prove who they are top vote but we are going to register kids. America has gone crazy!

[latina4dubya]

I think people do a good job at this, but how do we know that everybody does?”

why don't you just concentrate on making sure every public schooler does a good job, jackbutt... i can't stand these meddlers...

[metmom]

Nanny state ping.

[metmom]

“I was surprised to learn that in Illinois, there are virtually no rules or regulations relative to the concept of home schooling,” Maloney said. “This is just the first step toward establishing, I think, some accountability. I think people do a good job at this, but how do we know that everybody does?”

And he's ASSuming that PUBLIC SCHOOLS have accountability and do a good job?

Who bought him off? Or what's he been smoking?

[ZGuy]

Here’s the HSLDA analysis:
Senate Bill 136: Requires Registration of All Children Attending Home-Based Private Schools
Sponsors:
Sen. Edward D. Maloney
Summary:
This bill would change existing law to require that the parents of all children attending private schools in Illinois annually register their children with the State Board of Education. Additionally, the Board of Education is given authority to prescribe the procedure by which parents must register their children, meaning the Board would be free to require almost any kind of information as part of the registration process.

HSLDA’s Position:
Oppose.
Action Requested:
1. If you live in his district (Senate District 18, which includes parts of Lyons, Palos, Worth, Chicago, and Orland Townships in Cook County) contact Senator Maloney and ask him to withdraw his bill. You can also use our legislative toolbox to find your Senate district. Personal visits and phone calls have the most impact. Letters and emails are useful as well. Your firm but courteous message can be as simple as:

“Please withdraw SB 136. Studies show that private education prepares students for college better than public schools. There is no need for government to expand into an area that is already so successful. Existing mandates on private education are sufficient.”

Springfield Office:
Senator 18th District
119A Capitol Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-5145
(217) 557-3930 FAX

District Office:
10400 S. Western Ave.
Chicago, IL 60643
(773) 881-4180
(773) 881-4243 FAX

Additional District Office:
6965 W. 111th Street
Worth, IL 60482
(708) 448-3518
(708) 448-3535 FAX

Home:
Edward D. Maloney
2808 West 11th Street
Chicago, IL 60655
(773) 233-6638

2. After you contact him, call or email us to confirm so we can keep a tally of how many people have contacted him.

3. Pass this message on to other homeschoolers in Senator Maloney’s district.

Status:
1/27/2011 Senate - Filed by Sen. Edward D. Maloney
1/27/2011 Senate - First Reading
1/27/2011 Senate - Referred to Assignments

Background:
Right now, Illinois homeschools are not required to register because
they are classified as private schools. Many other states
likewise do not require homeschoolers to register, including New
Jersey, Indiana, Oklahoma, Missouri, Alabama, Michigan, Texas, etc.

There is a common myth that Illinois homeschools are unregulated.
While Illinois homeschools don’t waste time processing bureaucratic
red tape, they must comply with significant substantive mandates,
including the requirement that they teach the branches of education
taught to children of corresponding age and grade in the public
schools, that they teach in the English language, and, if challenged,
meet the burden of showing that they have in good faith provided an
adequate course of instruction in the prescribed branches of learning.
This sensible combination of no red tape plus meaningful mandates has
protected freedom in Illinois and produced outstanding academic
results.

SB 136 would give the Illinois Department of Education literally
unlimited power to dictate what information homeschoolers must submit.
Since the Department is composed exclusively of staff who are
appointed or hired, rather than elected, they have little or no
incentive to respond to the voice of citizens. In other states, when
education departments have been given power to act against citizens’
wishes, they have sometimes brushed aside overwhelming opposition and
done as they pleased to homeschoolers.

SB 136 is the greatest threat to Illinois homeschoolers in more than a
decade. HSLDA and Illinois Christian Home Educators are united in
opposing the bill and are committed to protect your freedom. This
fight belongs to every Illinois homeschool family.

Thank you for standing with us for freedom!

[DoughtyOne]

“I think people do a good job at this, but how do we know that everybody does?”

Spoken like a veteran bureaucrat.

“We know damn straight that the public schools aren’t doing the job, but let’s focus on the home schoolers. We get them straightened out and then we can get the public schools on track.”

I doubt he can walk and chew gun without concentrating...