Found in am email from the Rockford Register-Star:
From the Illinois Police Institute comes this explanation:
Homeschool co-ops in Illinois would face several new rules meant for larger schools, according to the Illinois State Board of Education. The ‘Homeschool Act’ sponsor says her bill isn’t quite dead yet.
Small, parent-led learning groups would be required to follow rules designed for much bigger institutions under the “Homeschool Act,” which is still being considered in Springfield.
At an April 9 hearing, an Illinois State Board of Education spokesman said homeschool groups known as “co-ops” would need to register as private schools under House Bill 2827. These co-ops, where homeschooling families get together to share teaching and resources, would suddenly need to file a form with the state declaring themselves a nonpublic school.
Requirements on the form state they must:
- Register as a nonprofit.
- Not be based in a home, meaning co-ops meeting in homes would have to move.
- Include students in at least two grades, so for example there could not be a homeschool co-op for just 5th graders studying math.
- Provide instruction in all subjects, whereas co-cops are frequently focused on certain subjects – such as just math or a couple subjects.
- Use stringent attendance policies that wouldn’t be applicable otherwise.
Requiring co-ops to register as private schools also begs the question whether they would have to abide by other regulations imposed on private schools.
For example, if food is served, would the co-ops leaders have to undergo food handler training?
Did the sponsor realize the vast implications of regulating co-ops as private schools, or is this by design?
House Bill 2827 missed an April 11 legislative deadline, but state Rep. Terra Costa Howard vowed to change it for a third time to address concerns and push for it. Howard and some state leaders want more control over educational choices that should be made by parents, not the state.
These regulations would create headaches for volunteer-run groups. If groups couldn’t meet the requirements, they would have to shut down or risk operating illegally.
Instead of stifling diverse ways of learning, state leaders should focus on how to improve public schools where only 1 in 3 kids can read. That would address one of the main reasons parents choose to homeschool in the first place.
Illinois doesn’t need to meddle with private schools and homeschools when it is failing to effectively operate public schools. Politicians should not invade families’ privacy and limit their education choices.
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It is hard for me to believe, but this bill has been put on “Short Debate, “meaning only two people can speak on each side of the issue.
