Many states are making it easier for parents who choose to teach their children at home.
In Arizona, all parents are required to do is send an affidavit to the state that they will be homeschooling. Texas, Alaska and several Midwestern states don’t even ask parents to do that, making them especially home-school friendly.
Tim Lambert, president of the Texas Home School Coalition, pointed out that just 20 years ago, homeschooling was illegal in his state.
“Our attorney general at that time said he didn’t believe parents were qualified to raise their children much less teach them at home," he said. “At that time Texas was one of the worst places in the country to homeschool -- we had almost a hundred families prosecuted.”
Lambert told Family News in Focus the difference for the Lone Star State came when families defended homeschooling in court and elected lawmakers who supported the idea.
“Today, as a result of aggressive political activity of home-school families in Texas," he said, "virtually every statewide officeholder in Texas promotes the freedom for parents to teach their children without regulation of the government.”
That’s not the case everywhere. Several states in the Northeast have set stringent requirements, including curriculum approval and home visits by state officials. Michael Smith, president of the Home School Legal Defense Association, said efforts to make changes there have run into significant opposition.
“We have bills in both New York and Pennsylvania that would drastically change the regulations," he said. "We can’t get them passed because the folks that are in there – generally speaking – the majority is not prepared to give the freedom that homeschoolers need to excel.”
