Bill Allowing Wyoming Homeschool Parents More Freedom Heads To Senate

The Wyoming House on Thursday approved a measure that eliminates requirements for homeschool parents to contact their local school boards.

The third reading of House Bill 46, the “Homeschool Freedom Act,” passed by a 54-6 margin with two excused absences. The bill now moves to the Senate for discussion.

The smooth passage was a different story that Wednesday, when Rep. Julie Jarvis, R-Casper, attempted to amend the legislation with language that opponents said reversed the bill’s intent.

Jarvis’ amendment proposed adding language to require homeschooling parents to provide a “verification form to the local board of trustees attesting that a curriculum is administered.”

The original bill put forward by sponsor Tomi Strock, R-Douglas, removes any requirement for homeschooling parents to contact a school district. It continues to require homeschools to meet basic academic education program requirements under state law.

“HB 46 as originally drafted, provides greater freedom to homeschool families and supports Wyoming's leadership as a state that respects parental rights,” Strock said Wednesday. “This proposed amendment rejects all of that in favor of continued permission slips from the government. So, I would ask for a no on this amendment.”

Jarvis had argued that school districts who are responsible for reporting child neglect, would not know who is homeschooling. If they received a call about a child who may be doing other activities during school hours instead of schoolwork, they would be responsible under the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to investigate.

Rep. Ocean Andrews, R-Laramie, chairman of the Education Committee countered Jarvis’ argument stating that the Department of Family Services reported of 50 recent cases of alleged educational neglect, 25 were legitimate, and “zero of those resulted from inadequate reporting of homeschool curriculum.”

“Further, here is no federal law that regulates homeschool and I don’t think we need to be worried about anything that we may run into in that realm either,” he said.

‘Parental Rights’

Rep. Jeremy Haroldson, R-Wheatland, was among several opposing the amendment, pointing to parental control and responsibility for their children’s education.

“At the end of the day, it is not the role of the government to tell parents what to do with their children,” he said. “Parental rights are one thing that we have in America that probably sets us apart from almost any other society. … Parents have a better understanding and idea for their children than their government does.”

Among those on the other side supporting Jarvis, Rep. Ken Clouston, R-Gillette, said as a former school board member his school district never had any issues with homeschoolers and their curriculum, but he could see the wisdom of a notification form for the school district.

“I can tell you if we have a student who had been in our district and then wasn’t showing up, it would be nice to have a form that says my child is homeschooling now instead of attending public school,” he said. “That’s all this amendment is really asking for, a simple form.”

Rep. Karlee Provenza, D-Laramie, said she agreed with Jarvis’ amendment because it would protect families from “sticky situations” where the “department that oversees our families show up to their house because a call was made because they didn’t receive a notification.”

“If the district gets a call and they know now that his kid is going to be homeschooled, they’re not going to have to call DFS to say this kid’s not showing up,” she said.

In the end, Jarvis argued again that the original bill has no language saying school districts are “not responsible” for investigating alleged truancy.

Speaker Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, called for the voice vote on the amendment and the “no’s” distinctly outnumbered the “ayes.” The bill as introduced by Strock was put on track for a third reading and placed in the consent agenda for Thursday.

HSLDA Involvement

The Home School Freedom Act was introduced with backing from the Home School Legal Defense Association.

HSLDA Senior Counsel William Estrada said the legislation was “our bill” and characterized the state’s current requirement as a “pretty good law” but said the proposed bill would make homeschooling less of a “hassle.” 

Estrada called the need to submit a curriculum a “flashpoint” in some local districts.

Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder also has shown support for the bill.

Homeschool Wyoming President Brenna Lowry of Cheyenne, who has homeschooled and graduated five children, called the current law a “process without an outcome.”

“The school district has no authority to approve or disapprove our curriculum,” she said. “The values we hold in Wyoming are based on our independence and freedom. I feel this is an area in homeschool education that we are not among the freest states. Idaho is the nearest of those that requires no letter of intent.”

Should the revised language become law, Estrada said, Wyoming would join Idaho Alaska, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey and Connecticut in giving more freedom to homeschoolers. 

Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.