HARTFORD (LifeSiteNews) — Connecticut Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont has signed into law a controversial new set of regulations on homeschooling that critics are calling the “first regression of homeschool freedom in the modern homeschool movement” by making parents submit to background checks.
HB 5468 ostensibly concerns ensuring that homeschooled students are receiving “equivalent instruction” to what they would receive in public school. It requires parents to annually complete an “intent to educate” form confirming whether their child will be enrolled in public school, private school, or “parent-managed learning” (i.e., homeschooling). It also requires new record-keeping on the number of homeschooled children and a records check to see if parents applying to homeschool are on the state child abuse and neglect registry or under investigation for the same.
Lamont signed it into law May 26, with his chief spokesperson Cathryn Vaulman justifying it on the grounds that “Connecticut is one of the only states in the country with virtually no laws regarding the protection of children who are outside the public school system.”
But homeschoolers and parental rights activists warn it goes much further than seeking to stop abuse. On top of GOP lawmakers’ doubts that the Connecticut Department of Children & Families (DCF) can handle the significant new workload the law will bring, the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) said that DCF’s power to hold up or deny homeschool applications would not be limited to genuinely abusive parents.
“The registry includes not just confirmed abuse, but a wide range of ‘neglect’ findings, some of which are minor, disputed, or entirely unrelated to a parent’s ability to educate their child,” the group says. “The bill also bars homeschooling for any family that shares a household with someone who has an open DCF case—even if the case has not been substantiated.”
“Connecticut’s definition of ‘neglect’ is broad and subjective,” HSLDA adds. “A parent can be placed on the DCF registry if a caseworker has ‘reasonable cause to believe’ a child was neglected – a standard well below even the preponderance of evidence threshold used in civil court.”
Following Lamont’s signature, HSLDA lamented that it “marks the first regression of homeschool freedom in the modern homeschool movement.”
“While we are deeply disappointed by this legislation, the battle is not over,” the group said. “We have been working hand-in hand with our allies Connecticut to oppose this bill since it was introduced and will continue to pursue appropriate legal action now that it has been signed into law. Opponents of homeschool freedom in other states could certainly be emboldened by Connecticut, and redouble their attempts to add layers of regulation, restriction and bureaucracy to homeschooling families.”
Across the country, homeschooling has emerged as a popular alternative to widely politicized public education. The indoctrination of children with left-wing ideology on gender, race, and other agenda items (as well as explicit sexual content) has long been a major concern in American schools and libraries, from book shelves to drag events to classroom materials to even “transitioning” troubled children without parental input. Many schools have also displayed hostility to the rights and employment of individual teachers who refuse to go along with such agendas.