By Carolyn Martin (CHEC Director of Government Relations)

Freedom is Costly

In the legislature there are many policy ideas wrapped in compassion that, in reality, only grow and empower a hard-hearted government apparatus and limit the liberties of the people. Last week, the Empowerment Scholarship Act (ESA) bill (SB24-122) was heard in the Senate Education Committee. It was presented as a way to help families with children who have special needs get out of the failing public school system.
 
Despite our clear message over the years to leave the homeschool law out of legislation attached to funding, we found ourselves having to defend our position once again. During the committee hearing they mentioned several times that they received a lot of emails on the topic from homeschoolers and I want to thank you all for weighing in. You made an impact! Many probably received a response claiming that you didn’t need to be concerned because the bill wouldn’t affect you if you don’t take the money. Let’s unpack that.

By Carolyn Martin (CHEC Director of Government Relations)

Government Funding Puts Spotlight on Homeschool Law

Did you know that the Homeschool Law is actually an exemption to the Compulsory Attendance Law which mandates all children attend public school? The homeschool law acknowledges that parents can lawfully provide for their children’s education free from government oversight.
 
Over the last several years there have been efforts to expand government-funded homeschool programs, by either creating new programs or gobbling up private programs. These programs have brought much unwanted attention to the homeschool law. During the Colorado Board of Education (BOE) meeting last week (February 15th), the staff leading the conversation regarding their proposed rules around financing public schools stated that they are seeing de facto Education Saving Accounts (ESAs) or Vouchers being established through some third-party education contractors. Additionally, CDE has seen programs asking for reimbursement for classes taught by parents. CDE staff told the BOE, “Parent-led instruction would not count as publicly funded instruction … A child enrolled in homeschool parent-led instruction is part of the nonpublic home-based education program (homeschool law). Protections exist for this. A parent who provides instruction … shall not be subject to the Colorado educator licensing act … so there’s a protection for homeschooling parents because they are providing the instruction. The legislature further emphasizes this point by noting that CDE does not have jurisdiction over homeschool” (emphasis added). Government funding that reimburses parents for educational expenses or teaching is against the law.

By Carolyn Martin (CHEC Director of Government Relations)

Keeping Secrets

A controversy arose this fall in the Jefferson County School District when parents found out their children were being asked to fill out surveys about their preferred names and pronouns. Despite parents trying to work with the school district throughout last year to remove the surveys, the teachers’ union encouraged teachers to keep secrets from parents concerning any requests to call children a name that differed from their given name. A bill, HB24-1039 Non-Legal Name Changes, to enshrine this practice was introduced in the legislature in January.

The bill essentially does two things: 1) it requires teachers, administrators, and staff in the public school to use a child’s preferred name and pronoun or be charged with discrimination, and 2) it sets up a task force to create guidelines for communicating with parents when children don’t want them to, procedures around parental notification, and a process for keeping and updating “unofficial” education records. The recommendations from the task force will be presented to the legislature where new laws around those guidelines will be put forward. (Read more on where this bill came from here.)