Answers- SB 136

I've had a few questions since posting this morning about SB 136 in Illinois. Senator Maloney has authored the bill and will be putting it to hearing on Tuesday, February 15 at 10:45. You can read the bill in its entirety here.

So, what's so bad about SB136?

1. Ineffective and inappropriate regulation. Homeschoolers continue to perform above grade level on the standardized tests, so why regulate what is working. Government schools are failing, and their regulations aren't changing that. Read about that here and here.

2. Subjection to unbiblical educational goals. Our goals for the education of our children are different than those in public schools.
Deuteronomy 6:4-7 ESV ⁴"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. ⁵You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

If regulations beget regulations for "the good of the children", then we must ask ourselves: whose idea of good? God or man? I choose God, and do not want man interfering with what I can teach my own children. My goals will remain God's goals for us- to raise them in the fear and admonition of the Lord, to do it myself, not just make sure it happens.

3. Use of homeschoolers for political or financial gain. It gives the Department of Education carte blanche to decide what should be reported. They could request any information on your children that they want. When deciding on the definition of "registration", parents will not be allowed at the table, only government officials. One of the reasons we homeschool is because we believe that it is the parents' responsibility to train up their children, not the state's.

What kind of information do they want? Where we live? What the names and ages of our kids are? How does that help the state? Well, when it comes time to lobby for money on behalf of the district's "students" our kids would be added in, including test scores (which might I again emphasize are typically very good!) More students= more money. Better test scores= more money.

4. A slippery slope. This is the opening of a can of worms. Turning up the heat on the frog in the pot. This kind of legislation could lead to more regulations, and then even more. The next step would be for the state to tell us what we can and cannot teach to our children. This is absolutely unacceptable as our rights to educate our children with a Christ worldview would be in danger. That is really the most important thing that we hold to in homeschooling. And the thing that we most want to protect. Regulation could lead to more regulation and on and on until we have no rights as parents in our homes.

5. Increased government and cost to taxpayers. Where will the resources come from to pay for all of the tracking and record keeping? Illinois is already borrowing money to pay their debts.

6. The sins of the few lead to the over regulation of the many. Families who do what is right and who do a wonderful job with homeschooling their kids should not have to answer for those who don't. This is continuing a dangerous government precedent and is reminiscent of scanning 80-year old ladies and 4-year old children at the airport to find terrorists.

When you read the bill, you might think that it looks like it is for the good of the children, that Senator Maloney wants to protect all non-public school children- homeschoolers and private schoolers alike.

I leave you with a quote by the Senator himself, "We're not going for the private school students, we're going to change that [in the proposal]. What we want to know is where the homeschoolers are. It's as simple as that," Maloney said from his Springfield office.