Tennessee homeschooling families who gather informally for activities and shared instruction no longer have to worry about triggering a visit from the health inspector or fire marshal.
A law enacted by the state legislature earlier this year, the Learning Pod Protection Act, assures homeschooling families they can meet without running afoul of regulations, including zoning ordinances and limits on student-teacher ratios—rules that were never meant to apply to them.
This legislation is one of the many pro-homeschool freedom laws that passed this year in various states across the country. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of HSLDA, state homeschool leaders, and thousands of grassroots activists, legislation that champions freedom continues to advance.
Some of these laws, such as Wyoming’s elimination of homeschool reporting, delivered major changes. Others, like Tennessee’s learning pod law, made smaller alterations—clarifying existing practices, addressing specific injustices, or otherwise expanding niche aspects of homeschool freedom.
“These lesser legislative wins may not be revolutionary in scope, but they speak to the heart of our goal to continually advocate for homeschool liberty,” said Peter Kamakawiwoole, HSLDA’s litigation director. “They also show how earnest citizens and their representatives can work together to fine-tune laws and ensure they are just and effective.”
Reducing red tape in Utah
Kamakawiwoole traveled to Utah earlier this year to testify before lawmakers in favor of House Bill 209, which is now in effect and is explained fully here.
The law formalized one change that had occurred to accommodate COVID-19 restrictions. Families who are homeschooling for the first time in Utah no longer have to file an affidavit, which requires engaging the services of a notary and paying a fee. Parents now simply submit a one-time notice to the local school board without having to get it notarized.
The new law also lightens the administrative burden for public school officials. Local school boards no longer must issue an excuse certificate to homeschooling families annually. A response to the initial notice now suffices.
“In one sense the legislative change simply clarifies the intention of the laws that already existed,” Kamakawiwoole noted. “But it benefits everyone—families and officials alike—by lifting some of the paperwork requirements and setting down in black-and-white what kind of documentation is required for homeschooling.”
Equal testing access in Georgia
In Georgia, HSLDA was heavily involved in efforts to push through Senate Bill 63, which aimed at alleviating a specific concern for homeschooling families. The measure is scheduled to take effect July 1.
For several years, Georgia homeschool students have faced difficulties reserving slots to take certain college prep exams, as well as the armed forces vocational aptitude test. This posed a genuine hardship because missing out on these tests meant forgoing the opportunity to compete for some scholarships, earn college credit, or qualify for advanced military training as an enlistee.
The new law guarantees homeschool students equal access to public schools in order to take tests, such as the PSAT, AP exams, and the military’s ASVAB. Georgia is now the fifth state in the nation to legally enshrine this fair treatment for homeschool students.
HSLDA Senior Counsel Will Estrada said this victory would not have been possible without the work of Georgia Home Education Association.
“Their amazing efforts illustrate just why state organizations are so crucial to legislative success,” Estrada noted. “Among other things, they have relationships with key lawmakers and help organize homeschool advocates for statehouse rallies and committee hearings.”
Likewise, Estrada observed, it was the advocacy of organizations such as Tennessee Home Educators Association and HomeLife Academy that helped shepherd the Learning Pod Protection Act through the legislature.
Addressing discrimination in Indiana and Texas
Other states enacted legislation to help end specific forms of discrimination against homeschool graduates.
In April, Indiana Governor Mike Braun signed H.B. 1348. The measure, pushed through by the hard work of IAHE Action, protects diplomas issued by nonaccredited nonpublic schools (which includes homeschool parents) from being treated differently by colleges and state or local agencies.
HSLDA routinely advocates on behalf of members who face obstacles in achieving post-high school goals because their homeschool diplomas are wrongfully deemed inadequate. Indiana’s new law provides a powerful tool in the struggle to end this form of injustice.
Similarly, in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott signed a measure that would end a policy that unfairly targets top homeschool graduates. This came to our attention when a homeschool student contacted us to say she had not qualified for automatic acceptance at a state university, even though she scored higher on entrance exams than public school students who were accepted based on their class ranking.
HSLDA Senior Counsel Darren Jones worked with the Texas Home School Coalition to propose the bill aimed at correcting this problem.
“This policy may not affect a huge number of homeschool students, but it’s still fundamentally unfair,” Jones said. “We’re excited to be part of finding a legislative solution that allows homeschool graduates to be recognized for their achievements.”