Homeschool freedom was restricted for the first time in decades when a state legislature enacted new barriers on families who want to homeschool. It’s one of several pieces of legislation introduced in various state legislatures this year that aim to reduce homeschool freedom and increase government oversight.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen signed Legislative Bill 937, an education omnibus bill which, among other things, prevents parents from immediately starting to homeschool if they are under investigation by the Division of Children and Family Services (CFS), even if the report is not substantiated.

We worked with homeschool advocates to oppose the bill, and HSLDA Staff Attorney Amy Buchmeyer testified against it in a committee hearing. However, the bill ultimately passed.

“The passage of this bill is a true disappointment,” noted HSLDA President Jim Mason. “For decades HSLDA’s advocacy in statehouses across the country has helped drive the trend toward rolling back regulations. To witness this reversal in Nebraska is especially troubling because the legislation the governor signed appears to conflict with constitutional guarantees.”

False Narrative

L.B. 937 is consistent with a false narrative being forwarded by HSLDA’s ideological opponents—one that accuses homeschooling parents of placing children in greater danger for abuse or neglect by the mere act of taking charge of their education and teaching them at home.

In its original form, as Nebraska Legislative Bill 1224, the measure specifically targeted homeschooling. The bill declared that parents who had been reported to state officials for suspected abuse or neglect could not transfer their children from the school they were currently attending to an exempt school (what the state calls homeschools) until the investigation or review was completed. Under current regulations that could take up to 60 days.

Lawmakers ultimately abandoned L.B. 1224, but this victory was short lived.

They inserted its language into L.B. 937 but amended it to apply to families using any kind of educational option. Once the bill takes effect, any parents who are under investigation by Nebraska CFS will have to wait up to 14 days before transferring their children to another kind of education—be it public, private, or homeschool.

West Virginia Bill Defeated

This approach to restricting the prerogative of parents to guide the education of their children appeared in other bills in other states this legislative season.

Multiple pieces of legislation in West Virginia, including Senate Bill 972 and House Bill 5669, attempted to limit the ability of parents to withdraw their children from public school and begin homeschooling if the parents had been accused of abuse or neglect.

None of the original bills survived, however, proponents engaged in last-minute maneuvers to keep some version of the proposal viable until the very end of the 2026 session. HSLDA helped rally homeschooling families in opposition to this final attempt at passage. Some even showed up in Charleston to engage their elected officials in person.

Homeschool advocates saw victory when these attempts to restrict homeschool freedom died as the gavel dropped on the legislature at midnight on March 14, closing the session.

Another Setback in Connecticut

The Connecticut Senate passed House Bill 5468 just before midnight May 4. It now awaits action by Governor Ned Lamont.

In its original form it sought to establish a new statutory framework governing families who provide “equivalent instruction,” commonly known as homeschooling. It also called for families to file various homeschool notices and subject their children to testing and other means of assessment.

We coordinated with families and homeschool organizations in Connecticut to oppose the bill, and HSLDA Staff Attorney Ralph Rodriguez testified against it during a 19-hour committee hearing. Despite his testimony—and that of hundreds of other homeschool supporters—the education committee approved the bill and sent it to the House floor.

The version passed by the Senate contained significant amendments. The latest proposal removes the requirements that homeschooling families submit portfolios or standardized test results to demonstrate educational progress.

However, the bill now calls for the Department of Children and Families to screen every adult living in the home of a child who is attempting to withdraw from public school to homeschool. It would also bar any family from homeschooling if the family is under investigation by DCF or if a parent is on the registry (even though neither is a reliable indicator that a child is actually in danger, or that a parent is unable to teach the child). 

Still Standing for Freedom

The passage of L.B. 937 in Nebraska highlights the need for advocacy on this issue. HSLDA has already begun spreading the word to a wider audience about why legislation of this kind is so egregious.

To begin with, these sorts of bills are based on the mistaken premise that to protect children the state must expand its own authority to interfere in family life while treating parents with suspicion. But the statistics don’t justify this view.

HSLDA Senior Counsel Darren Jones pointed out that data from Nebraska’s CFS shows two out of every three reports of abuse or neglect are dismissed because there isn’t enough evidence to warrant an investigation. Of the one-third who are indicated for further investigation, only one case in four will likely result in a substantiated finding of abuse or neglect.

And yet, Jones added, under Nebraska’s new law every one of these families could be locked into their current educational situation for up to two weeks. This means that students who are being bullied, or who are too ill to keep attending class, or who are failing to thrive academically will simply have to continue struggling until CFS completes its assessment.

“In its haste to prevent abuse,” Jones said, “the Nebraska legislature has just told every child in the state, ‘We don’t care if you’re being bullied or harassed in school and your parents want to do something about it. Your parent doesn’t get to make that decision until we say they can.’ ”

This defies American principles upheld by our highest courts. In 1999, the Ninth Circuit held in Calabretta v. Floyd that, while government has an interest in protecting children from physical abuse, “The government’s interest in the welfare of children embraces … protecting children's interest in the privacy and dignity of their homes and in the lawfully exercised authority of their parents.” As the United States Supreme Court declare din Parham v. J.R., “The statist notion that governmental power should supersede parental authority in all cases because some parents abuse and neglect children is repugnant to American tradition.”

This is a principle HSLDA pledges to keep defending, both this legislation season and going forward. As we have for over 40 years, HSLDA will continue to advocate in state legislatures, defend the constitutional right to homeschool, and engage the culture to advance homeschool freedom. You can help us fight for freedom by giving to the HSLDA Homeschool Freedom Fund here.