Only a few years ago, the concept of homeschooling was almost unheard of in Moldova. Together with a handful of people, we founded the Moldova Homeschooling Association and even tried to start a dialogue with education officials, which was mostly unsuccessful at that time.

Since then, the estimated number of homeschooling families in Moldova has grown to about 200. So a couple of months ago we reopened the conversation with officials, and this time, it seemed more promising. Some of the legislators showed support and even encouraged us and helped us to organize two public debates.

New Dialogue

On April 21, 2021, we had the largest public debate about homeschooling ever organized in Moldova. We invited officials from the Parliamentary and Presidential Committees of Education, from the Ministries of Education, Justice, Finance, Internal Affairs, and from social services.

At the event, we were extremely lucky to have the support of HSLDA Senior Counsel Mike Donnelly. Even if the time was far from comfortable for him (2:00 a.m. eastern time in America), he patiently and articulately presented the stats and the arguments and answered the questions with an inspiring composure.

Together with the two other homeschooling experts sharing their experiences—Sergio Leali of LAIF from Italy, and Adina Portaru of ADF presenting about Belgium—they brought the most solid arguments one could hope for when it comes to making homeschoolers heard by the state authorities.

We will remain forever grateful to our expert presenters, and we’ll do our best to contribute as much as we can to the growth of the homeschooling community.

Moving Forward

While homeschooling is not yet legalized in Moldova, we’ll continue working with the legislators who support us to find a way to make homeschooling legally recognized and seen and appreciated for what it is:

First of all, as a fundamental human and family right.

And second, as one of the greatest opportunities that we as parents have—to see our children growing, and to enjoy the opportunity to give them the comfort and nurturing necessary to grow into the healthy and resilient members of society that we all want.