Obama vs The Homeschoolers?

“So tonight, I am proposing that every state — every state — requires that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn 18.”



In his State of the Union Address, the President declared that the federal government would mandate that all states require attendance for high-schoolers until age 18. 

What does this mean for Home School families?  

Stick with me, we’ll tackle that. 

But first it’s necessary to address the fundamental failure of this statement, which is this: 

             The President does not get to determine state law. This issue has been a constant source of confusion with this administration. A more correct or truthful statement would have been “I propose drafting a new federal law that will circumvent existing state laws and require that all US students attend high school until they turn 18."

Just semantics? Don't be so sure. 

Okay, back to the main issue... What does this mean for Home School families?

Does this mean that the White House is going to try and make you put your child back into private or public school? 

Take a breath… No it does not. Home School is a form of private school. At worst, such a law would cause Home Schoolers additional paperwork, fees, and annoyance.

Whew. Oh wait, then does it mean that your sixteen year old that just completed 12^th grade with fantastic scores will have to delay college for two years? 

No, no it doesn’t. Notice that the President said "until they graduate or turn 18". Again, such a law would probably only cause additional paperwork, fees, and annoyance.

Well then, what would it do?

Nothing (aside from cause everybody additional paperwork, fees, and annoyance).

The number of kids who would actually be affected by such a law is so small as to make absolutely no difference on the national scale.

The President's statement is simply a political maneuver.

At best it was just a "kissing babies" statement for the election year.  "Don't do drugs, stay in school." It's a tried and true favorite.

At worst, the administration will try to get a flowery-named piece of legislation pushed through the House and Senate. Something ridiculous, like "The Children's American Dream Act" (don't laugh, we've seen worse).

They will bank on the fact that no conservative in their right mind will vote against the American Dream for our Children, and they will attach all sorts of nasty pork and power grabs to the bill.

So, a law like this wouldn't change anything for Home Schoolers. I can just ignore it?

No. No, you can't. Any expansion of federal power into education has the potential to affect our rights to educate our kids. Laws like the one the President proposed lay the foundation for future infringements of our rights.

For an example of how this is already occurring, take a look at this article from the Home School Legal Defense Association. It tells the story of a Nebraska Home School family that were taken to court by a Truancy Officer and a County Prosecutor in an attempt to force their kids into public school.

www.hslda.org/hs/state/ne/201201240.asp

So, you're a Dad. You're a Guy! Take action! 

The best way to do this is to write your Congressman, Senator, and even President Obama. This is easy to do using the Visible Vote app (look it up in your respective app store). Tell them that you don't want the federal government to expand its power in education, and that you will make your displeasure known at the next election if your Congressman or Senator were to vote for such a law.


That's all for now. Keep plugging away, Dads! Support each other, Pray for each other, stay engaged in your kids' education, and send your thoughts and experiences to DadsTeach@gmail.com.

Next time we'll bring you encouraging words from Andy, a veteran Home School Dad that I hope we'll be hearing from a lot.


God Bless!