Homeschool advocates lament Connecticut’s new law as ‘targeted interference’ against parents

Homeschoolers nationwide are denouncing a bill signed by Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont on Tuesday, which requires background checks for all families intending to homeschool in the state.

“This is not about education or child safety,” state Senator Jeff Gordon argued in a release by the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). “It’s a targeted interference in the lives of law-abiding parents making decisions on how to best educate their children.”

Under the bill, Connecticut homeschooling parents would need to submit an “intent to educate” form each year and undergo a one-time background check from the state’s Department of Children and Families (DCF).

“This legislation marks a significant regression in homeschool freedom,” said HSLDA’s president Jim Mason. “By requiring every parent to be pre-screened before they can begin homeschooling, it turns parents from trusted actors into risks to be managed.”

‘He really threw parental rights in the trash’

Supporters of the bill argued more oversight was needed to prevent child abuse among families outside the public education system.

Lawmakers cited three high-profile cases of child abuse in Waterbury, New Britain, and Enfield as the impetus for creating the legislation, according to the Hartford Courant.

“This bill strikes a good balance to make sure parents have the ability to make educational decisions that are best for their kids,” said Lamont’s spokeswoman, Cathryn Vaulman, “while providing the state some insight to make sure we have the ability to prevent those looking to abuse that system in ways that endanger kids.”

However, state Sen. Stephen Harding, R-Brookfield, told journalists he believed Lamont had made the “wrong decision” to sign the bill.

“He should have listened to parents across the state who care about their parental rights to educate their children the way they see fit,” Harding said. “He really threw parental rights in the trash. He certainly didn’t listen to the parents that came up and packed the Legislative Office Building and gave testimony for hours on end about the detriment of this particular bill and how it would trample parental rights.”

As previously reported by The Lion, more than 2,000 families demonstrated at the state capitol last year in protesting the legislation.

“That child was in public school for five years and DCF had been involved, but nobody really did anything to help that child,” homeschool mom Rebekah Farrington said of the high-profile abuse case in Waterbury.

HSLDA Attorney Ralph Rodriguez also pointed to the state’s failure to do anything for the victims involved in the child abuse cases.

“Requiring DCF approval to homeschool is a serious concern for the homeschool community,” he said during a legislative hearing. “DCF has been at the heart of these recent failings, and can’t be relied upon to act in a timely fashion, or at all, but they’re being made the gatekeeper of homeschooling?”

Most parents coming under investigation for alleged child abuse are eventually cleared of wrongdoing, but they would be prevented from homeschooling their children under the new law despite their innocence, Mason argued.

“This is not a narrow child protection measure,” he concluded. “It is a sweeping restriction on a constitutional right based on an error-prone administrative record. It is a reaction masquerading as a solution. It must be overturned.”