Op-ed: Homeschool fearmongering only makes critics lose credibility faster

Public-school districts in Iowa are predictably panicking over recent legislation to streamline homeschool regulations – much like they did more than a decade ago.

“New homeschooling bill puts Iowa kids at risk,” screams a BleedingHeartland.com opinion piece by Bruce Lear, a retired regional director of the Iowa State Education Association.

He calls House File 88 “reckless” and darkly predicts “we will lose our future” if it becomes law. Seriously?

Not if we look back to 2013 when Iowa introduced a homeschool option called Independent Private Instruction (IPI), which Lear references in his commentary. 

“Public school officials had a terrible time adjusting to the reality that people didn’t have to file paperwork anymore,” recalls Scott Woodruff, attorney at the Home School Legal Defense Association who helped create the IPI option. 

“And I would tell them, ‘Look, relax. This is the way it’s been in Missouri for decades. No one ever files anything in Missouri, and the sky doesn’t fall.’” 

By exploring each of the bill’s changes outlined in Lear’s commentary, we can see how this fearmongering falls far short of reality – only serving to strengthen the case for educational freedoms. 

Vaccinations and lead testing 

The first issue Lear raises with the bill involves its provision “exempt(ing) homeschooling parents from disclosing their children’s vaccination status or whether their children have been tested for lead.” 

“Homeschooled kids frequently participate in extracurricular activities with their peers in public school,” he writes. “Not requiring them to be vaccinated against childhood diseases puts kids and teachers from the public schools at risk.” 

However, Woodruff is quick to debunk what he calls a “red herring” argument. 

“When a homeschooled child wants to sign up for a public-school activity, the public school can run its own check and see if they are compliant with vaccine requirements,” he explains, noting the bill doesn’t change existing vaccination laws. 

“It just changes how much private information parents have to send to the public school. So, the requirements for vaccinating are exactly the same now as they will be under HF 88.” 

To put matters in perspective, only four states nationwide require homeschool families to submit any information about vaccinations to public schools, according to Woodruff. 

“It’s a very unusual feature, a very odd feature if you look across the national landscape.” 

What about lead testing for homeschoolers? 

Again, the requirement doesn’t make sense as the compulsory age for school attendance is 6 years – and state law requires lead testing for students before they enter kindergarten. 

“By the time a student is going to be following the homeschool law, they’re already past that threshold anyway,” Woodruff notes. 

Even if the bill doesn’t pass, the state already allows two of five homeschool options where families don’t need to submit immunization or blood lead screenings – hardly the “reckless” step Lear paints it to be. 

Science and social studies 

Lear also bemoans the bill’s proposal removing science and social studies from the list of required elementary school subjects. 

“I’m puzzled as to why the bill allows parents to skip teaching science and social studies to elementary students,” he complains. “Don’t we want young students to understand simple civics, and at least a little simple history? 

“Also, science often excites and intrigues elementary-aged kids. This provision deprives students of basic knowledge needed for middle, high school, and college. Plus, it takes away the joy of discovery.” 

By arguing thus, Lear commits a logical fallacy in assuming simply because a subject isn’t required, it won’t get taught. 

But the bill doesn’t stop homeschool parents from teaching science and social studies to their elementary-aged children. It just removes it from the list of “required” subjects.

“This actually lines up with what we sometimes call the opt-in (homeschool) option in Iowa, because under that option, students in the higher grades are required to be assessed in science and social studies,” Woodruff says. “But students in the younger grades are not required to be assessed in those two subjects.

“So, this bill harmonizes the assessment requirement for the opt-in people with the subject requirement for independent private instruction.” 

Furthermore, this bill would help prevent discrimination against homeschool graduates. 

“We occasionally run into an agency or an entity that turns up their nose at a high school diploma issued by a parent,” Woodruff says. “It’s a bizarre kind of prejudice that makes no sense. And so, section 4 of this bill requires that any political subdivision, any part of the state, any state agency cannot discriminate against an individual just because they earned their high school diploma through a program of private instruction. 

“It basically levels the playing field in terms of admission to state programs and access to state jobs.” 

For most homeschool graduates, however, such discrimination is rarely an issue. 

“Homeschool families keep producing highly qualified kids who can read and write, and they can talk about things in an adult manner,” Woodruff notes. “They can follow instructions. They’re teachable. … Homeschool graduates are in high demand nationwide.” 

‘When freedom expands, there are collateral benefits’ 

Additionally, Lear bemoans the bill’s removal of requirements saying homeschool providers cannot charge tuition or provide instruction to more than four unrelated students. 

However, these requirements have outlived their original purpose, Woodruff argues. 

“It was just a structural thing that made sense at the time because it was a brand-new option, and now we’re more than 10 years after the fact,” he said of the 2013 law. 

“Society has become much more comfortable with a wide variety of educational methods. … Society has become more interested in expanding freedom because we see that when freedom expands, there are collateral benefits that flow all throughout society.” 

Removing these requirements could also benefit former and current public-school teachers, Woodruff wryly notes – something other states allow in the form of pods and microschools. 

“Let’s say you’re a retired public-school teacher. You love kids. You want to keep teaching and need to earn some money. Well, once HF 88 becomes law, you can have a little home business of teaching 4-8 kids in your house. 

And you can charge them tuition, and they wouldn’t have to be related. It’s an expansion of options for homeschooling.” 

‘Cheap shot’ equating homeschooling with child abuse 

Lear ends with what Woodruff calls a “cheap shot” at homeschoolers – raising the case of Natalie Finn, who died at 16 of malnutrition and abuse. 

“There was a careful analysis following that tragic death,” Woodruff said. “The problem was the state social services system letting her down in multiple contexts. There were joint hearings in Des Moines, and the overwhelming consensus was that the social services department failed to do its job, and the Legislature required major changes as a result. 

“That had nothing to do with reducing paperwork requirements for homeschooling. It had everything to do with social services not doing enough for families already on their radar.” 

Indeed, a Des Moines Register article by Lee Rood reached a similar conclusion: “Issued four years after Natalie’s death, (a report by Iowa’s state ombudsman) found that child-abuse reports that should have been accepted were instead rejected, and that important witnesses had not been identified or contacted.” 

Furthermore, requiring additional paperwork just for homeschooling goes against America’s foundational principles of assuming innocence until proven guilty, Woodruff argues. 

“That basically says we don’t trust you with your own children,” he says. “If you want to educate your own kids, take care of your own, you have to prove to us, the state, that you’re qualified – and that’s not the American way. That’s the totalitarian way.” 

Enough gloomy predictions over the loss of more paperwork. 

If homeschool critics really wanted to protect children, they would rejoice over the increasing number of parents assuming more educational responsibility to raise the next generation of well-rounded, capable citizens – without additional regulations.