Wyoming homeschoolers celebrate ‘historic moment’ as new law strikes down reporting regulations

If you homeschool your children, should you be required to share your curriculum choices with local school districts?

Absolutely not, says Homeschool Wyoming President Brenna Lowry – who shared her elation with the Cowboy State Daily after Gov. Mark Gordon signed House Bill 46, or the Homeschool Freedom Act, into law Feb. 27.

“Parental rights are reflected and upheld in the passage of this bill, and Wyoming joins 11 other states that require no notice of intent to homeschool,” Lowry said. “This is an historic moment as Wyoming is the first state in our nation’s history to roll back homeschool regulations.” 

The law takes effect July 1 and eliminates former requirements for families to notify the government before they begin homeschooling. 

“It’s an incredibly exciting moment for the homeschool community in Wyoming, and more broadly in the United States,” said Will Estrada, senior counsel for the Home School Legal Defense Association. 

‘Parenting is not the government’s job’ 

Eleven states – Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Texas – also allow homeschoolers to teach without any government notification. 

However, these states did it through Supreme Court precedent and not the legislative process, Estrada explained. 

“We are absolutely thrilled that Governor Gordon signed HB 46 into law. This is a significant moment not just for homeschoolers in Wyoming, but nationwide,” he said. 

While parents withdrawing their children from Wyoming public schools to homeschool are still required to notify their district, no further contact is required – and no curriculum submissions are needed. 

The change comes even as parents in Illinois are rallying against proposed mandates to add more requirements on homeschooling, such as curriculum mandates and district notifications. 

“This legislation is being sold as a protection of children measure, but in reality, it is just placing another unnecessary burden on our families and on our education system here in Illinois,” said State Rep. Brandun Schweizer, R-Danville. 

Shannon Rankin, a Wyoming homeschool mom of five, agrees. 

“It’s a relief to not have to feel that the government is watching or prodding or approving or denying something, and to really be in a place where we have a government that is actually doing what it is supposed to do,” she said of the new law. 

Rankin described submitting an annual curriculum notification as “awkward” as the district had no legal basis to approve or disprove her educational choices. 

“Parenting is not the government’s job. God has given these children to us. These are our kids, and we know them best and it’s our God-given right to educate them,” she said. 

“And it’s not even just our right. God said we are to do it. It’s our responsibility and obligation to educate them and we may choose tutors or other things to do that, but it’s up to us to decide that.”