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The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –
The Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) officially announced support for the new “Family Right to Educational Emancipation Act” or the “FREE Act.”
House Bill 552/Senate Bill 494 was written by Tennessee homeschool advocacy group, Free YOUR Children.
When The Tennessee Conservative spoke with Free YOUR Children’s Tiffany Boyd and her team at the state Capitol last week, they told us they were in Nashville for two reasons.
“We are here today in opposition to Governor Lee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Act, but we are also here today because we have written our own piece of legislation to give parents in the state of Tennessee complete and total educational autonomy, which we currently do not have,” said Boyd.
“This bill is crucial for real freedom in Tennessee,” Boyd wrote later on. “Every legislator that claims they believe that parents are the best equipped to make educational decisions for their children should also lend their support. This is TRUE school choice.”
Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma-District 16) and Rep. Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill-District 92) agreed to file the bill in their respective chambers of the legislature.
HB0552/SB0494, as introduced, “creates a new category of independent home schools that are not subject to the data collection, reporting, or assessment requirements applicable to existing independent home school programs and that exempts such home school students and parents from compulsory school attendance requirements.”
The legislation would also prohibit the Department of Safety from “conditioning the issuance of a driver license or learner’s permit on a school-aged applicant’s attendance record or enrollment status.”
The bill text recognizes “the fundamental right of parents to direct the education, upbringing, and care of their children” and acknowledges that “parents have the primary role in determining the educational path for their children, including the choice to educate their children at home without interference or undue regulation from the State.”
On Tuesday, HSLDA Senior Counsel Will Estrada, expressed support for the legislation saying, “We are excited to support a powerful pro-homeschooling bill, the ‘Family Right to Educational Emancipation (FREE) Act.’”
The HSLDA announcement goes on to note that the “FREE Act” leaves current Tennessee law unchanged, simply adding a new school category option for homeschool families.
Currently, homeschool families in Tennessee are allowed “to educate their children at home either as independent homeschools, as part of a church-related school (also known as a Category IV school), or as part of a Category III non-public school that offers distance learning.”
HB0552/SB0494 proposes an additional fourth option that would allow parents to educate their children at home under “a distinct and separate category of parent-led education that is unrelated to public and private schooling options.”
Under this new option, homeschooling families would not be required to administer any tests or assessments, or to submit or report any information regarding student attendance or education to the state, any school, school district, or governmental entity.
As noted in HSLDA’s announcement, passage of the “FREE Act” would make Tennessee the 12th state across the country to not require parents to “get a permission slip from the government before they homeschool their children.”
Tennessee Home Education Association (THEA) President, Claiborne Thornton has also expressed support for the legislation saying, “This bill creates a new island of freedom of education in Tennessee by exempting children enrolled in this new section of law from compulsory attendance. THEA enthusiastically supports this bill and encourages all homeschooling families to begin to learn to embrace true freedom in education.”
About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee. Adelia is The Tennessee Conservative’s on-site reporter for the Tennessee General Assembly. You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
2 Responses
Which committees will be trying to kill this?
We’ll let you know when the bills have received committee assignments & have been scheduled so action can be taken.