What We Do

CRHE was created to educate and inform citizens, lawmakers, and service providers about the protections homeschooled children and youth need. We are working to create a world where every homeschooled child receives a good education in a safe home environment. We are committed to providing resources, conducting research, and promoting policy to protect homeschooled children and youth from falling through the cracks if their parents or guardians are unable or unwilling to responsibly educate them.

We are a nonpartisan organization committed to ensuring that the interests of the homeschooled child are respected alongside the interests of the homeschooling parent.

Homeschooling laws around the country currently allow for broad parental freedoms but are seriously lacking in protections for the rights of children and youth.  As a result, some homeschooled children receive stellar educations while others do not learn basic reading, writing, or mathematics skills and are at a greater risk of experiencing abuse and neglect.  Feedback from the first generation of homeschooled students indicates that those who are homeschooled responsibly generally do well in college and professional life while those who were neglected or subjected to an abusive homeschooling environment often face low-wage job prospects, poor integration and connection with their communities, and struggles with poverty and dependency that could have easily been prevented.

There is currently little or no recourse for children faced with neglectful or abusive homeschooling environments. Many states do not require any form of testing or monitoring of educational quality, some allow homeschoolers to operate under exemptions, and others do not require registration at all. There is little reliable data collection on homeschooled children who have fallen through the cracks. We are working to fix these problems.

As an organization, we have several areas of focus:

• We Conduct Research. We believe that good homeschool policy is based on good data. We run the Homeschooling’s Invisible Children database, provide data analysis for other groups, and conduct our own research and research analysis.  
• We Engage in Advocacy. We make ourselves available to lawmakers and education officials interested in creating legislative change. We put out press releases on a wide range of issues and make concrete policy recommendations.
• We Create Resources. Our website features pages and sections for homeschooling parents and homeschool alumni. In addition, we have developed guides for individuals concerned about homeschooled children they know.
• We Provide Services. We answer emails and phone calls from individuals who contact us asking for help on a range of topics. We provide these individuals with information and links and connect them with other agencies as needed.
• We Raise Awareness. We speak with media and others about the importance of homeschool reform. We interact with a variety of audiences through social media and through articles, memes, and infographics, and projects.
• We Forge Connections. We connect media and lawmakers with homeschool alumni and others willing to testify or give interviews about their experiences. We connect potential test cases with interested children’s rights lawyers.

The number of children being homeschooled will likely continue to grow as homeschooling is increasingly viewed as a valid educational option in an era of school choice. CRHE believes that homeschooling policies, too, need to grow and change. We advocate for policy changes and oversight that neither harm nor pose undue burden to the homeschooling community but rather serve to strengthen it by preventing the educational neglect and child maltreatment that can occur under the name of homeschooling.