The best research and data on homeschooling won’t affect much change if no one knows about it. That’s why we wrote tips for contacting your legislators and writing letters to the editor, so you or anyone you know can start spreading the word. We know, however, that taking that first step on your own and putting your voice out there can be intimidating–so we are happy to share our own example!
This week we sent the following letter to the editor of Business Insider, an online news provider that focuses on business and technology. As you will notice, the letter itself is brief, compared to our more extensive reaction below. Keeping this short required us to strictly prioritize; Business Insider published three different articles we felt worthy of our response, and we had a lot of evidence to dispute some of their claims. Our interaction with them is an example of how an LTE can be meaningful even if it’s not published. Editorial staff replied with a promise to update the articles with information we shared.
It is disappointing to watch Business Insider routinely publish imbalanced, inaccurate articles on homeschooling. In the February 3rd article, “One of the most pervasive stereotypes in education is no longer true,” senior innovation writer Chris Weller uncritically quotes homeschool advocate Dr. Brian Ray’s unsourced claim that homeschooled students are “doing just as well or better” than their peers. Weller also cites Richard G. Medlin’s 2013 review of the research on homeschooling and socialization despite critique by Dr. Milton Gaither, one of the most prominent names in homeschooling research, which throws into question the article’s conclusion.
In the January 23rd article, “Americans are rejecting the ‘homeschool myth,’” Weller uses Dr. Ray’s unsourced claim that homeschooling grows at a rate of 8% per year and an unsourced claim that the U.S. Census found that 2 million children were homeschooled in 2010 to justify his estimate that as many as 3.5 million children are currently homeschooled. The U.S. Census has never collected homeschooling data. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) does, but they did not release an estimate in 2010, and their 2012 estimate is both lower—1.77 million—and points to a smaller growth rate. Weller follows with an unsourced claim that homeschooled children score better than their peers, but does not address testing data that finds homeschooled students less proficient than their peers in math.
This is not the first time we have felt compelled to correct misleading claims about homeschooling made by Weller in Business Insider. Last summer we published a thorough critique of his August 20th article, “Why Homeschooling Is the Smartest Way to Teach Kids in the 21st Century.” That article, like these, was rife with misinformation. As we noted then, irresponsible reporting on homeschooling benefits no one. Parents need accurate information to make informed choices for their children.
Rachel Coleman
Executive Director
Coalition for Responsible Home Education
As is common when writing letters to the editor, space did not permit us to flesh out our concerns as fully as we might have liked. If you are trying to formulate your own LTE, you might note the difference between all the information we had available, the bulk of which we outline below, and what we chose to include in our letter above.
We noted in our LTE that Dr. Milton Gaither has critiqued Richard G. Medlin’s review of the research on socialization; Weller did not mention that Medlin’s review had been questioned by other scholars. We did not have room, however, to include quotes from Gaither’s review, in which he wrote that Medlin left out “a lot of important work,” was not explicit enough about which of the studies he cited “were using shoddy methodology,” and failed to include “one of the most important studies ever of homeschooling,” the 2011 Cardus Education Survey. Because we did not have space to outline Gaither’s specific concerns with Medlin’s review, we simply stated Gaither’s credentials and included a link to his critique.
We also did not have room to provide specific details regarding the homeschool growth rate. The estimates the NCES released for 2007 and 2012 would suggest an average growth rate of 3.3% per year during this period. (The NCES conducted its surveys again in 2016, but that data has yet to be released.) Had we had more room, we could also have noted that there is some indication homeschooling may be on the decline in certain states. The International Center for Home Education Research reported in fall 2016 that of 9 states that release data on homeschool enrollments, 6 reported an increase and 3 reported a decrease. When Business Insider responded to our LTE expressing interest in amending their articles, they asked for this additional information on the homeschool growth rate. This may happen to you as well, so it is a good idea to make sure you have data and links on hand to provide if asked.
In addition to arguing that homeschooled students do better academically than their peers, Weller also claimed that homeschool graduates perform better in college than graduates of other educational methods. We did not have space to address this. If we had, we could have pointed out that Weller cited a 2009 study of a private research university but did not mention that only 1% of students at this university were homeschooled, compared with 3% of students overall. This creates an effect calling “creaming”, where only the best and the brightest of a given group are representing the group, giving the impression that all members of the group do as well as these non-randomly-selected members do.
Weller also did not mention that the 2011 Cardus Education Survey found that formerly homeschooled adults were less likely to attend college and reported lower SAT scores than their peers, or evidence that homeschooled students may under-attend college. He similarly did not mention research which suggests that homeschooled students who attend college are less likely to major in STEM fields, likely the result of a well-documented homeschool math gap that leaves many students with a deficient grounding in math and related fields.
Your LTE does not need to be as data-driven as ours was. You may find it more natural to speak from your experiences, and those of your friends. Regardless of exactly what you say or how you say it, it’s important that you use your voice and have your message heard. Your opinion, your experiences, and your view matter. Whether you plan to center experiences or research, we have resources with guidance and talking points to help you get you started. If you can’t find particular data you’re looking for, get a letter published, or receive a response from your paper that you’d like to share, please feel free to contact us!
Last Updated: 30 October, 2023 by CRHE
Savannah Leckie’s Death Implicates Missouri’s Lax Homeschool Oversight
For Immediate Release: The death of a Missouri teen raises questions about the lack of protections for homeschooled children in the state
Canton, Ma., 08/29/2017—Earlier this month, the ashes of sixteen-year-old Savannah Leckie’s body were found concealed on a farm in a rural area of Missouri. Authorities believe Rebecca Ruud, Leckie’s birth mother, dissolved her body in lye before burning it. “Savannah is at least the third sixteen-year-old girl to die of child abuse in a homeschool setting in the past twelve months,” said Rachel Coleman, executive director of the Coalition for Responsible Home Education (CRHE), a national nonprofit organization founded by homeschool graduates that advocates for homeschooled children. “It is long past time for state legislatures to protect vulnerable children like Savannah.”
CRHE runs a database that tracks deaths like Savannah’s. “Our goal is to identify themes that will help us prevent these tragedies before they happen,” said Coleman. “Many of the themes we have identified, including adoption, disabilities, and rehoming, were present in Savannah’s situation.” While many parents use homeschooling to provide children with an individualized education in a nurturing home environment, a growing number of severe and fatal child abuse cases in homeschool settings have led lawmakers in several states, including neighboring Iowa and Kentucky, to propose protections for at-risk children being homeschooled.
Savannah was adopted at birth by Sandra Montague (Leckie) and David Leckie of Minnesota, who are now divorced. In August, 2016, after conflict in the home, Savannah was sent to Missouri to live with her birth mother, Rebecca Ruud. “We see ‘rehoming’ in multiple cases in our database,” said Coleman. “When children are not enrolled in school, it is easier for them to be passed from home to home, often without the safeguards you would see in a formal adoption.” 27% of the cases in CRHE’s database involve adoption, suggesting a higher rate of child abuse among adoptive families who homeschool than among adoptive families overall.
Like Natalie Finn of West Des Moines, Iowa, and Sabrina Ray of Perry, Iowa, homeschooled teens who died of starvation and abuse in separate cases in October, 2016, and May, 2017, Savannah had special needs. Deaf and disabled children are particularly vulnerable to abuse, neglect, and homicide, and are victimized at much higher rates than able-bodied children. Disabled children need accommodations and accessible devices to ensure access to their community and education. These needs are not always met, and abusers may purposely deny accommodations to Deaf and disabled children to further isolate and victimize them.
Savannah died in Missouri, a state that does not require homeschooling parents to have contact with state or local homeschool organizations. There is no list of homeschooled students and no followup to ensure that children are being educated and have access to a support network. “Missouri has one of the laxest homeschooling laws in the country,” said Coleman. “It’s not surprising that Savannah fell through the cracks. The bigger question is, how many kids like Savannah are still out there?”
The Coalition for Responsible Home Education is a national organization founded by homeschool alumni and dedicated to raising awareness of the need for homeschooling reform, providing public policy guidance, and advocating for responsible home education practices.
Last Updated: 28 October, 2023 by Rachel Coleman
Why Can’t a School Act if an At-Risk Child Is Withdrawn to Be Homeschooled?
When we began our Homeschooling’s Invisible Children database, we quickly noticed many cases where a child was removed to be homeschooled following a concerning history of family services involvement. We recommend creating a background check process to screen for these situations when parents first start homeschooling. We are sometimes asked why schools and social workers don’t simply investigate such cases as things are now. Shouldn’t something already be triggered when a child with an elevated risk of child abuse or neglect is removed from school? In fact, there is usually nothing a school district can do in these cases.
Where the Law Stands
Currently, it is completely legal for parents with a past history of abuse or neglect to homeschool children in their custody. With one exception, no state’s homeschool statute bars (or requires outside approval for) homeschooling by parents with past child abuse or neglect convictions; parents who have previously had a child removed from the home; or parents with a concerning history of child abuse or neglect reports. Several states have introduced bills that would implement such measures, but so far none of these efforts have met with success. Officials cannot report or investigate something that is legal.
A Case Study: Emani Moss
In early 2010, after a school employee called in a tip, Emani Moss was removed from her Georgia home for several months while her father and stepmother took anger management courses. After family services determined that the risk of harm in the home was reduced, she was returned home. In late 2010, her case was closed. Eighteen months later, in May 2012, school officials again made a report, but the it was screened out as legal corporal punishment and no case was opened. That summer, Emani’s parents withdrew her from school, and in November 2013, police found Emani’s body in a trashcan outside of her family’s home.
In theory, a red flag should have gone up when Emani’s parents began homeschooling. Emani had previously been removed from the home due to abuse, her stepmother was still on probation on child cruelty charges stemming from Emani’s initial case, and Emani was withdrawn from school immediately after the school reported concerns. However, in practice, there was no legal way to act on these red flags. There is nothing in Georgia’s homeschool law (or that of any other state) to prevent a parent subject to past founded abuse allegations or recent abuse reports from homeschooling.
Closed Family Services Cases
Without an open case, family services has no way of knowing when a child whose family was previously under investigation is removed from school to be homeschooled. This may be why, as University of Wisconsin pediatrician Barbara Knox found in a 2014 study of child torture, parents tend to remove a child from school after a case is closed:
“Twenty-nine percent of school-age children were not allowed to attend school; two children, though previously enrolled, were dis-enrolled by their caregiver and received no further schooling. An additional 47% who had been enrolled in school were removed under the auspice of ‘homeschooling.’ This ‘homeschooling’ appears to have been designed to further isolate the child and typically occurred after closure of a previously opened CPS case.”
When a family services case is closed, monitoring of the family ends. Family services is unable to open a case based solely on the family’s decision to homeschool, regardless of past history; even if a school official did try to call in a report, it would be screened out.
Open Family Services Cases
Some states prevent foster children from being homeschooled to ensure that they are seen by multiple caregivers. The authority caseworkers have over whether a child with an open family services case but living with their parents may be homeschooled is a more difficult question, and has at times been the subject of lawsuits. However, whether or not homeschooling is permitted in these cases, children with open family services cases do have caseworkers who check in on them periodically and may notice signs of escalating abuse.
Conclusion
In most states, homeschool policy is set by the legislature and is not something that can be changed by family services or a state board of education. School administrators and social workers are bound by state law, and current law allows all parents to homeschool, regardless of past convictions, family services cases, or reports.
Note: Pennsylvania bars homeschooling when an individual in the household has been convicted of a list of offences within the past five years; Arkansas bars homeschooling when a sex offender resides in the home. However, neither state conducts background checks to ensure that these restrictions are enforced.
Last Updated: 28 October, 2023 by CRHE
Iowa Legislature Hears from Homeschool Organization with a History of Opposing Child Welfare Measures
For Immediate Release: Opposition to homeschool accountability contributes to child abuse deaths like those of Natalie Finn and Sabrina Ray
Canton, Ma., 06/05/2017—On Monday, June 5, the Iowa legislature’s Government Oversight Committees are holding a joint hearing on child welfare. This hearing was triggered by the deaths of two homeschooled adopted Iowa teenagers, Natalie Finn and Sabrina Ray. “We are pleased to see the Iowa legislature investigating what can be done to prevent future such tragedies,” said Rachel Coleman, executive director of the Coalition for Responsible Home Education (CRHE), a national nonprofit organization founded by homeschool graduates that advocates for homeschooled children. “But we were concerned to learn that Scott Woodruff of the Home School Legal Defense Association, well known for its opposition to accountability, is the only outside expert scheduled to speak to the committees about homeschooling.”
The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) does not speak for all homeschooling parents. “HSLDA member families make up only around 6% of the total homeschool population,” Coleman notes. HSLDA has a controversial reputation within the homeschooling community; many parents vehemently oppose the organization’s methods or its opposition to homeschool accountability and services. Additionally, HSLDA’s curious position as both a pro-homeschooling advocacy organization and a legal clinic for homeschooling parents makes it an odd choice for providing testimony at a hearing on child welfare.
In 2013, HSLDA opposed a Pennsylvania bill that would have required a risk assessment when a child was withdrawn from school to be homeschooled within 18 months of a founded abuse or neglect report. The organization claimed “[t]here is no connection between homeschooling and child abuse,” despite the bill being based on recommendations issued by the state’s Task Force on Child Protection. After the bodies of two homeschooled children were found in a Detroit freezer in 2015, a Michigan bill was introduced that would have required parents to notify the state annually that they were homeschooling and to have their children meet twice a year with a mandatory reporter such as a teacher, doctor, or member of the clergy. HSLDA again opposed this child-welfare legislation.
HSLDA is no stranger to allegations of abuse among homeschooling families. HSLDA assists member families facing abuse allegations and advises homeschooling parents to prevent their children from speaking with social workers. In a 2005 case, HSLDA responded to allegations that homeschool father Michael Gravelle was keeping his eleven adopted children in cages by praising Gravelle. “They had nothing to hide,” HSLDA’s Scott Somerville told the press. “He told me why they adopted these children and told me the problems they were trying to solve. I think he is a hero.” Gravelle and his wife were later convicted of two misdemeanor and four felony counts of child endangering and five misdemeanor counts of child abuse.
CRHE regularly receives reports from homeschool graduates who were taught to distrust and fear social workers based on materials their parents received from HSLDA. In several cases, homeschool graduates have told us that they reported their parents after leaving home, only to see their allegations come to nothing; they blame their parents’ membership in HSLDA. Homeschool graduate Sarah Henderson remembers that when her father was accused of child abuse when she was nine, he called HSLDA. After providing advice and moral support, HSLDA connected Henderson’s father with a local lawyer willing to take on the case for an affordable rate. The charges were dismissed, and the family moved to avoid further scrutiny. A decade later, after she had left the home, Henderson called in another child-abuse report. This time, her father was convicted. He had let his HSLDA membership lapse.
“HSLDA is not part of the solution,” said Coleman. “Until it changes its approach to child abuse and neglect, it is part of the problem.” In a 2014 study of child torture by Barbara Knox, a child abuse researcher at the University of Wisconsin, 47% of school-age victims were homeschooled. “Lax homeschool laws allow abusive parents to turn to homeschooling to isolate their children,” said Coleman. “The time to hide our heads in the sand is long past.”
To view Coleman’s testimony before Iowa Government Oversight Committee Members on March 6th, click here. For her written testimony, click here. To read Coleman’s response to Scott Woodruff’s January 26th letter to Sen. Sinclair, click here.
The Coalition for Responsible Home Education is a national organization founded by homeschool alumni and dedicated to raising awareness of the need for homeschooling reform, providing public policy guidance, and advocating for responsible home education practices.
Last Updated: 28 October, 2023 by CRHE
Kansas Should Strengthen Its Mandatory Reporter Laws
For Immediate Release: Contact with Mandatory Reporters Could Have Saved Homeschooled Adrian Jones
Canton, Ma., 5/18/2017—On Tuesday, May 16th, the Kansas House Committee on Federal and State Affairs heard testimony on House Bill 2425, introduced in response to the tragic 2015 death of seven-year-old Adrian Jones of Kansas City. HB 2425 would make any adult residing in a home a mandatory reporter of child abuse or neglect. “As advocates for homeschooled students, we support taking steps to ensure that students have contact with mandatory reporters,” said Rachel Coleman, executive director of the Coalition for Responsible Home Education (CRHE), a national nonprofit organization founded by homeschool graduates in 2013. “Homeschooled children like Adrian Jones do not have the same daily contact with teachers and other mandatory reporters as children who attend school.”
At least one unrelated adult lived with Adrian Jones’ family for a time but failed to report the abuse she witnessed. HB 2425 would require adults to report child abuse if they have reason to believe it is taking place in their place of residence. While HB 2425 would apply to all families regardless of their method of education, Judy Conway, Adrian’s grandmother, is also calling for changes to the Kansas’ oversight of home education.
During testimony on Tuesday, District Attorney Mark Dupree recommended requiring that homeschooled students have annual contact with the school district in order to identify cases like Adrian’s, where homeschooling is used to hide child abuse. Coleman agreed. “While many homeschooling parents create a positive, child-centered learning environment for their children, most states do little or nothing to prevent homeschooling from being used to isolate children and hide abuse, as it was for Adrian,” said Coleman. “We need laws that promote the wellbeing of all homeschooled students.” CRHE’s recommendations for protecting at-risk children include a section on mandatory reporter contact.
The kind of small nudge toward mandatory reporting included in HB 2425—a statute very similar to those on the books in Arizona, Maine, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Washington, all of which specifically mention parents, family members, or other adults living in the house being mandatory reporters—would have no effect on the vast majority of Kansan households, but its impact on children whose abuse might now be reported is incalculable. “We support HB 2425 and we applaud lawmakers for discussing possible changes to the state’s homeschool statute,” said Coleman. “Adrian’s death should serve as a catalyst for protecting other children in situations like his.”
The Coalition for Responsible Home Education is a national organization founded by homeschool alumni and dedicated to raising awareness of the need for homeschooling reform, providing public policy guidance, and advocating for responsible home education practices.
Last Updated: 12 May, 2017 by CRHE
Fund Our Groundbreaking Homeschool Study!
There are an estimated two million children being homeschooled in the United States today—and researchers, policymakers, and educators have no idea how they’re doing. At a time when education is assessed and measured everywhere, homeschooled kids remain invisible: How are their math skills? Are they reading at the level of their peers? Are they going on to college? Are they getting the resources they need?
Help the Coalition for Responsible Home Education (CRHE) complete a study that will provide the most comprehensive picture of homeschooled students’ academic performance to date. Using publicly available but never-analyzed data from Alaska and Arkansas, CRHE will compare homeschooled students’ performance with that of their peers and analyze their performance across a wide variety of subject areas and a range of demographic characteristics.
Where will we get our data?
CRHE will use data released by the Arkansas Department of Education’s Home School Office and the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development. This data, which is collected by the state, has never been studied before. For background on this data, read our preliminary article on the Alaska data and this brief discussion of the Arkansas data.
What’s wrong with the studies we have?
Existing studies of homeschooled students’ academic performance draw on volunteer participants, oversampling students from college-educated families and excluding lower-performing students. This leads to misleading information about homeschool achievement. Our study will paint a more representative picture of homeschooled students’ academic performance and needs, reporting how they are really doing.
Why should we care?
Over the past few years, an increasing number of formerly homeschooled students have come forward to say that they were educationally neglected. Many have called for policies to create more accountability for homeschooling. Efforts to create effective homeschool policy are hampered by a lack of accurate data. We advocate for homeschooled children. To do this, we need to understand the factors that contribute to homeschool success or failure.
Our study will ensure that lawmakers have the data they need to legislate responsibly; give parents the data they need to make decisions about whether homeschooling is best for their families; and give formerly homeschooled students a clearer picture of where they fit in the world. You can help us make this happen.
We need your help!
As a 501c3 nonprofit organization, we rely on donations from supporters. Our budget is small and our staff puts in hundreds of volunteer hours to complete our day-to-day work. Our research analysts have been working on the Arkansas and Alaska data for several years, but a lack of funding has severely limited the number of hours they can put in each week. This fundraiser will allow us to finally finish this study.
All money raised will go toward paying our research analysts a fair hourly wage to complete this project. With funding, our research team will be able to enter the data, conduct the analysis, and write up findings by the end of fall 2017. We anticipate being able to submit the study to a peer-reviewed journal by spring 2018.
All donations to CRHE are fully tax deductible.
Our Research Team
Chelsea McCracken, Senior Research Analyst
McCracken has a BA in math and a PhD in social science, including graduate work in statistics. She will conduct a statistical analysis of testing data from Alaska.
Rachel Lazerus, Research Analyst
Lazerus received her MPP at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago with a focus on educational policy. She will analyze testing data and homeschooling populations in Arkansas.
Rachel Coleman, Executive Director
Coleman is a Ph.D. candidate in U.S. history and wrote her master’s thesis on homeschooling. She will research and outline the background of homeschooling in both states.
Last Updated: 26 October, 2023 by CRHE
Summer 2017 Internship Program
This summer will be the third year of our summer internship program!
In the past, our summer interns have created infographics, developed social media content, written histories of homeschooling in individual states, contributed to ongoing research programs, and conducted policy research. We have enjoyed working with a variety of individuals, engaging with supporters, and bringing new people into our network. We are excited to see what our summer interns will accomplish this summer!
We are looking for social media and research interns willing to work for CRHE on a part-time as-available basis over the summer. Our internships are unpaid, but the work our interns do provides them with valuable experience and lines on their resume. All internships will take place remotely, via computer, so a strong internet connection is required.
To apply, please fill out our CRHE Internship Application. We will be accepting applications through Friday, May 18th. You can read a description of each of these internships below.
Social media intern
We are looking for two social media interns, one to work on CRHE’s social media accounts and one to work on those associated with our HIC database project. As a social media intern, you will develop social media content and shape awareness-raising social media campaigns. The social media experience you gain may be attractive to a future or current employer. Familiarity with Facebook and/or Twitter is required.
Responsibilities:
Time commitment: 5-10 hours a week, 1-2 hours per weekday
Research intern
Our research interns provide support on a variety of projects. We are interested in taking on several research interns, so you may have some flexibility in choosing which projects interest you most. You will gain experience with research, writing, and working independently and as part of a team–skills that may be attractive to a future or current employer. Some familiarity with using Google Drive is recommended but not required.
Possible Projects:
Time commitment: 5-15 hours a week, flexible schedule
Last Updated: 26 October, 2023 by CRHE
Gov. Burgum: Don’t Remove Homeschool Accountability
For Immediate Release: North Dakota lawmakers should add assessment options, not create loopholes
Canton, Ma., 3/27/2017—North Dakota House Bill 1428, which would allow homeschooling parents in the state to opt out of the state’s assessment requirement if they have a philosophical, moral, or religious objection to the use of standardized achievement tests, has passed the state house and senate and is headed for the governor’s desk. “Accountability is critical to ensuring that all homeschooled students receive a basic education,” said Rachel Coleman, executive director of the Coalition for Responsible Home Education, a national nonprofit organization founded by homeschool graduates. “Accountability benefits both homeschooled students and homeschooling parents. HB 1428 harms both groups.”
In North Dakota, current law requires homeschooled students to take a standardized achievement test in grades 4, 6, 8, and 10. Homeschooling parents who have a bachelor’s degree or teaching certificate may opt out of this requirement if they have philosophical, moral, or religious objections to standardized testing. HB 1428 would allow any homeschooling parent to opt out if they have philosophical, moral, or religious objections or if they have a bachelor’s degree or teaching certificate, rather than requiring both. This would dramatically widen the number of parents able to opt their children out of state accountability.
In explaining their support for HB 1428, some lawmakers have pointed out that parents of children in public school are allowed to opt their children out of the state’s standardized testing requirements. Coleman disagrees with this comparison. “Children who attend public schools are assessed in a variety of ways,” Coleman said. “Homeschooling parents should be given options for meeting the state’s assessment requirements, but not allowed to opt out of accountability altogether.” CRHE recommends allowing homeschooling parents to choose between standardized testing and having a portfolio of the student’s work reviewed by a certified teacher. To answer lawmakers’ concerns without compromising the quality of homeschooled children’s education, CRHE recommends amending the state’s homeschool law to allow parents who object to testing to have their children’s progress reviewed by a certified teacher.
While homeschooling can provide children with a quality, child-centered, innovative education, this is not always the case. “I have spoken with homeschool graduates who have turned 18 with such limited math and science skills that college is not an option,” said Coleman. “These are individuals who were deprived of access to educational resources.” The research on homeschooling suggests that homeschooled students have lower math scores than their public schooled peers, and that they may attend college at lower rates. Several studies have found that homeschool graduates who do attend college are less likely to major in STEM fields, suggesting that the gaps incurred while being homeschooled affect these students’ career choices. Numerous homeschool graduates from educationally neglectful backgrounds have spoken out in favor of accountability for homeschooling.
As an unintended consequence of the bill, HB 1428 would remove required mandatory reporter contact. State law requires that homeschooled students’ standardized testing take place at the school district or under the administration of a certified teacher. This requirement ensures that every homeschooled student in North Dakota is seen by a mandatory reporter at least once per year. This is important because while most homeschooling parents involve their children in a variety of extracurricular programs and events, abusive parents have learned that they can use homeschooling to isolate a child and conceal abuse. A 2014 study of child torture found that 47% of school-aged victims examined were withdrawn from school to be homeschooled, typically after the closure of a child services case. HB 1428 would allow abusive parents to opt out of mandatory reporter contact, leaving homeschooled children more vulnerable to abuse and neglect.
“Standardized testing has serious drawbacks and should not be the only option for assessing homeschooled students,” said Coleman. “But lawmakers can address these concerns without removing accountability altogether. North Dakota’s homeschooled children are depending on it.”
The Coalition for Responsible Home Education is a national organization founded by homeschool alumni and dedicated to raising awareness of the need for homeschooling reform, providing public policy guidance, and advocating for responsible home education practices.
Last Updated: 26 October, 2023 by CRHE
CRHE’s Rachel Coleman Testifies in Iowa
For Immediate Release: Iowa lawmakers hear testimony on protections for at-risk homeschooled children
Canton, Ma. 03/14/2017—On Monday, March 6th, Rachel Coleman, Executive Director of the Coalition for Responsible Home Education, testified before Iowa Government Oversight Committee Members in Des Moines, Iowa. In January, Iowa Senator Matt McCoy introduced SF 138, which would require quarterly well checks for homeschooled children. While SF 138 has not been able to move out of committee this session, Sen. McCoy has pledged to revise this legislation and introduce a new bill next year. Sen. McCoy introduced SF 138 in response to the death of Natalie Finn, a sixteen-year-old homeschooled child who died of starvation and severe abuse in October 2016. Coleman’s testimony on Monday was part of a series of three hearings designed to further explore the role homeschooling can play in hiding child abuse.
“Homeschooling gives parents power,” Coleman said in her testimony. “When that power is exercised wisely, the experience can be profoundly positive; when that power is exercised in malicious and abusive ways, children can die.” Coleman suggested revisions to Sen. McCoy’s bill and argued that Iowa is well suited to such legislation. “Iowa’s homeschool law includes three different legal avenues for homeschooling, offering the perfect opportunity to give parents options while ensuring student safety,” Coleman told the committee.
Coleman drew attention to themes CRHE has identified in its Homeschooling’s Invisible Children database, which catalogues cases of severe or fatal abuse in homeschool settings. “A history of past child services reports and intervention is the number one theme we see in the homeschool child fatalities we review,” Coleman told the committee members. “In many of these cases, homeschooling begins after the closure of a child services case or child abuse investigation.” Other themes include social isolation, food deprivation, adoption, and special needs. “When homeschooling occurs in an abusive home, the ordinary safeguards in place to protect school-age children disappear,” Coleman said.
“We recommend preventing homeschooling in cases where parents have been convicted of violent crimes, sexual offenses, crimes against children, or other offenses that would disqualify them from teaching or volunteering in a public school,” Coleman stated, pointing to the first of its three recommendations. CRHE also recommends a flagging system to catch cases where parents begin to homeschool after a founded child abuse claim or a history of child abuse reports. “Parents who use homeschooling as a cover for abuse frequently have concerning histories of involvement with child protective services,” Coleman explained. Finally, CRHE recommends ensuring that homeschooled students have contact with mandatory reporters such as certified teachers or healthcare professionals.
Coleman finished her testimony by describing a moving conversation with the grandmother of Adrian Jones, a homeschooled child whose father and stepmother fed his body to the family’s pigs after starving him to death. “I was shaking when the conversation ended,” Coleman told the committee members. “I cannot imagine what it must be like for his grandmother to have to live with this every day.”
“It does not have to be this way,” Coleman told those assembled. “We can—and must—do better by these children.”
Click here to read the full text of Coleman’s written testimony.
The Coalition for Responsible Home Education is a national organization founded by homeschool alumni and dedicated to raising awareness of the need for homeschooling reform, providing public policy guidance, and advocating for responsible home education practices.
Last Updated: 23 March, 2021 by Rachel Coleman
Child Abuse, Homeschooling, and the CECANF Report
Last October, sixteen-year-old Natalie Finn of West Des Moines, Iowa, died of starvation and severe abuse at the hands of her parents, who homeschooled her to conceal her abuse. After meeting with officials from Iowa’s Department of Human Services about Natalie’s death, which occurred in his district, Iowa State Senator Matt McCoy expressed a desire to prevent future such tragedies through legislative change.
In January, Sen. McCoy introduced SF 138, which would require quarterly well-checks for homeschooled children. Scott A. Woodruff, a Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) attorney, subsequently wrote a letter on behalf of HSLDA opposing this legislation.
In his letter, Woodruff misrepresents the findings of the Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities (CECANF), which released its findings early last year, and leaves out information pertinent to the wellbeing of homeschooled children.
We fully intend to hold HSLDA to Woodruff’s professed support for monitoring children with past abuse and neglect reports. The next time legislation is introduced to create a flagging system to catch cases where children are withdrawn from school to be homeschooled after a concerning history of child abuse and neglect reports, we expect HSLDA to support it.
We have responded to Woodruff’s letter in full here.
Last Updated: 26 October, 2023 by CRHE
You Can Write a Letter to the Editor!
The best research and data on homeschooling won’t affect much change if no one knows about it. That’s why we wrote tips for contacting your legislators and writing letters to the editor, so you or anyone you know can start spreading the word. We know, however, that taking that first step on your own and putting your voice out there can be intimidating–so we are happy to share our own example!
This week we sent the following letter to the editor of Business Insider, an online news provider that focuses on business and technology. As you will notice, the letter itself is brief, compared to our more extensive reaction below. Keeping this short required us to strictly prioritize; Business Insider published three different articles we felt worthy of our response, and we had a lot of evidence to dispute some of their claims. Our interaction with them is an example of how an LTE can be meaningful even if it’s not published. Editorial staff replied with a promise to update the articles with information we shared.
It is disappointing to watch Business Insider routinely publish imbalanced, inaccurate articles on homeschooling. In the February 3rd article, “One of the most pervasive stereotypes in education is no longer true,” senior innovation writer Chris Weller uncritically quotes homeschool advocate Dr. Brian Ray’s unsourced claim that homeschooled students are “doing just as well or better” than their peers. Weller also cites Richard G. Medlin’s 2013 review of the research on homeschooling and socialization despite critique by Dr. Milton Gaither, one of the most prominent names in homeschooling research, which throws into question the article’s conclusion.
In the January 23rd article, “Americans are rejecting the ‘homeschool myth,’” Weller uses Dr. Ray’s unsourced claim that homeschooling grows at a rate of 8% per year and an unsourced claim that the U.S. Census found that 2 million children were homeschooled in 2010 to justify his estimate that as many as 3.5 million children are currently homeschooled. The U.S. Census has never collected homeschooling data. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) does, but they did not release an estimate in 2010, and their 2012 estimate is both lower—1.77 million—and points to a smaller growth rate. Weller follows with an unsourced claim that homeschooled children score better than their peers, but does not address testing data that finds homeschooled students less proficient than their peers in math.
This is not the first time we have felt compelled to correct misleading claims about homeschooling made by Weller in Business Insider. Last summer we published a thorough critique of his August 20th article, “Why Homeschooling Is the Smartest Way to Teach Kids in the 21st Century.” That article, like these, was rife with misinformation. As we noted then, irresponsible reporting on homeschooling benefits no one. Parents need accurate information to make informed choices for their children.
Rachel Coleman
Executive Director
Coalition for Responsible Home Education
As is common when writing letters to the editor, space did not permit us to flesh out our concerns as fully as we might have liked. If you are trying to formulate your own LTE, you might note the difference between all the information we had available, the bulk of which we outline below, and what we chose to include in our letter above.
We noted in our LTE that Dr. Milton Gaither has critiqued Richard G. Medlin’s review of the research on socialization; Weller did not mention that Medlin’s review had been questioned by other scholars. We did not have room, however, to include quotes from Gaither’s review, in which he wrote that Medlin left out “a lot of important work,” was not explicit enough about which of the studies he cited “were using shoddy methodology,” and failed to include “one of the most important studies ever of homeschooling,” the 2011 Cardus Education Survey. Because we did not have space to outline Gaither’s specific concerns with Medlin’s review, we simply stated Gaither’s credentials and included a link to his critique.
We also did not have room to provide specific details regarding the homeschool growth rate. The estimates the NCES released for 2007 and 2012 would suggest an average growth rate of 3.3% per year during this period. (The NCES conducted its surveys again in 2016, but that data has yet to be released.) Had we had more room, we could also have noted that there is some indication homeschooling may be on the decline in certain states. The International Center for Home Education Research reported in fall 2016 that of 9 states that release data on homeschool enrollments, 6 reported an increase and 3 reported a decrease. When Business Insider responded to our LTE expressing interest in amending their articles, they asked for this additional information on the homeschool growth rate. This may happen to you as well, so it is a good idea to make sure you have data and links on hand to provide if asked.
In addition to arguing that homeschooled students do better academically than their peers, Weller also claimed that homeschool graduates perform better in college than graduates of other educational methods. We did not have space to address this. If we had, we could have pointed out that Weller cited a 2009 study of a private research university but did not mention that only 1% of students at this university were homeschooled, compared with 3% of students overall. This creates an effect calling “creaming”, where only the best and the brightest of a given group are representing the group, giving the impression that all members of the group do as well as these non-randomly-selected members do.
Weller also did not mention that the 2011 Cardus Education Survey found that formerly homeschooled adults were less likely to attend college and reported lower SAT scores than their peers, or evidence that homeschooled students may under-attend college. He similarly did not mention research which suggests that homeschooled students who attend college are less likely to major in STEM fields, likely the result of a well-documented homeschool math gap that leaves many students with a deficient grounding in math and related fields.
Your LTE does not need to be as data-driven as ours was. You may find it more natural to speak from your experiences, and those of your friends. Regardless of exactly what you say or how you say it, it’s important that you use your voice and have your message heard. Your opinion, your experiences, and your view matter. Whether you plan to center experiences or research, we have resources with guidance and talking points to help you get you started. If you can’t find particular data you’re looking for, get a letter published, or receive a response from your paper that you’d like to share, please feel free to contact us!