For Immediate Release: Florida Child’s Death Related to Lack of Oversight for Homeschooling
Canton, Ma., 10/20/15—On Sunday, October 18th, eleven-year-old Janiya Thomas’s body was found in her mother’s freezer. Janiya was last seen in August of 2014, but her absence was not noted until this past month, when child welfare officials investigating a complaint of child abuse against another child in the household began to wonder about Janiya’s whereabouts. Janiya’s absence was not noticed earlier because she, unlike her four siblings, was homeschooled. “We need to do more to protect children like Janiya,” said Rachel Coleman, a homeschool graduate and the executive director of the Coalition for Responsible Home Education.
In the days since the discovery of Janiya’s body, many have wondered how her absence went unnoticed for as long as it did. Unfortunately, Janiya’s case is not unique. Rather, it is one of many known and documented abuse cases where abusive parents have used homeschooling to hide and perpetuate their abuse. Last March, the bodies of two homeschooled children, Stoni Blair and Stephen Berry, were found in a Detroit freezer. This is not the first time that homeschooling has been used to cover up abuse in Florida, either. In 1995, Lucas Ciambrone, a seven-year-old homeschooled in Janiya’s native Manatee County, was tortured to death by his parents, and in 1997 the Ludwig sisters were removed from their home after investigators discovered that they had been beaten and kept in cages.
“While abuse may occur anywhere, homeschooling appears to be a common factor in cases of severe abuse or child torture,” said Coleman. Barbara Knox, a pediatrician at the University of Wisconsin who specializes in child abuse, conducted a study on child torture in 2014. She found that nearly half of the 38 cases of child torture she and her colleagues examined involved homeschooling. “This is a pattern all of us see over and over and over again,” Knox noted. Similarly, preliminary data on child fatalities collected by CRHE indicates that the rate of child fatality may be higher among homeschooled students than among other children. “We support homeschooling as an educational option and do not believe that homeschooling makes parents abusive,” said Coleman. “But we absolutely must find ways to prevent child abusers from hiding behind lax homeschool laws.”
According to news reports, Janiya’s mother filed homeschooling paperwork with the local school district in August 2013. When her mother missed the evaluation deadline the following summer, the school district sent her a notice. At this point, officials suspect that Janiya’s mother told the school district that Janiya had moved out of state. This same thing happened to Timothy Boss, a ten-year-old homeschooled boy killed by his parents in Iowa in 2000. “Ordinarily, when a student moves to another state their new school contacts their old school for their records,” Coleman said. “When homeschooling is involved, this often doesn’t happen, creating space for children to fall through the cracks and disappear.”
Other gaps in Florida’s oversight of homeschooling likely also contributed to Janiya’s death. Florida law allows parents to forgo annual assessments by enrolling their children in a private “umbrella” school, which may consist of as little as filling out an online enrollment form. John and Linda Dollar, who tortured and starved their five adopted children, homeschooled through one such school. There are other deficiencies as well. In 1990, Florida’s homeschool lobby defeated a bill that would have prevented registered child abusers from homeschooling, and Florida does not have a system for flagging cases where children with a concerning history of social services reports are removed from school to be homeschooled—a provision that might have helped Janiya. “We must do better by these children,” said Coleman. “Janiya’s name should be a call for change.”
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
Statement Opposing New York Assembly Bill 9091 and Senate Bill 4788
For Immediate Release: Removing Protections Undermines Homeschooled Children’s Interests
Canton, Ma., 2/24/2016—New York Assembly Bill 9091 and Senate Bill 4788 would weaken the state’s oversight of homeschooling by allowing homeschool parents to administer their children’s standardized tests themselves, removing quarterly reports, and making it more difficult for underperforming students to find help. “New York does more than any other state to protect homeschooled children’s interests and should be commended for their dedication to these children and their education,” said Rachel Coleman, executive director of the Coalition for Responsible Home Education, an organization founded by homeschool alumni to advocate for homeschooled children’s interests. “This legislation would remove a layer of that protection and leave New York’s children at greater risk of educational neglect.”
In New York state, homeschooling takes place under Education Law sections 3204(1) and (2), which allow children to be educated “elsewhere” than a public school if they receive instruction that is “substantially equivalent” to that provided in the public schools. Using this statute as its authority, the New York State Board of Regents created Section 100.10 of the Regulations of the Commissioner, which has governed homeschooling since 1988, with updates and adjustments over time. Assembly Bill 9091 and Senate Bill 4788 are intended to take oversight of homeschooling out of the hands of the Board of Regents by turning Section 100.10 into settled law, making requirements harder to change and removing several key provisions. “Section 100.10 has served the children of New York state well for eighteen years,” said Coleman. “There’s no reason to change what isn’t broken.”
Most significantly, Assembly Bill 9091 and Senate Bill 4788 would allow homeschool parents to administer their child’s standardized assessments. While Section 100.10 requires that the individual administering students’ yearly norm-referenced achievement tests be approved by the superintendent, this new legislation would allow anyone who meets the test publisher’s criteria to administer the test, including the child’s parents. There are numerous testing services that cater to homeschooling parents and consider the parent qualified to administer their students’ tests. “Allowing parents to administer their child’s standardized assessments themselves, in their own homes, creates conditions ripe for cheating,” said Coleman. “We know that abuses occur in states that allow parents to administer their child’s standardized assessments; I have spoken personally with homeschool alumni whose parents gave them help during the test, gave them extra time, or changed their answers.”
Assembly Bill 9091 and Senate Bill 4788 would also remove the quarterly report requirement. Under Section 100.10, parents must submit a report each quarter outlining the material covered and providing letter grades or a written evaluation of the child’s progress. Under the proposed legislation, this requirement would disappear. “The quarterly report ensures that parents take time to regularly reflect on their child’s progress,” said Coleman. “I have spoken with numerous alumni in states with lower levels of oversight who feel that they would have received a better education if their parents had been subject to more accountability.”
Assembly Bill 9091 and Senate Bill 4788 would lower the threshold for adequate academic performance from the 33rd percentile to the 23rd percentile, making it harder for underperforming children to receive the remediation they need. At the same time, it would eliminate a provision allowing the superintendent to conduct home visits when a homeschool family is on probation and there is reason to believe the family is “in substantial noncompliance.” When a child’s annual assessment shows inadequate progress, the home education program is put on probation and the parent must create a remediation plan to be approved by the school district. After that the school district has only the parent’s word that the provisions of the remediation plan are being carried out. “We have spoken with numerous individuals concerned about a younger sibling, nephew, or grandchild who is receiving an inadequate and neglectful homeschool education,” said Coleman. “It is important to ensure that the superintendent has a way to ascertain whether a child’s remediation plan is being implemented should there be reason to believe otherwise.”
“New York state has long had some of the most comprehensive protections for homeschooled children in the country,” said Coleman. “I urge the legislature to maintain this record.”
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. https://responsiblehomeschooling.org
Last Updated: 26 October, 2023 by CRHE
Statement Supporting Kentucky House Bill 76
For Immediate Release: Access to Public School Athletics Improves Homeschool Outcomes
Canton, Ma., 2/18/16—Currently, the Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) requires student athletes to be “full time” students at the school they represent, thus barring homeschooled students from participating in athletics in their local public schools. This year, House Bill 76 could change that. “Granting homeschooled students access to public school extracurriculars is one of the most important ways lawmakers can support homeschooled students,” said Rachel Coleman, executive director of the alumni-run Coalition for Responsible Home Education.
Participation in public school athletics and other extracurriculars has been found to have pronounced benefits for children’s socialization, self-esteem, and leadership skills across the board. A recent study of homeschool alumni in particular found that those who participated in public school athletics rated their homeschooling experience more highly than did other respondents. Further, researcher Joseph Richard Barno found that college admissions officers weighted extracurriculars more heavily for homeschool graduates than for traditionally-schooled graduates, suggesting that extracurricular participation is especially important for homeschooled students who are college-bound. “Excluding homeschooled children from this important aspect of physical and personal development puts them at a profound disadvantage with respect to their peers,” Coleman said.
Kentucky’s House Bill 76 is part of an ongoing trend toward increasing homeschooled students’ access to extracurriculars in their local public schools. Over half of all states provide homeschooled students some form of participation in athletics or other extracurriculars through their local public schools, and that number is growing. Many states also allow homeschooled students to take individual courses at their local public schools. In fact, in 2007, the most recent year for which we have data, 16% of homeschooled students were enrolled in school part time. “Cooperation between homeschoolers and local school districts benefits homeschooled students,” said Coleman. “When public schools provide homeschooled students with access to curricular and extracurricular activities, they foster a positive relationship between public schools and homeschool families.”
Critics argue that granting homeschooled students access to public school athletics creates problems in fairness and access for other students. However, the Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers conducted a 2012 survey of state athletics associations which found that granting homeschooled students access to public school athletics has not caused problems in those states that have already done so. Critics also point to the variety of community athletic leagues available to younger children, but these options tend to narrow as children grow older, forcing parents to choose between homeschooling and athletic participation. “The evidence is clear that granting homeschooled children access to public school athletics improves homeschool outcomes,” said Coleman. “It’s time to let these children play.”
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
2016 Statement Supporting New York Assembly Bill 3678 and Senate Bill 2175
For Immediate Release: Access to Public School Athletics Improves Homeschool Outcomes
Canton, Ma., 2/16/16—Last year, two bills before the state legislature would have opened public school athletics to participation by homeschooled students. These bills, Assembly Bill 3678 and Senate Bill 2175, which have been carried over into the 2016 legislative session, would prohibit school districts from barring homeschoolers from interscholastic sports and thus requiring the New York State Public High School Athletic Association to open the door to these students. “Our research is clear—access to public school extracurriculars offers tangible benefits to homeschooled students,” said Rachel Coleman, executive director of the alumni-run Coalition for Responsible Home Education. “It’s time to give New York’s homeschooled students access to public school athletics.”
Participation in public school athletics and other extracurriculars has been found to have pronounced benefits for children’s socialization, self-esteem, and leadership skills across the board. A recent study of homeschool alumni in particular found that those who participated in public school athletics rated their homeschooling experience more highly than did other respondents. Further, researcher Joseph Richard Barno found that college admissions officers weighted extracurriculars more heavily for homeschool graduates than for traditionally-schooled graduates, suggesting that extracurricular participation is especially important for homeschooled students who are college-bound. “Excluding homeschooled children from this important aspect of physical and personal development puts them at a profound disadvantage with respect to their peers,” Coleman said.
New York’s Assembly Bill 3678 and Senate Bill 2175 are part of an ongoing trend toward increasing homeschooled students’ access to extracurriculars in their local public schools. Over half of all states provide homeschooled students some form of participation in athletics or other extracurriculars through their local public schools, and that number is growing. Many states also allow homeschooled students to take individual courses at their local public schools. In fact, in 2007, the most recent year for which we have data, 16% of homeschooled students were enrolled in school part time. “Cooperation between homeschoolers and local school districts benefits homeschooled students,” said Coleman. “When public schools provide homeschooled students with access to curricular and extracurricular activities, they foster a positive relationship between public schools and homeschool families.”
Homeschoolers in New York, including LEAH, the largest statewide homeschool organization, supported Assembly Bill 3678 and Senate Bill 2175 during the 2015 legislative session. Gina Varrichio, a homeschooling mother, created a website, Let Homeschoolers Play, and launched a petition to bring the bills to the floor. “The overarching aim of our public school system should be to educate the minds, exercise the bodies, and open the hearts of our children and our communities,” wrote Varrichio. “The goal should be one of supporting as many children as we can in this mission, not the fewest we’re legally allowed.”
Critics argue that granting homeschooled students access to public school athletics creates problems in fairness and access for other students. However, the Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers conducted a 2012 survey of state athletics associations which found that granting homeschooled students access to public school athletics has not caused problems in those states that have already done so. Critics also point to the variety of community athletic leagues available to younger children, but these options tend to narrow as children grow older, forcing parents to choose between homeschooling and athletic participation. “The evidence is clear that granting homeschooled children access to public school athletics improves homeschool outcomes,” said Coleman. “It’s time to let these children play.”
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
Statement Supporting West Virginia House Bill 2749
For Immediate Release: Access to Public School Athletics Improves Homeschool Outcomes
Canton, Ma., 2/16/16—Last year, a bill to allow homeschooled students to participate in West Virginia public school athletics programs died in committee. This year, West Virginia lawmakers are trying again. House Bill 2749 would require the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission to consider homeschooled children eligible for participation in public school athletics programs at the public school they are zoned for. “Our research is clear—access to public school extracurriculars offers tangible benefits to homeschooled students,” said Rachel Coleman, executive director of the alumni-run Coalition for Responsible Home Education. “It’s time to give West Virginia’s homeschooled students access to public school athletics.”
Participation in public school athletics and other extracurriculars has been found to have pronounced benefits for children’s socialization, self-esteem, and leadership skills across the board. A recent study of homeschool alumni in particular found that those who participated in public school athletics rated their homeschooling experience more highly than did other respondents. Further, researcher Joseph Richard Barno found that college admissions officers weighted extracurriculars more heavily for homeschool graduates than for traditionally-schooled graduates, suggesting that extracurricular participation is especially important for homeschooled students who are college-bound. “Excluding homeschooled children from this important aspect of physical and personal development puts them at a profound disadvantage with respect to their peers,” Coleman said.
West Virginia’s House Bill 2749 is part of an ongoing trend toward increasing homeschooled students’ access to extracurriculars in their local public schools. Over half of all states provide homeschooled students some form of participation in athletics or other extracurriculars through their local public schools, and that number is growing. Many states also allow homeschooled students to take individual courses at their local public schools. In fact, in 2007, the most recent year for which we have data, 16% of homeschooled students were enrolled in school part time. “Cooperation between homeschoolers and local school districts benefits homeschooled students,” said Coleman. “When public schools provide homeschooled students with access to curricular and extracurricular activities, they foster a positive relationship between public schools and homeschool families.”
Critics argue that granting homeschooled students access to public school athletics creates problems in fairness and access for other students. However, the Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers conducted a 2012 survey of state athletics associations which found that granting homeschooled students access to public school athletics has not caused problems in those states that have already done so. Critics also point to the variety of community athletic leagues available to younger children, but these options tend to narrow as children grow older, forcing parents to choose between homeschooling and athletic participation. “The evidence is clear that granting homeschooled children access to public school athletics improves homeschool outcomes,” said Coleman. “It’s time to let these children play.”
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
Statement Supporting Virginia Senate Bill 612 and House Bill 131
For Immediate Release: Access to Public School Athletics Improves Homeschool Outcomes
Canton, Ma., 2/16/16—Last year House Bill 1626, which would have granted homeschooled students access to public school athletics, passed the House (57-41) and the Senate (22-13) only to be vetoed by Governor McAuliffe. This year the state’s homeschoolers and their supporters are trying again. Senate Bill 612 and House Bill 131 would prohibit public schools from barring homeschooled students from their athletic activities and thus require the Virginia High School League (VHSL) to change its requirement that student athletes be regular students at the school they represent. “Our research is clear—access to public school extracurriculars offers tangible benefits to homeschooled students,” said Rachel Coleman, executive director of the alumni-run Coalition for Responsible Home Education. “It’s time to give Virginia’s homeschooled students access to public school athletics.”
Participation in public school athletics and other extracurriculars has been found to have pronounced benefits for children’s socialization, self-esteem, and leadership skills across the board. A recent study of homeschool alumni in particular found that those who participated in public school athletics rated their homeschooling experience more highly than did other respondents. Further, researcher Joseph Richard Barno found that college admissions officers weighted extracurriculars more heavily for homeschool graduates than for traditionally-schooled graduates, suggesting that extracurricular participation is especially important for homeschooled students who are college-bound. “Excluding homeschooled children from this important aspect of physical and personal development puts them at a profound disadvantage with respect to their peers,” Coleman said.
Virginia’s Senate Bill 612 and House Bill 131 are part of an ongoing trend toward increasing homeschooled students’ access to extracurriculars in their local public schools. Over half of all states provide homeschooled students some form of participation in athletics or other extracurriculars through their local public schools, and that number is growing. Many states also allow homeschooled students to take individual courses at their local public schools. In fact, in 2007, the most recent year for which we have data, 16% of homeschooled students were enrolled in school part time. “Cooperation between homeschoolers and local school districts benefits homeschooled students,” said Coleman. “When public schools provide homeschooled students with access to curricular and extracurricular activities, they foster a positive relationship between public schools and homeschool families.”
The Organization of Virginia Homeschoolers has been promoting sports access bills in Virginia for several years now. In 2012, they conducted a survey of state athletics associations and found that granting homeschooled students access to public school athletics has not caused problems in those states that have already done so. The organization’s website features the stories of numerous homeschooled children who would like the chance to play, highlighting the benefit sports access would bring homeschooled children across the state. Critics of homeschool sports access point to the variety of community athletic leagues available to younger children, but these options tend to narrow as children grow older, forcing parents to choose between homeschooling and athletic participation. “The evidence is clear that granting homeschooled children access to public school athletics improves homeschool outcomes,” said Coleman. “It’s time to let these children play.”
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
Statement Opposing West Virginia’s House Bill 4175
For Immediate Release: Accountability Is Critical to Homeschool Success
Canton, Ma., 2/1/2016—Last year, West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin vetoed House Bill 2793 and Senate Bill 444, legislation that would have removed nearly all of the state’s protections for homeschooled children. This year the West Virginia legislature is renewing its deregulation push nonetheless. House Bill 4175 would weaken the state’s assessment requirement and remove other crucial safeguards for homeschooled children. “West Virginia’s existing requirements are designed for the benefit of the state’s homeschooled children,” said Rachel Coleman, executive director of the alumni-founded Coalition for Responsible Home Education. “That the legislature is again trying to remove these safeguards is a travesty.”
H.B. 4175 would require parents to submit assessments of their children’s academic progress to the local superintendent only after grades three, five, eight, and eleven, rather than annually as under the current law. While parents would still technically be required to have their students assessed annually, the legislation includes no accountability measures to ensure that assessments would take place during the years when parents are not required to submit the results. “Annual assessments are important to ensure that children have access to educational resources and to identify learning disabilities,” Coleman said. Many homeschool alumni argue that assessment requirements improve the quality of education homeschooled students receive by ensuring that their parents are motivated to provide them with a solid and well-rounded education.
Perhaps the most startling provision of H.B. 4175 is that it would allow parents to administer their children’s standardized achievement tests themselves. The current statute bars parents from administering these tests for their own children in an effort to protect against cheating, but this would change under the new legislation. The Coalition for Responsible Home Education recommends that students’ assessments be carried out by someone other than the student’s parent in order to ensure accountability. “I have spoken with homeschool alumni whose parents changed their standardized test answers, allowing their educational neglect to go unnoticed,” said Coleman. “We need standards that work for homeschooled children, not standards that open the door to fraud.”
Finally, H.B. 4175 would remove the annual notice of intent requirement and allow parents to homeschool without a high school diploma or GED. Currently, homeschool parents in West Virginia are required to submit an annual notice of intent. Under the new legislation, this notice of intent would be submitted only once, when beginning to homeschool, making it easier for school districts to lose track of homeschooled children. H.B. 4175 would also remove the current requirement that homeschooling parents have a high school diploma or GED. “Parents’ level of education has a profound affect on homeschooled children’s academic achievement,” said Coleman. A recent study of homeschool alumni found that those whose parents had graduated from high school reported far higher levels of academic preparedness across a range of subject areas than those whose parents lacked a high school diploma or GED. “This legislation would allow parents to homeschool their children for grades they never completed themselves,” Coleman added. “West Virginia’s lawmakers must do better than this.”
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
Statement Opposing South Dakota’s House Bill 1013
For Immediate Release: Assessments Are Important for Homeschooled Children’s Well-Being
Canton, Ma., 2/1/2016—With House Bill 1013, South Dakota stands poised to remove its assessment requirement for homeschooled second graders. Currently, homeschooled students are assessed during grades two, four, eight, and eleven. “Assessments are critical to homeschooled children’s wellbeing,” said Rachel Coleman, executive director of the alumni-run Coalition for Responsible Home Education. “Removing the assessment requirement for homeschooled second graders risks decreasing the quality of these students’ early education.”
Homeschooled children benefit from assessments in a number of ways. Assessments can help reveal whether children need glasses or whether they have ADHD or autism, ensuring that parents are equipped and empowered to meet their children’s needs. Assessments also ensure that homeschooled children are being provided with educational activities and resources, providing parents with accountability. Many homeschool alumni contend that assessment requirements improve the quality of education homeschooled students receive by ensuring that their parents are motivated to provide them with a solid and well-rounded education. “Accountability is important in all walks of life,” noted Coleman.
The Coalition for Responsible Home Education recommends having homeschooled students assessed annually. “Assessments help ensure that homeschooling is provided in good faith,” said Coleman. “In some cases, abusive parents take advantage of homeschooling to isolate their children and hide their abuse.” There is some research to suggest that homeschooled children may be at greater risk of severe child abuse. In a 2014 study of child torture, University of Wisconsin pediatrician Barbara Knox found that nearly half of the cases she examined involved homeschooling. “Assessments offer a general check on homeschooled children’s wellbeing,” said Coleman.
This legislative season, South Dakota lawmakers will make a choice about the state’s assessment requirement for homeschooled second graders. Their decision will effect the state’s roughly 4,000 homeschooled children. “We need policies that center on the needs of homeschooled children,” said Coleman. “We can’t afford to gamble with these children’s well-being.”
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 Rachel Coleman
Statement Regarding Adrian Jones
For Immediate Release: Kansas Child’s Death Related to Lack of Oversight for Homeschooling
Canton, Ma., 12/03/2015: On Thanksgiving day, police found the remains of a child in a barn owned by Michael and Heather Jones. It is believed that these remains belong to Adrian Jones, whom police had discovered missing the day before, and that the child was beaten to death and fed to the family’s pigs. It is unclear how long Adrian’s death would have gone unreported had police not learned of his absence while investigating a domestic violence call. “Adrian’s death is just one more example of the problems inherent to Kansas’ lax homeschooling laws,” said Rachel Coleman, executive director of the alumni-founded Coalition for Responsible Home Education.
In Kansas, homeschooling takes place under the state’s private school law, which offers virtually no oversight. Parents beginning to homeschool are required to submit paperwork establishing their home as a private school, but after the initial filing state involvement ceases. Michael and Heather Jones registered their homeschool in July 2012 under the name Jones Academy. After this, their contact with education officials likely ended. “Parents who homeschool take sole responsibility for their children’s education and wellbeing,” said Coleman. “We need to hold them accountable for that responsibility and ensure that homeschooling is not used to cover for abuse and neglect.”
Currently, Kansas has no law preventing parents who have been convicted of serious crimes from homeschooling, and no system for flagging cases where families with concerning past social services involvement begin to homeschool. Because the Joneses had prior contact with both police and social services, such protections might have helped prevent Adrian’s death. Florida is currently grappling with similar questions after the death of a young girl, Janiya Thomas, whose mother was allowed to homeschool despite having a criminal record and a concerning history of social services involvement. A bill intended to prevent deaths like Janiya’s is expected to be introduced in Florida’s next legislative term.
Adrian is not the first Kansas homeschooled child to die of child abuse, or the first Kansas homeschooled child whose parents have failed to report him missing. Nine-year-old Brian Edgar was suffocated by his parents in 2002, and 11-year-old Adam Herrman disappeared in 1999 but was not reported missing until 2008, nearly a decade later. While no body was ever found, it is believed that Herrman, who was withdrawn from school to be homeschooled after teachers reported suspicions of child abuse, was murdered by his parents. Nor is Adrian’s death the only ongoing child abuse investigation to involve a homeschool family this month. Two weeks ago in Topeka, a city councilman’s 14 homeschooled children were removed from the home due to abuse.
“While child abuse may occur anywhere, there is some reason to believe that homeschooled students may suffer severe and fatal child abuse at a higher rate than other students,” said Coleman. Barbara Knox, a pediatrician at the University of Wisconsin who specialises in child abuse, found that nearly half of the 38 cases of child torture she and her colleagues had collected for a 2014 study of child torture involved homeschooling. “This is a pattern all of us see over and over and over again,” Knox noted. Similarly, preliminary data on child fatalities collected by CRHE indicates that the rate of child fatality may be higher among homeschooled students than among other children. “It’s not that homeschooling makes parents abusive, but rather that homeschooling exacerbates risk factors that are already there,” said Coleman. “We need a system for flagging and identifying at-risk homeschooled children. We must prevent child abusers from hiding behind lax homeschool laws.”
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.https://responsiblehomeschooling.org
Last Updated: 26 October, 2023 by CRHE
Statement Regarding McIntyre v. El Paso Independent School District
For Immediate Release: Texas School Districts Must Be Permitted to Protect Homeschooled Children’s Right to an Education
Canton, Ma., 11/03/2015 — Yesterday the Texas Supreme Court heard McIntyre v. El Paso Independent School District, a case centered around what authority, if any, Texas school districts have to ensure that homeschooled students are being educated. The case began in 2008, when Laura and Michael McIntyre’s then-17-year-old daughter ran away from home in order to attend public school and the children’s grandparents made a report to the school district stating that they had never seen their grandchildren doing schoolwork.
Under Texas law, homeschools operate as individual private schools. Parents are not required to provide notice of homeschooling or to submit any evidence that they are educating their children. While parents are required to provide instruction in good citizenship, math, reading, spelling, and grammar, there is no assessment mechanism to ensure that this instruction is being provided. “Texas’ homeschool law offers some of the fewest protections for homeschooled children in the country,” said Rachel Coleman, a homeschool alumna and the executive director of the Coalition for Responsible Home Education. “School districts aren’t given a lot of clarity or direction when it comes to safeguarding homeschooled children’s right to an education.”
When the county truancy officer visited the McIntyres, the couple refused to show him any evidence that they were educating their children. Based on this and on statements made by the children’s grandparents and the couple’s then-17-year-old daughter, the officer brought truancy charges against the McIntyres. When the charges were later dropped, the McIntyres sued the school district, claiming that the district had violated their fundamental liberty interest to direct their children’s education without any oversight from the state.
While the questions put to the Supreme Court also involve some technical legal issues, the central question remains the same—how much authority does the school district have to ensure that homeschooled children are being educated? The Coalition for Responsible Home Education recommends annual assessment requirements to ensure that instruction is being provided, and supports school districts’ ability to act on tips of educational neglect in states that lack such oversight. “Parents have many options for how to educate their children, but they don’t get to choose whether to educate their children,” said Coleman. “School districts should continue their vital role in protecting all children’s rights to be educated.”
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. https://responsiblehomeschooling.org
Last Updated: 26 October, 2023 by CRHE
Statement Regarding Janiya Thomas
For Immediate Release: Florida Child’s Death Related to Lack of Oversight for Homeschooling
Canton, Ma., 10/20/15—On Sunday, October 18th, eleven-year-old Janiya Thomas’s body was found in her mother’s freezer. Janiya was last seen in August of 2014, but her absence was not noted until this past month, when child welfare officials investigating a complaint of child abuse against another child in the household began to wonder about Janiya’s whereabouts. Janiya’s absence was not noticed earlier because she, unlike her four siblings, was homeschooled. “We need to do more to protect children like Janiya,” said Rachel Coleman, a homeschool graduate and the executive director of the Coalition for Responsible Home Education.
In the days since the discovery of Janiya’s body, many have wondered how her absence went unnoticed for as long as it did. Unfortunately, Janiya’s case is not unique. Rather, it is one of many known and documented abuse cases where abusive parents have used homeschooling to hide and perpetuate their abuse. Last March, the bodies of two homeschooled children, Stoni Blair and Stephen Berry, were found in a Detroit freezer. This is not the first time that homeschooling has been used to cover up abuse in Florida, either. In 1995, Lucas Ciambrone, a seven-year-old homeschooled in Janiya’s native Manatee County, was tortured to death by his parents, and in 1997 the Ludwig sisters were removed from their home after investigators discovered that they had been beaten and kept in cages.
“While abuse may occur anywhere, homeschooling appears to be a common factor in cases of severe abuse or child torture,” said Coleman. Barbara Knox, a pediatrician at the University of Wisconsin who specializes in child abuse, conducted a study on child torture in 2014. She found that nearly half of the 38 cases of child torture she and her colleagues examined involved homeschooling. “This is a pattern all of us see over and over and over again,” Knox noted. Similarly, preliminary data on child fatalities collected by CRHE indicates that the rate of child fatality may be higher among homeschooled students than among other children. “We support homeschooling as an educational option and do not believe that homeschooling makes parents abusive,” said Coleman. “But we absolutely must find ways to prevent child abusers from hiding behind lax homeschool laws.”
According to news reports, Janiya’s mother filed homeschooling paperwork with the local school district in August 2013. When her mother missed the evaluation deadline the following summer, the school district sent her a notice. At this point, officials suspect that Janiya’s mother told the school district that Janiya had moved out of state. This same thing happened to Timothy Boss, a ten-year-old homeschooled boy killed by his parents in Iowa in 2000. “Ordinarily, when a student moves to another state their new school contacts their old school for their records,” Coleman said. “When homeschooling is involved, this often doesn’t happen, creating space for children to fall through the cracks and disappear.”
Other gaps in Florida’s oversight of homeschooling likely also contributed to Janiya’s death. Florida law allows parents to forgo annual assessments by enrolling their children in a private “umbrella” school, which may consist of as little as filling out an online enrollment form. John and Linda Dollar, who tortured and starved their five adopted children, homeschooled through one such school. There are other deficiencies as well. In 1990, Florida’s homeschool lobby defeated a bill that would have prevented registered child abusers from homeschooling, and Florida does not have a system for flagging cases where children with a concerning history of social services reports are removed from school to be homeschooled—a provision that might have helped Janiya. “We must do better by these children,” said Coleman. “Janiya’s name should be a call for change.”
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.