Child advocacy group opposes Utah’s proposed child safety rollbacks
[Washington, DC]: The Coalition for Responsible Home Education (CRHE), the only national nonprofit advocating for homeschooled children, strongly opposes Utah HB 0209, a bill that would allow convicted child abusers to homeschool.
Currently, parents who homeschool in Utah must give their local school district an affidavit with four pieces of information:
- The school district where they live
- A statement claiming their child will be homeschooled
- A statement claiming parental responsibility for educating their homeschooled child
- A statement claiming that they have not been convicted of certain violent crimes against children
If passed, HB 0209 would remove the requirement for parents to attest to criminal background history, thereby allowing convicted abusers to homeschool without any restrictions.
“HB 0209 blatantly disregards child safety,” said CRHE executive director Angela Grimberg. “If you have been convicted of a crime that would prevent you from teaching children in a public school, then you should not be allowed to homeschool children, either. Homeschooled children deserve to learn from educators who have been vetted for safety. We urge Utah lawmakers to protect children from convicted abusers by voting no on HB 0209.”
Utah is one of just three states with laws that bar from homeschooling parents convicted of child abuse, sexual offenses, or other crimes that would disqualify them from employment as a school teacher. In a 2024 report for Homeschooling’s Invisible Children, the world’s only dataset of extreme abuse and neglect cases in homeschool settings, CRHE researchers found a number of cases in which caregivers who had been convicted of crimes against children were allowed to homeschool.
In July 2024, Gavin Peterson, a 12-year-old homeschooled child in West Haven, died from the effectives of chronic, systematic abuse allegedly committed by his family. Despite multiple reports of abuse to social services from school employees, Gavin was withdrawn from school to be homeschooled in 2023.
“Gavin Peterson’s death should have been a wake-up call for Utah legislators to strengthen protections for homeschooled children, not destroy them,” said Grimberg. “We at CRHE ask Utah residents to join us in rejecting this bill and supporting homeschooled children’s right to safety.”
Utah HB 0209 Would Leave Homeschooled Children Vulnerable to Predators
Child advocacy group opposes Utah’s proposed child safety rollbacks
[Washington, DC]: The Coalition for Responsible Home Education (CRHE), the only national nonprofit advocating for homeschooled children, strongly opposes Utah HB 0209, a bill that would allow convicted child abusers to homeschool.
Currently, parents who homeschool in Utah must give their local school district an affidavit with four pieces of information:
If passed, HB 0209 would remove the requirement for parents to attest to criminal background history, thereby allowing convicted abusers to homeschool without any restrictions.
“HB 0209 blatantly disregards child safety,” said CRHE executive director Angela Grimberg. “If you have been convicted of a crime that would prevent you from teaching children in a public school, then you should not be allowed to homeschool children, either. Homeschooled children deserve to learn from educators who have been vetted for safety. We urge Utah lawmakers to protect children from convicted abusers by voting no on HB 0209.”
Utah is one of just three states with laws that bar from homeschooling parents convicted of child abuse, sexual offenses, or other crimes that would disqualify them from employment as a school teacher. In a 2024 report for Homeschooling’s Invisible Children, the world’s only dataset of extreme abuse and neglect cases in homeschool settings, CRHE researchers found a number of cases in which caregivers who had been convicted of crimes against children were allowed to homeschool.
In July 2024, Gavin Peterson, a 12-year-old homeschooled child in West Haven, died from the effectives of chronic, systematic abuse allegedly committed by his family. Despite multiple reports of abuse to social services from school employees, Gavin was withdrawn from school to be homeschooled in 2023.
“Gavin Peterson’s death should have been a wake-up call for Utah legislators to strengthen protections for homeschooled children, not destroy them,” said Grimberg. “We at CRHE ask Utah residents to join us in rejecting this bill and supporting homeschooled children’s right to safety.”