Democratic state lawmakers are making another attack on parents’ rights and educational choice in Illinois. A bill would require homeschooling parents to file annual reports to avoid truancy charges, be credentialed and have their curriculum reviewed.
A bill filed by Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly would attack parental rights and educational choice in Illinois, seeking to undermine 75 years of homeschooling freedoms granted by the Illinois Supreme Court in People v. Levison.
It would make Illinois the first state in the nation to increase restrictions on parents’ freedom to educate their own children. It would also make it easier to create additional restrictions on homeschooling.
Illinois already made history in 2023 when it became the first state to remove a private school choice program for 15,000 low-income students and limit parents’ educational options. It did so after intense pressure from teachers unions, which have put $20 million into campaigns since 2010, including funding 4 in 5 lawmakers as of 2023.
House Bill 2827 was filed by state Rep. Terra Costa Howard, D-Lombard, and has been co-sponsored by eight other Democratic members of the House as of Feb. 18. Teachers unions have invested over $2 millionin the nine sponsors’ campaigns.
