Post date: May 16, 2019 2:44:31 AM
It’s been a busy legislative season. We’ve had to watch or intervene in many bills. I’ve highlighted the two bills that are still of concern to us.
HB0026 – A reincarnation of the 2017 bill, HB0230, which we fought and defeated at the time. This year, sponsor Andre Thapedi has inserted most of the wording in the amendment that we had proposed to him. We have decided that the bill is no longer harmful to homeschoolers, but have continued to watch it. It has passed in the House and is now in the Higher Education Committee Senate.
SB2075 – This bill lowers the compulsory school age from 6 to 5. We have opposed it vigorously. In spite of the fact that we had thousands of opponents sign witness slips, the Senate passed it. It is now in the Elementary and Secondary Education: School Curriculum and Policies Committee in the House. This bill has been defeated. It will not pass this year.
HB0181 – would have made “parental bullying” a petty offense. This might have been applied to any parent seen as disciplining in any way offensive to the observer, and could have put all parents in an impossible situation. We did not need to oppose this bill because it was defeated by other organizations. It has been tabled.
HB0330 – This bill would have made it illegal for any public or private school to belong to any athletic association other than the one created by this bill. We opposed it. Our lobbyist spoke with the sponsor, who promised he did not intend to hurt homeschoolers with it. The bill has re-referred to the Rules Committee, and we are assuming it is dead.
HB3560 – This bill would have called for a visit from CPS/DCFS to every single homeschooler in the state, as soon as they registered their intention to homeschool. It also contained other annual reporting requirements. Our lobbyist (as well as representatives from other organizations) spoke to the sponsor, who then tabled the bill.
SB1478 – This bill would have raised the compulsory age from 17 to 18. We opposed it, but decided that our efforts were better spent on SB2075. SB1478 was re-referred to the Assignments committee, so we believe it is dead for this season.
HB1918 – This bill is meant to allow homeschoolers to write work permits for their own children, but contains the word “home-school” which would hurt our status as private schools in Illinois. We oppose this bill, and have contacted the sponsor in the House, and now, since it passed in the House, the sponsor in the Senate. We suggested that they either table the bill, or insert an amendment to change the wording. We have now been told that the bill will not be passed this year.
Respectfully,
Ad Hoc Committee for Illinois Legal and Legislative Matters