Sunday, February 20, 2011

Illinois Attack On Home Schooling Tabled

Home schooled until high school,
former OU basketball star
Blake Griffin is now an
NBA superstar in Los Angeles
An Illinois bill that would have required home schooling families to register with the state Board of Education has been tabled, but activists tell FoxNews.com the fight is far from over.

Curt Mercadante, chairman of the Illinois Homeschool PAC, said he remains extremely concerned that the idea will reappear in some form.

The bill was tabled by Illinois state Sen. Edward Maloney, a Democrat, on Thursday following intense opposition.

"Nothing is ever dead in Springfield," Mercadante told FoxNews.com. "The goal is not to stop Senate Bill 136. The goal is to stop mandatory home schooling registration from ever being considered -- and to protect home schooling rights overall."

Mercadante said roughly 4,000 people flooded the Illinois capital building in Springfield on Tuesday for an initial hearing for the bill.

Among other proposals, Mercadante said the possibility of mandatory home visits by state officials to home schooling families was considered.

"The effort of home schooling registration by the state is a government 'solution' for a problem that doesn't exist," he said. "Study after study shows that home-schoolers consistently outperform the rest of the country in basic skill sets."

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