DEMOCRAT: INVESTIGATE EVERY HOMESCHOOL PARENT

A Democratic state senator in Ohio has proposed a law that would require every homeschooling parent to be investigated and approved by social services agencies before they would be allowed to teach their own children.
The Home School Legal Defense Association calls the bill sponsored by Sen. Capri Cafaro the “worst-ever homeschool law proposed.”

“SB 248 is breathtakingly onerous in its scope,” says a report by Michael Donnelly, an attorney with the world’s premiere homeschool advocacy organization. “It requires all parents who homeschool to undergo a social services investigation, which would ultimately determine if homeschooling would be permitted.”
Under the proposed law, social workers would interview parents and children separately, conduct background checks and determine whether or not homeschooling is recommended.
If homeschooling is not recommended, Donnelly explained, parents would have to submit to an “intervention” before further consideration of their request to homeschool.

The proposal was offered as a response to the child-abuse death of Teddy Foltz-Tedesco, 14, who reportedly had been abused for years by his mother’s boyfriend, Zaryl Bush
HSLDA argued the tragic case was not about homeschooling, noting the abuse began while the boy was in public school.
“HSLDA condemns child abuse and is saddened by Teddy’s death,” the organization said in a statement. “HSLDA supports the prosecution of child abusers like Bush and the improvement of systems that prevent child abuse. However, this proposed law does not actually address the problems that led to Teddy’s death and instead unfairly targets homeschooling.”
HSLDA said the 14-year-old had been abused for years, and after teachers reported the abuse to authorities, the mother withdrew the boy from public school to homeschool him.
Neighbors, friends, family, police, teachers and others all knew Teddy was being abused, HSLDA said.
“Finally, Bush beat Teddy so severely that he later died of his injuries. Bush and Teddy’s mother now are in prison,” the group said.
“Teddy Foltz-Tedesco was killed because those responsible for protecting him did not step in as the law or common sense would have dictated. Why?” HSLDA said in a statement. “Although news reports indicate that abuse had been reported for years prior to Teddy’s death, it does not appear that any serious intervention was made by government authorities charged with investigating such allegations.
“Why was not enough done to protect Teddy from known abuse?”
Subjecting hardworking parents who want to invest their time and money in their own children’s education is not the way to address such problems, HSLDA argued.
“Even if, as SB 248 would require, his mother had sought social service’s approval to homeschool and was denied, he still would have been at home subject to abuse after school. Regardless of where he went to school, Teddy was left by authorities in a home where they knew abuse was occurring. Clearly, SB 248 would not have saved Teddy,” the organization said.


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