March 25, 2025
Dear editor;
Homeschooling is on the rise and some school administrators are very concerned that they’re losing tax resources with declining enrollment numbers.
Representative Terra Costa Howard (D-Lombard) is targeting homeschooling families with HB 2827, claiming that she wants to protect children from parents “who don’t do it the right way….”
During a committee hearing last week, she argued that government officials “have a duty to ensure that children actually receive an education and that they don’t fall through the cracks of our system.”
Yet, according to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), less than 32 percent of high school seniors can read and less than 27 percent are proficient in Math.
ISBE reports an 88 percent graduation rate, which means that more than 228,000 students are being left behind.
Where is the concern about these students who are “falling through the cracks?”
Furthermore, students’ physical wellbeing is at risk. A 2018 Chicago Tribune investigation revealed over 500 cases of sexual abuse and rape by Chicago Public School staff against students over a decade, exposing grave deficiencies in hiring, training, reporting, and oversight.
This led to the creation of the Sexual Allegations Unit (SAU), which has reported 446 complaints of sexual misconduct in 2023, and 469 new complaints of adult-on-student abuse in 2024.
We know that these serious problems are not limited to Chicago schools. Public school systems across the state are failing in their responsibilities of educating and protecting children in their care.
Representative Howard doesn’t seem to understand that bureaucrats have proven themselves to be disqualified from doing the job that she thinks they can do.
Moreover: Why diminish educational freedom in Illinois? Why usurp parental rights just to expand failing government authority over more students? Why try to fix something that doesn’t need fixing?
HB 2827 would punish families who do not file a declaration form with up to 30 days in prison and a $500 fine. This is alarming. Why would she separate families over a missing document?
This bill is unwarranted. Decades of homeschooling success demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt that HB 2827 is a solution in search of a problem.
It is foolish to criminalize some of the best people in the state: Loving parents who want to educate, nurture and equip their children to be future productive members of society.
David E. Smith, executive director, Illinois Family Institute, Tinley Park