B.Amedee, Rep. Louisiana: "God gave the responsibility to raise children to parents"
According to the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI), there were approximately 3.7 million homeschooled students in the U.S. during the 2020-2021 school year. This number represents about 6.73% of all school-age children (K-12) in the country. There are different debates on homeschooling, mainly its efficiency ane the issue of the legal and pedagogical framework.Beryl Amedee, a Louisiana State Representative, drafted a bill last year aimed at eliminating the state's approval of homeschool curricula, which would leave only "nonapproved, nonpublic" programs.
Currently, in Louisiana, parents who wish to homeschool their children must inform the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) when their child enrolls in a home-study program. They can choose a state-approved home study program or select a curriculum of their choice. In 5rEPUBLIVA either case, homeschooled students receive a diploma equivalent to that of private schools, rather than the state-recognized diploma awarded by public high schools.
The drafted bill was widely discussed and amended; however, it ultimately failed to pass, with 43 votes in favor, 51 against, and 11 members absent. Beryl Amedee has expressed her vision for homeschooling, stating that it "should be" as envisioned.
"I believe Louisiana's homeschool laws should become less stringent. Under current law, parents have two options. They can either ask the state's permission to teach their own children or they can simply notify the state that they will be teaching their own children. There is a paragraph in the article you sent that does not accurately describe homeschooling.
QUOTE FROM HOMESCHOOLING ENGLISH - Éditeur - Webador
"Homeschooling is a diverse educational option that encompasses tutoring and e-learning. It is not solely the responsibility of parents; States play a crucial role in ensuring the quality of education. They oversee the curriculum, conduct standardized tests to assess students' knowledge, and can revoke authorization if certain standards are not met."
Beryl AMEDEE
That might be an accurate description of homeschooling somewhere, but I do not agree that it describes homeschooling as it SHOULD be. Homeschooling should be parent provided, parent directed, home based discipleship. For the purposes of setting a definition in state law, when I drafted a bill last year, we chose to define a homeschool as "a private course of instruction for a child directed by the child's parent through which a student may earn a high school diploma."
(https://legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1366824, see page 4) This definition is broad enough to encompass parental options including a parent teaching their own child, a parent hiring a tutor or enrolling the child in a private program whether virtual or in person, or any combination of such options.
By specifying that the course of instruction may result in the earning of a high school diploma, it is clear that not every program offered outside of
a government school or private school can be recognized as a homeschool. Homeschooling is the sole responsibility of the parent, not the government.
The parent is responsible for providing an education of quality, not the state. The state's role in home education should be miniscule to non-existent. The parent should determine what testing and assessments are needed. The state should never have the authority to terminate a parent's right to homeschool their own child unless a parent has first been found to be an unfit parent through trial in a court of law.
Society in America today has it backwards when parents are expected to answer to the government school system concerning their own children. God gave the responsibility and the authority to raise children to parents, not to the state. Any and all authority that a government school system has concerning children is only that which has been delegated by the parents. It's time to restore proper boundaries to governmental authority and allow parents to parent again."
The stakes still remain. Does the research find differences between homeschooled and conventionally schooled children? We address two different sources. Ph.W.
Picture from State Rep. Beryl Amedee – LA District 51
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