The New American by Alex Newman
With the number of homeschooling families surging at an unprecedented rate, lawmakers in Maryland are considering a new plan to create a controversial new “Advisory Council” that would oversee and gather data on homeschoolers. Home educators and their advocates are sounding the alarm, warning that it could be a tool to introduce regulation and control over home education in the state.
Under the House Bill 832 plan, introduced by Democrat State Delegate Sheila Ruth, the new “Advisory Council” would gather information and “advise the state superintendent, the state board, the general assembly, and the governor on matters related to homeschooling.” Members of the body would be selected by the state Department of Education.
The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), which represents hundreds of thousands of homeschooling families nationwide, immediately sounded the alarm about the legislation and its proposed Maryland Homeschool Advisory Council. Among other concerns, HSLDA Attorney Dan Beasley warned that the measure was both unnecessary and a “threat to liberty.”…
