You need to be at the Capitol to defend your rights

THIS BILL HAS PASSED OUT OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. SEND YOUR SENATOR AN E-MAIL AND COME TO THE CAPITOL BEFORE MAY 6 TO OPPOSE THIS BILL. LEARN MORE HERE: https://www.votervoice.net/FICT/campaigns/136837/respond

Universal Registration of all Children

  • With new HB 5468, no homeschooling family will be able to avoid annual filing requirements, even if your child was never enrolled in a public or non-public school. (Section 1c)

Constitutional Violations

  • HB 5468 is set to be expanded to create a modern administrative general warrant—requiring families to submit their household for government screening before exercising a constitutional right.
  • HB 5468 is set to be expanded to mandate every family that wishes to withdraw to homeschool to inform the state of “EACH PERSON WHO RESIDES WITH SUCH CHILD” (line 200 of LCO No 4221) without cause or suspicion. This is a suspicion-less search, a compelled disclosure of an entire household for law enforcement-style screening and a violation of the Connecticut and US Constitutions.
  • This bill would basically require every family who wishes to homeschool (unequal treatment) to submit their household for screening or lose a legal right to educate their child. An outrageous violation of our Constitutional rights.
  • Secondary Constitutional Violation: The name of each person will then be reported to the Connecticut State Department of Children and Families for a “records check”. Again, a dragnet search of innocent third parties in violation of Constitutional safeguards.
  • The state is imposing a precondition on exercising a fundamental right that is unrelated (or not narrowly tailored) to education in violation of long-standing Constitutional rulings such as Pierce v. Society of Sisters, and Meyer v. Nebraska.

Continued FERPA Violations and loss of federal funding

Nice try. A state cannot bypass FERPA by simply declaring: This enforcement agency is now an educational authority. (Lines 221-225 of LCO no. 4221).

To be lawful, the arrangement must: Fit within FERPA’s defined categories, Be tied to education program oversight, not general enforcement, Include strict data-use agreements, Comply with redisclosure and destruction rules. Otherwise, the disclosure risks violating FERPA and jeopardizing federal education funding under 20 U.S.C. § 1232g(b).

Will our legislators take these issues seriously or throw up their hands in an attempt at compromise?

Come back for more analysis. In the meantime, please plan to come to the Capitol as much as you can in the next week, including the evening. Legislators will be in session into the evening all week and are scheduled to vote on the homeschool bill in the House! Contact your legislators today: https://www.ctfamily.org/take-action/action-center/

NEW ZOOM MEETINGS EACH NIGHT TILL TUESDAY. Do you have questions about the bill, the amendment and the process? Unsure of what to do when you get to the CT State Capitol? Join our nightly zooms to answer each other’s questions and share feedback and strategy. Saturday to Tuesday at 7pm, join us here. https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/S4fDRELXR9W7_TTqa21KtQ