Rob Rienow, of Visionary Family Ministries, who homeschools his seven children, reports that the House Education Policy Committee voted 8-4 along party lines to move the bill (HB2827) to the House floor (See earlier article). He says liberal legislators were determined to forward this bill no matter what.
"When you have a record number of caring, loving families there at the Capitol to say, ‘hey, we don't support this,’ for the committee to just press that forward as if all those people were invisible it really kind of confirms what people's fundamental fears are, about government overreach."
Though proponents argue the legislation is needed to protect homeschooled children, Rienow says statistics show students are at greater risk in public schools.
Should the bill pass, Rienow predicts the law will face a number of court challenges.
“They won't be swayed by that data or persuaded by that data because this is being driven by a philosophical commitment to a government control and regulation of families."
