East Central Reporter

Brad Halbrook, the representative for Illinois State House District 107, said that Democrats passed the Homeschool Act despite nearly 50,000 witness slips submitted in opposition. He made this comment on Facebook on March 27.

"Last week, Democrats passed the Homeschool Act through the House Education Policy Committee despite the fact that the measure had nearly 50,000 witness slips filed in opposition," said Halbrook, State Representative, according to Facebook. "The bill's sponsor claims the intention is to protect children from abuse but there is no evidence of a connection between homeschooling and abuse or neglect. We believe homeschool families should be able to educate their children in the environment that best suits their learning needs, without overregulation from state government."

According to Halbrook's Facebook post, he highlighted a passage from a Wall Street Journal opinion piece published on March 21. The editorial notes that Democrats in Illinois should be concerned by the fact that fewer than one in three Chicago Public Schools students read at grade level, yet their priority is regulating parents who educate their children. It also points out that there is no connection between homeschooling and abuse or neglect. The piece suggests that onerous and costly regulations could reduce the number of homeschooling students, especially since teachers' unions support the Homeschool Act, which passed out of committee with an 8-4 vote on March 19.

Screenshot of State Rep. Brad Halbrook's March 27 Facebook post | State Representative Brad Halbrook's Facebook page

House Bill 2827 requires the Illinois State Board of Education to create a homeschool declaration form for administrators to submit information to the school district the student would otherwise attend. The bill proposes penalties for students whose homeschool administrators fail to notify the public school district of the student’s status and mandates that homeschool students provide proof of immunization and health exams or a signed exemption certificate, according to the bill’s synopsis. Filed by Representative Terra Costa Howard on February 5, the bill was assigned to the House Education Policy Committee on March 4.

Halbrook encouraged his constituents via Facebook to sign a petition to protect homeschool freedom and join him in sending a message to Springfield that intrusive mandates and punitive measures for families choosing to homeschool must be stopped. The petition asks for signees' name, address, email address, and phone number.

Halbrook represented the 110th District from 2012 to 2015 following his appointment in April 2012. A lifelong Illinoisan, he is fiscally and socially conservative, a farmer, and a small business owner. He supports limits on property taxes and opposes income tax increases, according to his official biography.