HARTFORD, CT- Nanny state Democrats in Connecticut are trying to pass a bill that would require school districts to file a report with the Department of Children and Families (DCF) for anyone who pulls their child out of public schools, the CT Mirror reports. That proposal, however, may run afoul of federal law.
The proposed bill is a knee-jerk reaction to two cases that went public last year where students were pulled out of public schools to be homeschooled. Senate Bill 6 is an “omnibus” bill that was crafted in response to the death of 11-year-old Jacqueline “Mimi” Torres Garcia, whose body was found in a plastic container in New Britain, CT., and the case of a Waterbury man who was allegedly locked away for over 20 years. Both were homeschooled. Homeschooling of course runs afoul of teachers unions, which Democrats are beholden to.
After local school districts report the withdrawal to DCF, the agency would then check whether the family has any open cases with the agency.
Not so fast, said Connecticut Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker in written testimony, saying that the agency won’t be able to comply with the bill, noting that the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Acd–FERPA–prevents the department from disclosing students’ information without parental consent except for “evaluation and research purposes, not for individual case management.”
“Any violation of federal law places millions of federal educational dollars in jeopardy,” Russell-Tucker wrote. “As such, the Department will be unable to comply with this proposal should it become law.”
Co-chair of the state Senate’s Children’s Committee, Democrat Ceci Maher, disagrees, claiming a section of the federal law that “allows for the welfare of the child” means S.B. 6 could legally be enforced. That interpretation seems to be doing some gymnastics with the definition of “welfare of the child.”
Meanwhile, Interim DCF Commissioner Susan Hamilton says the notification portion of the bill that requires DCF notification was not proposed by that agency. Yet she defended the proposal.
“It’s not a report of alleged mental abuse,” Hamilton said. “It’s a notification. What the bill would call for is for us to look to see whether or not we have an open case, and if we do, it would just get noted in the record that the child is withdrawn from school.”
For now. As Connecticut taxpayers have long known, once the state gets its nose into something, you need the Jaws of Life to remove it.
Proposals to target homeschooling have motivated homeschool parents to mobilize against the legislation. Earlier this week, dozens of homeschool parents attended the public hearing, however the hearing was canceled due to “inclement weather.” While the first hour of the hearing was held in person, including Hamilton’s testimony, the rest of the meeting was conducted virtually.
Homeschool parents are vehemently opposed to that section of the bill, explaining that it would violate their rights. One committee member, Rep. Gale Mastrofrancesco, a Republican, said it would result in a “witch hunt” against homeschoolers.
An attorney representing the National Home Education Legal Defense submitted written testimony requesting that legislators remove that section of the bill.
Attorney Deborah Stevenson called DCF notification “an unconstitutional outrage, removing the presumption of innocence of every parent in this State.”
Some parents also suggested that parents who remove their children from public school to attend religious or private school would also be subject to the same regulation, the first issue that raises significant First Amendment concerns.
The Office of the Child Advocate weighed in in favor of the proposed legislation. Last year, that office issued a report claiming Connecticut has some of the least restrictive homeschool regulations in the country, the CT Mirror reported.
In written testimony, Child Advocate Christina Ghio said that the measure “would serve as a check and ensure that DCF is made aware of the withdrawals of children whose families have an open case with the Department.”
Maher said that after DCF checks open cases for families who remove their kids from public school, she hopes the department won’t keep a file or database of names, noting that the bill is “narrow” in scope.
“This is a case of just trying to make sure that what happened in the Mimi case, where tehre was an intent to harm, and homeschooling was used as a smokescreen, that that does not happen again,” Maher said.
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