Wyoming Senate Advances Bill to Ease Homeschool Requirements

Wyoming is on track to become the 12th state in the US to eliminate the requirement for parents to submit homeschool curricula to local school districts, Wyoming News Now reports.

This move comes as the Wyoming Senate Education Committee passed House Bill 46, known as the “Homeschool Freedom Act,” with unanimous support on Wednesday morning. The bill passed its first reading on the Senate floor on Thursday and will now go through two more rounds of voting before returning to the House of Representatives for concurrence.

If the House agrees to the Senate’s version of the bill, it will be sent directly to Governor Mark Gordon for either signature or veto.

The bill, which amends existing state law, will remove the requirement for parents to submit their homeschool curriculum to school districts. However, parents will still need to notify the district if they choose to withdraw their child from public school. The Wyoming Department of Education clarified that the bill only addresses one section of the state’s statute, and notification requirements will remain in place for children being withdrawn to attend either private schools or home-based educational programs.

The bill’s progress has received wide support, with public testimony from both homeschool parents and school district representatives. Brenna Lowry, President of Homeschool Wyoming and a homeschool mother herself, testified that the current system is “confusing” for many families. She noted that the pandemic has led to a significant increase in the number of homeschool families in Wyoming, with estimates ranging between 5,000 and 6,000 families. Lowry emphasized the need to repeal the regulation, calling it unnecessary and unhelpful.

Will Estrada, Senior Counsel for the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, expressed strong support for the bill, noting that it would ease administrative burdens for homeschool parents and free them from dealing with excessive paperwork. Estrada also explained that the bill would not affect parents whose children were never enrolled in public school, as they would not be required to notify the district of their intent to withdraw.

The Wyoming Association of School Administrators has also supported the bill, with Executive Director Boyd Brown stating that school administrators have no involvement in evaluating homeschool curricula.

While the bill has received broad support, it has raised some concerns among certain officials. Korin Schmidt, Director of the Wyoming Department of Family Services, noted that removing the curriculum submission requirement may complicate investigations into whether children are being homeschooled, particularly for families who have withdrawn their children but are not submitting curriculum for review.