While most kids are heading back to the classroom to start school, many are starting their new year of education at home. But many parents that homeschool their kids in Maryland are concerned that new requirements could find their way into the state’s regulations, making it tougher to teach their kids.
The Maryland Family Institute organized a letter-writing campaign over the summer to the Maryland Department of Education urging them to keep homeschooling regulations the same during their upcoming review of state regulations concerning a variety of education subjects. The public comment period just ended last week.
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“Maryland has been on the right track when it comes to homeschool framework,” Jonathan Alexandre, the Legislative Counsel Maryland Family Institute told WTOP. “We have seen in certain areas around the country just an increase in some onerous regulations that we’re attempting to stave off during this regulatory review.”
Some of the changes they are concerned about include requiring college degrees or teaching credentials for homeschooling parents, mandatory standardized testing, forced use of state approved curriculum and home inspections by state officials.
“Previous board members are saying that over the years, these are the type of issues that they’ve had to deal with, and they’ve had to vote down,” Alexandre said.
Currently, Maryland parents who wish to homeschool their kids must submit a form 15 days prior to beginning instruction to the county’s superintendent. Parents then must submit a portfolio that would be supervised by the local school system or another state approved private entity. English, math, science, social studies, art, music, health and physical education are required for instruction by the state.
“Across political ideologies, across educational qualifications, and across so many backgrounds, you have a substantial increase in the parents wanting to teach their children,” Alexandre said. “We’re hoping that this opportunity that we have to write to the regulatory board saying that where the regulations are fine and they work.”
A Department of Education review committee will evaluate current education regulations over the coming months. The committee is expected to submit their evaluation and recommendations to the governor early next year.
