WATCH: Illinois Homeschool Act opponents say bill would ‘criminalize’ parents

(The Center Square) – Parents and community leaders are speaking out against legislation in the Illinois House that would punish homeschool families if they don’t comply with new state government reporting mandates.

House Bill 2827 would require homeschool families to submit information to local public school administrators. If the homeschooling parents or guardians fail to submit a declaration form, their students would be declared truant and penalties would be applied.

The legislation sponsored by state Rep. Terra Costa Howard, D-Glen Ellyn, advanced from the Illinois House Education Committee to the House floor last month. Costa Howard argued at the time that Illinois needed to join 38 other states with more regulations on homeschooling.

Pastor Chris Butler proclaimed his opposition at a rally Thursday in downtown Chicago.

“They say it’s just a form. It’s just a form, they say. It creates a new pathway to criminalization,” Butler told hundreds of families gathered in Daley Plaza.

After the demonstration, Butler said there is a massive amount of opposition to HB 2827.

“While it’s been cast by the supporters and the sponsor of this bill as something dangerous, the homeschooling movement is the most hopeful thing that is happening in education, especially in this state of Illinois, and there’s just no reason to try to get anything in the way of that,” Butler told The Center Square.

Butler said more than 50,000 additional witness slips have been filed against the bill since an amendment was added to the measure last month. The number of proponents, as of Thursday afternoon, was 428. Before the amendment, more than 42,000 witness slips were filed in opposition to the legislation.

State Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, joined the rally against HB 2827.

“Right now, I don’t believe the bill is what’s needed in Illinois,” Ford said to the cheering crowd. “I believe in restorative justice and I believe in making sure that people don’t have a pathway to the criminal justice system. This bill is a pipeline to the criminal justice system for parents, and I can’t stand for that. How can we criminalize parents for wanting to love their children?” 

Parent advocate Eva Villalobos described the bill language as loose and misleading. She said parents and caretakers would have a deadline of 10 days to submit information to the state.

“The only clear evidence in the bill is how the parents are going to be criminalized. They’re gonna have fines. They’re going to go potentially to jail. How is that going to help our kids?” Villalobos told The Center Square. “Nowhere in this bill are you clarifying how you are going to support these parents and families and students.”

Costa Howard’s legislation would also require private schools to register with the Illinois State Board of Education.

Catholic Conference of Illinois Executive Director Bob Gilligan said HB 2827 would force nonpublic schools to turn over families’ personal information over to the state.

“If the state of Illinois wants to get that information, they should get it directly from the parents. They should not be putting us in between them and our parents,” Gilligan told The Center Square. “We’re here to educate children. That’s what we’re here to do. We’re not here to turn over information to the state of Illinois about the kids in our schools, their personally-identifiable information, as well as the information about their parents.”

HB 2827 would come with a price tag for taxpayers and school districts. According to a fiscal note added to the bill this week, the measure would cost ISBE $1,574.16 for implementation.

“There may also be increased costs to school districts, regional offices of education, and public schools, but those amounts are currently unknown,” the note states. ISBE added the recommendation that the bill sponsors consult with relevant stakeholders to better understand the potential costs to districts.

Greg Bishop contributed to this story.