Military families who homeschool their children would have an easier time moving from state to state under proposed legislation introduced by lawmakers this week.
Under the proposal, families would not have to start over in order to comply with the homeschooling laws of their new state, according to Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., who introduced the bill in the House Tuesday. A similar bill was introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in the Senate on Monday.
As long as a military family is following either the laws of the service member’s state of legal residence or the laws of the state where the new duty station is located, they would be considered in compliance with the homeschooling and compulsory education laws of the new state. The legislation would amend the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to allow for the change.
Research has shown that between 11% to 13% of military families homeschool their children, according to the Military Homeschoolers Association.
“Military families homeschool their children at roughly twice the rate of civilian families,” Cruz said in a statement to Military Times. “Conflicting state homeschooling laws can undermine military readiness, family resilience, and retention by forcing service members and their spouses to navigate different requirements each time the Department of Defense relocates them.”
The proposed legislation ensures military families can continue homeschooling without interruption when duty takes them across state lines, while reducing the administrative burdens that come with frequent relocations, Harrigan said in a statement to Military Times.
When Permanent Change of Station, or PCS, orders cross a state line, homeschool families currently face new curriculum standards, testing mandates or notice requirements, sometimes with penalties for non-compliance, according to Harrigan’s office.
“Strong military families are essential to military readiness, and parents serving this country should not be penalized simply because the military asked them to move,” he said. “Military families live with enough uncertainty. Every permanent change of station brings a new set of challenges, and a child’s education should not be one of them.”
Harrigan’s office has heard from military homeschool families and advocacy groups about the challenges these families face during PCS moves, said Lexi Kranich, Harrigan’s communications director.
Some families who receive orders to move in the middle of an academic year must spend weeks figuring out how to comply with an entirely new set of homeschooling requirements while dealing with the many other aspects of the move, Kranich said. The office has also heard from families who maintained detailed records and portfolios for years, only to find that the new state requires different documentation or standards to evaluate student progress.
The SCRA already protects service members from being “whipsawed” by conflicting state laws on taxes, voting and driver’s licenses, according to a statement from Harrigan’s office. “There is no reason homeschooling should be treated differently.”
Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book “A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families.” She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.