The Chicago Tribune posted an article regarding a continuing effort to lower the Illinois compulsory school attendance age to 5.
Mandatory school age could fall from 7 to 5 in Illinois By Gary Marx and David Jackson

In a move aimed at countering Chicago’s crisis in K-8 truancy and absenteeism, state Sen. Kimberly Lightford has introduced legislation to lower Illinois’ compulsory school age from 7 to 5.

Senator Lightford is the Vice-Chair on the Senate Education Committee.  The bill [SB 1307] is currently in the Assignments Committee, not yet assigned to the Education Committee.   Representative La Shawn Ford apparently plans to co-sponsor the bill in the House.  His indictment and legal status might affect that future possibility.  But the Illinois Senate and House both have a fDemocrat Party super-majority.  From the Tribune:

“If we’re going to change lives, we have to impact students at an early age. It’s the early years that make all the difference in education,” said state Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, who plans to co-sponsor the bill in the House.

Illinois House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee Chair, Chapa-LaVia, offered a comment about homeschoolers and exemptions.

State Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia, D-Aurora, who is forming a top-level task force to address Chicago’s K-8 truancy and absenteeism, told the Tribune that she strongly supports lowering Illinois’ compulsory attendance age, although she could consider carving out an exemption for families who are home-schooling.

Illinois private schools are already exempt via the compulsory school attendance exemption in the statutes.  But despite that, homeschoolers and other families do not need the extra complications from 2 more years of public school mandates.  There are desperate Illinois funding scrambles from any source available to solve the state’s fiscal crisis.  Some of that could land on homeschoolers’ backs.  Illinois homeschoolers don’t need to be singled out from others, in a statute or otherwise.

Naperville area homeschoolers negotiated with school authorities, and common sense prevailed. A potential district policy revision demanding that a “district-approved external accrediting agency” certified any homeschool credits and grades transferred onto a public high school transcript was dropped.
The Naperville Sun reports this news from Indian Prairie School District 204′s school board meeting:

D204 compromises on home-school policy June 23, 2009 By TIM WALDORF

“The difference that you’re going to see in this new version versus the old is that in the old we indicated that we were not going to accept any credits from a no-accredited school toward graduation. So they would all have to be accredited or else we weren’t going to issue a diploma,” said Mike Popp, District 204′s school improvement and planning director.

“In this version, we’re saying, ‘You know what? That’s not appropriate.’ We’re going ahead and saying we are going to accept those credits, but we put in what you talked about last time: is there a way for us to sit down with an individual student and talk about those individual courses to go ahead and honor the credit that he or she earned?”

The old version (and other pertinent details) was pointed out on News & Commentary here: Educational Rigor

It appears that Mike Popp was reasonable, and kept the dialogue open with local homeschoolers. If homeschoolers did choose to enroll in the public high school, then their previous hard work at home should not have been disregarded because of lack of accreditation.

I don’t see a pass/fail on a transcript as a problem. Our particular family does not do grades. Learning materials are either mastered or not:

However, honoring those credits is one thing. Honoring the grades attached to them is another.

District 204′s transcripts would separately list the unaccredited coursework, and not assign a letter grade to any of it. They would only note whether students passed or failed these unaccredited classes.

Consequently, home school students would have to turn in two transcripts — one from District 204 and one of their own making — when applying to colleges.

Universities and colleges seem to be scrambling and recruiting for that “homemade”/home education transcript. Our local IL community college admissions counselor said that he’s seen (and accepted) homeschool transcripts of various forms. He was part of a homeschool workshop at the college to recruit homeschoolers. Continuing in the article:

The policy will also require these students to complete two credits in a District 204 high school in each of two consecutive semesters prior to graduation. So, in their senior year, these home school students seeking District 204 diplomas — District 204 estimates there are roughly 15 of them a year — will have to attend a District 204 high school on nearly a full-time basis, and pass four senior-level classes in order to graduate.

That seems like a fair policy.

I was a little puzzled that homeschoolers would be entering the public high school just to get a public school diploma? That piece of paper didn’t seem as useful as a homeschool diploma, or as many Illinois homeschoolers do, just entering ‘higher education’ with transcript in hand. That’s my biased homeschool opinion, of course.

“The example, by way of analogy that’s in my head, is that it’s what a university would tell you,” said board member Mark Metzger. “You can’t accumulate credits at Eastern and Western and Southern, and then call up U of I and say, ‘I’m going to take a class there, and I want my diploma from you.’ It doesn’t work that way.”

Mr. Metzger’s thoughts are right on. If a public school diploma is sought, that public school should be attended.

But again, I don’t see the advantage of seeking a public school diploma, if homeschooled teens can finish out their education at home before college. Mark Metzger mentioned the University of Illinois, which is ranked 25th in this Graduate School of Education World University Rankings. It is a very competitive school, but yet “30-40 home school students are admitted each year“.

Home Schooled Applicants FAQ

Does the University of Illinois admit home school graduates?

Yes, we encourage home schooled students to apply to the University.

We are very interested in having talented, well-qualified applicants from a variety of settings. Home schoolers would provide a diversity of academic experiences to the campus.

From a homeschool advocate stance, I’m pleased to see that homeschooling credit was given (in more ways than one).

That quote in the header was from a Cook County (Chicago) Circuit Court summary judgment in favor of the Chicago Virtual Charter School (CVCS).   Why were they talking about homeschooling in a virtual school judgment?  This week, the Chicago Teachers Union lawsuit claiming Chicago Public School/IL State Board of Education authorization illegalities was dismissed.  The well financed union claimed that the Chicago Virtual Charter School was actually “home based” homeschooling.

It’s been an ugly row, and somehow the Illinois homeschooling name seemed to be in the middle of this issue.  Both of these parties (the Chicago public schools, along with the CTU President, Marilyn Stewart) talked a good bit about “home schooling”.

Virtual charter school can receive public funds Chi Town Daily News June 12, 2009
BY ADRIAN G. URIBARRI

Marilyn Stewart, president of the Chicago Teachers Union, says the difference was not enough to merit public funding. Since students of the virtual school spend most of their time learning at home, she says, they are essentially home-schooled.

“For someone to take public funds to home-school their children is not right,” she says. “It should not be on the backs of a majority of our students who are in our public schools.”

As I read the excerpt below, Judge Riley seems to have made a solid, factual decision based on Illinois charter school statutes:

From a K12 Business Wire:

The judgment ensures the continued lawful operation and funding of CVCS.

The Court concluded that the Plaintiffs arguments fail as a matter of law. The Court determined that CVCS is not a “home-based” school and therefore not in violation of charter school law, and that the school is in full compliance with the Illinois School Code.
In the ruling, the Court emphasized the differences between the model of instruction employed by CVCS and traditional home schooling, stating:
“Home schooling is a well-known and established means of education.While the form of home schools may vary, the underlying substance of the education is decided by a student’s parents.Home schools do not have to teach according to ISBE’s [Illinois State Board of Education’s] mandated curriculum, nor are the students required to take standardized tests to meet the State’s requirements for basic skills improvement.CVCS, however, is required to teach according to the ISBE curriculum.CVCS students must meet the State’s requirements of the No Child Left [Behind] Act.CVCS is subject to fiscal oversight by the ISBE and CBOE [Chicago Board of Education].And, unlike home-schooled students, CVCS students are graded by certified teachers.”

The Chi-Town Daily News quoted the CVCS head:

“There are differences between the way we do education and traditional home schooling,” says Bruce Law, head of the Chicago Virtual Charter School. “On that difference — that’s where we were making our case.”

In this case, it was necessary for them to show that their school is different from homeschooling.  K12 is providing the CVCS curriculum, and the Virginia based company is also lobbying in our state capitol for a state-wide virtual school.  In 2002, K12′s chair made this case below about his hope that independent homeschoolers would put up and shut up.  (Bennett was also the Reagan administration’s Secretary of Education):

How William Bennett’s Public E-Schools Affect Homeschooling-Larry and Susan Kaseman
November-December 2002

The major differences between Bennett’s goals and those of most homeschoolers can be seen clearly in Bennett’s comments during an interview by Mark Standriff on WSPD radio in Toledo, Ohio, August 16, 2002.

Standriff: What kind of opposition have you folks found?

Bennett: We found opposition from both sides of the political spectrum. Some of the homeschooling people have opposed us.
Standriff: Oh really, I would think this would be right in line with their thinking.
Bennett: Well it should be. Frankly, I’m disappointed. I’ve been defending homeschoolers for twenty years. But the principle I’m defending, Mark, is school choice, parental choice. The objection they have is that it shouldn’t be involved in public funding, at all. It shouldn’t be involved with government schools, as they say. But, I’m not prepared to relinquish $400 billion and just say, well never mind, this is not money that I’m entitled to. Parents are paying that money in taxes, they should have an option within the public school system that gives them a chance to educate their children at home, but be publicly accountable as all public schools should be.

The Chicago Public Schools attorney had this explanation in a 2006 Chicago Tribune article about the Chicago Virtual approval:

Illinois law states that charter schools must be “non-home based,” which the teacher’s union argued would restrict the state from approving the virtual school. State Supt. Randy Dunn recommended the board deny the virtual school’s application based on the law’s language. But board members and proponents of the virtual school said that charter school laws enacted in the 1990s did not anticipate the growth of technology that has made virtual schools possible. Rocks, the attorney for Chicago Public Schools, said the restrictions on”home-based” charter schools mushroomed from concerns that home schools were trying to become charter schools simply to get public dollars. He presented letters from state lawmakers who voted on Illinois’ charter school law, and said their intent was not to block Internet-based schooling.

The legislators might have been been worried that Illinois homeschoolers were looking at public monies, but I have seen little evidence of that.

The union voice from Ms. Stewart is harsh.  Chi-Town Daily News: Teachers union pans virtual classroom plan July 17, 2006
BY JENNIFER KOONS

“For them to think they can address the social and emotional issues of a child without being in the same room as that child is ludicrous,” Stewart said. “You can only adequately address these issues in a classroom where you have necessary peer support and peer interaction.”

Stewart expressed concern about a lack of interaction between students and educators.

“Qualified teachers are only providing 20 percent of the lessons,” Stewart said. “Who are the certified professionals who will supervising the students when they are off-line?”

She wasn’t done there.  The Southwest News Herald had a 2006 article (not available online) quoting her union concerns about children learning at home via the Chicago Virtual Charter School:

“How are students to model behavior with a computer screen,” said Stewart.

They’re in their home, dear.  The 8 year olds don’t need to model their behavior after the 8 year old in the next door desk.

But everything, including grading, she said, is being done virtually. And Stewart is unhappy that there is “no direct supervision.”

What, Stewart asked, if there are three or four children in a household enrolled in the virtual school? Are there going to be three or four parents watching the children?

“And who are these parents or guardians that are helping the children — their grandparent who barely speaks English, or a work-at-home parent?” asked Stewart.

She loves parents….I was feeling that.

That “S” word doesn’t seem to go away.  Socializing is a bit different than School Socialization.  Apparently, the Chicago Virtual families chose getting together in their community, as opposed to the same room as folks like Marilyn Stewart.

As an Illinois homeschooler, this headline below published in the Fox Valley Villages Sun definitely got my attention as a very strange possibility.  Homeschoolers are independent of the public school system, and school district policies shouldn’t have anything to do with a homeschooler’s graduation.

Policy revisions could hurt home-schoolers

Proposed changes could make it impossible for them to graduate

But after reading the article, it appears the proposed changes refer to homeschoolers who made the decision to enroll (transfer into) public schools.  According to Human Resources Asst. Superintendent Nancy Valenta, an Indian Prairie School District policy revision proposal addresses area homeschool transferees to “pass the same muster” and obtain the “same sense of rigor and standards present in the school“.

In other words, via the School Way, Valenta was pushing for a district policy revision demanding that a “district-approved external accrediting agency” certified any homeschool credits and grades transferred onto a public high school transcript.

From the article:

Home-schooling mother of three and Naperville resident Wendy Montalbano has been home-schooling for two years and does not plan on sending her children back to the public school system unless an emergency forces her to work to support the family. If that happened, credits such as an anatomy class taught by a medical doctor that her son took this year would not transfer to the district. Her son would have to repeat any classes he took while home schooled before graduating.

I wouldn’t think they’d be attracting too many homeschoolers back to that school district with this new proposal. Wendy Montalbano and Holly Ramsey (Naperville Home Educators founder/moderator) are working with school district staffer Mike Popp, to change the proposal into a more realistic version that reflects homeschoolers’ actual knowledge acquisition.

Looking at some of the Naperville area learning opportunities including libraries, 4-H, park districts, science museums and living history sites, it does seem ironic that bureaucratic stamp of approval seems necessary.  The quality of those community enterprises is evident to those who use them.

The informational good fortune continues for the children, as some of the Naperville home educators also co-op. The kids can’t be lacking with the teachers involved in this organization. Learning Vine Homeschool Co-op founder Chris Digweed notes that:

The Learning Vine has been offering quality classes to homeschoolers for many years, and is currently launching a new academic program which will begin this coming fall.   It will provide intensive, college preparatory coursework for high school students which will include AP study classes, intensive mathematics, science, and honors level literature and writing studies.

Many Illinois school districts don’t offer that multitude of college preparatory opportunities. Surely an equal or better “sense of rigor and standards present in the school” is also recognizable in private school opportunities. A practical person would think that educational due should be given even without accreditation.  But I might just be thinking outside the school building (box).

Brava to Dawn DeSart, who thought input about policy should be heard from the community taxpayers that it affects.  She appears to be a true community servant.

School board member Dawn DeSart, who questioned the policy revision in Monday’s meeting, said she would like the current policy to stand or else to have a standardized test administered to all students entering the district.”Whatever the policy says I just want it to be fair,” DeSart said. “Even though people like Wendy don’t have children in the school system, they’re still in the district – they still get a property tax bill like the rest of us do, so they definitely need to have input.

The negotiations are ongoing.  It appears that the proposal will be heard again at the June 22nd school board meeting. Let common sense prevail.  Learning is the bottom line.  Accreditation should not be.

In Illinois, Kwame Raoul, Presidential candidate Senator Obama’s replacement as State Senator, has once again introduced a bill to lower the compulsory attendance age. Even as there is some controversy in Illinois as to whether this is a homeschooling issue to contend with, Senator Raoul’s bill to lower the compulsory attendance age 2 years ago was defeated by homeschoolers who did call their representatives. Even after it sailed out of the Rules Committee, passed through the Senate Education Committee and Senate and thankfully died in the House.

This current bill appears to have the appeasement amendments that were added to the last bill in hopes that it would pass. And it also includes a mandatory establishment of kindergarten in all Illinois school districts. Currently, kindergarten is not mandatory in Illinois public school districts, despite the understandably common misconception that it is. This is a concerted effort by various groups in following up with the Preschool for All initiatives trumpeted by Illinois Governor Blagojevich. Below is the synopsis of SB 541 :

Introduced 2/8/2007, by Sen. Kwame Raoul

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: Amends the School Code. Beginning with the
2007-2008 school year, lowers the compulsory school age from 7 years to 5 years; makes a related change. Beginning with the 2007-2008 school year, requires all school districts to establish kindergarten for the instruction of children who are 5 years of age or older. Adds any child attending a non-profit or for-profit child care center that provides kindergarten where children are taught the branches of education taught to children of corresponding age and grade in the public schools and where the instruction of the child in the branches of education is in the English language to the list of children who are not required to attend the public schools. Beginning with the 2007-2008 school year, provides for an exception to the compulsory school age provision for any child who has not reached the age of
7 years by September 1 and whose parent or guardian notifies the school district or school that he or she does not wish the child to attend school until the following school year because the child, in the opinion of the parent or guardian, is not mentally, physically, or emotionally prepared to attend school. Provides that in such cases, the child’s attendance may be delayed for one school year. Effective immediately.

In testifying at the Senate Education Committee, Senator Raoul said this in his last attempt: “I wish this bill was lowering the age to 3!” In his good intentions, he also leaves little to the imagination with the following quote, as he stated in the Chicago Sun-Times last year. (This article is in the archives.):

Ready or not? Should kids be in school at 5?: Kindergarten? Preschool? Parents wrestle with decision

Author: Maudlyne Ihejirika The Chicago Sun-Times Date: July 30, 2006

“The home-schooling lobby also fought the bill sponsored by state Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago). It squeaked out of the Senate but died in the House. A 2003 effort by state Rep. Mary Flowers (D-Chicago) saw a similar fate. “Logically, it doesn’t even make sense to talk about preschool for all if we don’t say you have to have your kids in kindergarten,” Raoul said.”

I’d like to pursue his and others’ thought process a little further observing the educational path of those who haven’t been served well by the public schools within the current compulsory attendance age range.

My kids and I took a field trip to Springfield in 2005 to observe our legislators in action. We didn’t hear anything at the House Elementary and Secondary Education Committee Hearing concerning Senator Raoul’s 1st bill SB 409 that day, but we saw many people filing in to the Capitol with t-shirts and banners for some type of rally. The t-shirts and banners displayed slogans about adult education and literacy.
How ironic that on the same day that a bill was to be heard in Committee making demands for more mandatory seat time for little children 2 years younger than the current requirement, Adult Education proponents were pursuing more funding with their rally. If the public schools were serving these very people well from kindergarten up to 17 years of age, then there wouldn’t be this tremendous need for adult education classes. There is no rationale for children’s sake, to increase compulsory attendance age mandates for younger or older ages. Perhaps too many times, and notwithstanding public school successes, compulsory attendance laws don’t assure an education but instead it only assures warm bodies in the well funded building. That visit inspired me to write a letter to the editor that was published in the Sun-Times along with a few other newspapers thanks to some help from a family advocate with a fax machine set to Media.

These legislative policies can certainly be lucrative for the education industry. How could someone so fresh into the Senate at the time, (six months), be able to ride this bill through the Senate into the House reducing the compulsory attendance age not just one year but 2 years? Maybe it was the same type of ride that increased the compulsory attendance age to 17 years January 1st of that year, (with little resistance from homeschoolers). One can only look at the number of sponsors added onto the 2005 bill to see there was a definite agenda in support of the freshman Senator’s actions. Despite the individual good intentions, the general picture is this is rationally not “about the kids”.

Senator Raoul and others ignored hundreds and hundreds of calls and requests to withdraw the previous bill, so it isn’t surprising now that Senator Raoul is back again with the same. One can only assume these were parents making these calls. And one can immediately see the regard given to these parents and constituents by legislators who rebuked them with the message that our representatives wish it was for 3 year olds instead of the proposed age of 5.

If you follow Senator Raoul’s hopes, it’s not surprising to see that the National Conference of State Legislatures includes a plan for Early Childhood via Zero to Three initiatives. (“From the time of conception to the first day of kindergarten“. What they describe is what I would call infancy through toddlerhood through not being able to climb bus steps without help, but that’s just me.)

Are proponents of these initiatives thinking that homeschoolers don’t need any of that? I would seriously wager that just the opposite is the case.

It appears that the current bill to change Illinois compulsory attendance age to 5 from 7 is in the Rules Committee at this time. It’d be great if it stopped there.

Posted by Susan