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The rights of parents to be the chief educator in their child’s life is a tired argument to many homeschoolers. Often legislation proposed by states seeks to regulate and undermine parents’ ability to educate their children at home. A proposed amendment to the Minnesota Constitution chief authored by Rep. Peggy Bennett seeks to put many Minnesota homeschooling parents’ frustration at ease. The proposed amendment would be submitted to the people for a vote in the 2020 general election and would affirm “that the liberty of a parent to direct the education of their child is fundamental and includes the right to choose, as an alternative to public education, a private, religious or home school, and the right to make reasonable choices within a public school for their child, and that the state must not infringe these rights.”

Citizens of Minnesota may be surprised to learn that, according to the Home School Legal Defense Organization, Minnesota has had an astounding 93 bills proposed recently that would affect homeschoolers. This stands in stark contrast to many of our neighboring states such as North Dakota (zero bills), South Dakota (one bill), Iowa (seven bills), and Wisconsin (seven bills), and show that the rights of homeschoolers is a point of much debate here in Minnesota.

We are grateful to Rep. Bennett and would like to thank her and her fellow co-authors for proposing a bill that would ensure parental rights rather than further attempt to restrict them, as much legislation often does.

Andrea Roeger

Minneapolis