Veteran educator: SD needs to return to responsible homeschooling, not the free-for-all we have now
HB1158 was posted on Jan. 27. It was withdrawn by its prime sponsor within two days.
State Rep. Tim Goodwin from District 30 was kind enough to meet with me last fall and winter, have a bill drafted, and submit it. Yet the political pressures by those with time and influence prevented an important conversation from occurring at the South Dakota Legislature this year.
The bill would have returned South Dakota to responsible homeschooling. In 2021, SB 177 changed the language governing homeschool and alternative education students in South Dakota, removing important protections that ensured education is occurring for ALL students.
HB 1158 would have required annual notification, as well as required students outside the public system to take achievement tests or to comply with the previous laws. Currently, there is no accountability whatsoever that families who homeschool or attend private unaccredited schools must complete.
It is an absolute free-for-all: no curriculum, no standard requirements, no time recommendations or requirements.
There are many families that are doing an excellent job. However, not all families are. In the last 10 years, 10,000 more South Dakota students have entered alternative education or homeschool. Some have returned to the public system, but some students are disappearing into dysfunctional homes, inadequate resources and incoherent instruction.
We owe it to our South Dakota students to ensure they are receiving a basic education.
Let me tell you about a few students I am aware of:
Student A: Student A missed 25 school days before the holiday break. They dropped to homeschool.
Student B and C: Student B and C’s older siblings got in fights at school. B and C dropped along with the older siblings.
Student D: Student D was gone for 22 days before dropping.
Student E: Student E cycled between regular school and homeschool. Last month, there were shots fired at their house, sending local schools into a lockdown. School-age children were in the home midday when the shots were fired.
Student F: Student F returned from homeschool in upper elementary. At that time, the student could not spell three-letter words.
Student G: Student G took off their clothes in the elementary school restroom and had other unusual behaviors at school. I am certain a Department of Social Services report was contemplated, and days later, the student was no longer attending but was being homeschooled.
These students are all off the radar for the rest of their educational careers. There is no one checking on them, no measures to see how they are doing, and no expectation that they turn in a portfolio, diorama, photo book, or even a performance exam. Although I work for a school and my role gives me insight that others may not have, my opinions are my own.
In speaking with Department of Education Secretary Joe Graves, he sides with the parents’ rights. Not me. I side with the kid who isn’t getting an education. I side with responsible homeschooling in which students are required to check in once a year and take a few tests.
No one in the Legislature will talk about protecting the students who do not have responsible adults guiding their education.
Sarah Gross of Rapid City is a 19-year veteran educator and holds a doctoral degree in educational leadership from USD. She is speaking on her own behalf. This first appeared in The Rapid City Journal.
Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons
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