Image Credit: TN General Assembly
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
On Tuesday, a House Joint Resolution (HJR) proposing a constitutional amendment to protect the freedom of Tennessee parents to homeschool their children was killed by Republicans in the House K-12 Subcommittee when three members voted with a Democrat to fail the legislation.
Sponsored by Rep. Jody Barrett, HJR0092 affirms that a parent has “the inherent and fundamental right to direct the upbringing of the parent’s child, including, but not limited to, the right to direct the education of the parent’s child.”
The resolution would also have ensured that the freedom to homeschool as parents see fit could not be compromised by accepting “any publicly funded education scholarship, grant, stipend, or voucher provided by the State or any political subdivision thereof.”
A change of this kind to the state’s constitution could have guaranteed that state government, including political subdivisions, could not interfere with parental decisions regarding homeschooling, and abolished all regulatory requirements.
Numerous pro-homeschool advocacy groups supported the measure including the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) and the Tennessee Home Educators Association (THEA), especially as efforts were undertaken last year to pass this amendment along with other legislation aimed at creating more freedoms for homeschool parents in the state.
In response to committee members’ concerns about regulating homeschool children who “just aren’t getting the proper education from the homeschool experience” or may be “three to four to five grades behind,” Barrett emphasized that among children in the state who have always been in the public school system, only approximately 35% of them can read at grade level or are proficient in other academic benchmarks. So, the successes, or lack thereof, of the public school system in comparison to homeschooling were not necessarily an accurate metric, he contended.
Barrett further reiterated that this resolution stood as a testament to whether the legislature actually believes in school choice and whether parents are the best deciders in knowing what is in the best interest of their children.
“Are children a gift from God to the parents, or are they wards of the state?” he asked.
He reminded the committee that expanding “school choice” and parental authority in education is a position the body as a whole has very publicly taken over the last few years, including the creation and potential expansion of Gov. Bil Lee’s Education Freedom Scholarship Act.
Rep. Mark White said that while he agreed with everything Rep. Barrett had said as a “big advocate of school choice”, he still believed the resolution “is a step too far because with school choice we do have to have accountability for all. Parents have a right, I’m a big believer in that, but also parents have a right to make sure their child is educated, and I’m afraid with legislation such as this that it would be a step too far, so I can’t support it.”
Ultimately, the vote resulted in a 4-4 tie with Republicans Kirk Haston, Lee Reeves, and Mark White joining Democrat Sam McKenzie to vote “No”. Notably, Democrat Yusuf Hakeem did join the three other Republican subcommittee members, Gino Bulso, Aron Maberry, and William Slater, in voting for the measure.
When there is a tie vote in the House, a bill is considered “failed” and is now dead.
Rep. Barrett told The Tennessee Conservative he found the vote, “both encouraging and puzzling. I was encouraged to see one of the two Democrats on the committee vote in favor of this effort to enshrine parental choice into our state constitution. I was also grateful to see Rep. Maberry and Rep. Slater support homeschool families with this effort. On the other hand, it was disappointing to see both Chairman Haston and Chairman White vote against constitutional educational choice.”
With the failure of HJR0092 on Tuesday morning, the Senate companion carried by Janice Bowling was moved to the General Subcommittee of the Senate, signaling the official death of the legislation for the year.
About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
