Image Credit: TN General Assembly
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
After already passing on the Senate floor in a unanimous vote on Monday, a truancy bill that is fiercely opposed by Homeschool families in Tennessee as well as national homeschool advocacy group Home School Legal Defense Association is now advancing in the House.
On Tuesday, the legislation passed in the House Education Administration Subcommittee in a 4 to 0 vote and now heads to the House Education Committee. Should the bill pass in this committee, it will then go to the House floor for a final vote.
Sponsored by Representative Kevin Raper (R-Cleveland-District 24), House Bill 1823 as amended requires that attendance records be maintained for the entirety of the school year for a student transferring or withdrawing from a public school and that the number of unexcused absences accumulated at the previous school be made part of the student’s record at a new school so that the appropriate tier of a progressive truancy plan can be implemented, should the number of absences require intervention.
Tennessee Homeschool Advocacy group Free Your Children (FYC) has stated that the legislation gives juvenile judges permission to deny a parent’s constitutional right to homeschool.
An example of this happened in 2023 in Coffee County when a Juvenile Court Judge ordered a homeschooled student back to public school.
Contact information for members of the House Education Committee may be found below.
House Education Committee – HB1823 will likely be heard next week
HB1823 codifies into law the ability for a juvenile judge to determine a child’s educational path.
Rep.mark.white@capitol.tn.gov; rep.kevin.raper@capitol.tn.gov; rep.jody.barrett@capitol.tn.gov; rep.charlie.baum@capitol.tn.gov; rep.gino.bulso@capitol.tn.gov; rep.scott.cepicky@capitol.tn.gov; rep.ronnie.glynn@capitol.tn.gov; rep.yusuf.hakeem@capitol.tn.gov; rep.kirk.haston@capitol.tn.gov; rep.tim.hicks@capitol.tn.gov; rep.chris.hurt@capitol.tn.gov; rep.gloria.johnson@capitol.tn.gov; rep.renea.jones@capitol.tn.gov; rep.aron.maberry@capitol.tn.gov; rep.sam.mckenzie@capitol.tn.gov; rep.jay.reedy@capitol.tn.gov; rep.lee.reeves@capitol.tn.gov; rep.william.slater@capitol.tn.gov; rep.robert.stevens@capitol.tn.gov
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
