Governor Lamont signs HB 5468  

For immediate release

May 26th 2026

Washington, DC – HB 5468 – An Act Concerning the Provision of Parent-Managed Learning –  has been signed into law by Governor Lamont as part of Public Act 26-37 . 

HB 5468, known as Connecticut’s “Homeschool Bill”, marks the first step the state has taken towards homeschool oversight. Parents in Connecticut will be required to submit a form declaring their intent to homeschool, and the state will maintain a registry. Enrollment in parent-managed learning will also require a one-time check to ensure no one in the household has an open case with the Department of Children and Families (DCF) or is on the child abuse/neglect registry. 

As part of the Make Homeschool Safe Act (MHSA), The Coalition for Responsible Home Education (CRHE) supports notification of intent to homeschool as floor-level accountability, and as a critical data point for informing safety and policy. Under this new Connecticut law, channels of communication between DCF and the school system are also opened, moving the needle towards our recommendations in the MHSA. Through our Homeschooling’s Invisible Children database project, researchers have identified that there is a critical juncture in risk factor when children are removed from a school environment during an active welfare investigation, and HB 5468 recognizes that risk in information sharing and preventing withdrawal until completion. 

CRHE staff, alumni and partners testified in person and via written comments to the Education Committee, and participated in ongoing collaboration with area organizations and efforts to ensure that safety and protection of homeschooled children was given fair consideration by all legislators. HB 5468 (which originally included educational assessments and public school resource access) was amended significantly, ultimately passing the Education Committee 26-20,  the House 96-53, and the Senate 22-14. 

“We are grateful to the Connecticut legislators, and Representative Leeper especially, for taking on the monumental task of addressing homeschool policy in Connecticut and addressing the responsibility the state has to all children,” said CRHE’s executive director Tess Ulrey. “The legislators that voted in favor of these bills recognized that every homeschooled child has the right to an open future, and deserves to be known and to be safe in their home. HB 5468 is an important, significant step towards legislative guardrails.”  

“The passage of HB 5468 represents a watershed moment in the history of homeschool legislation, which has been defined nearly exclusively by a coordinated campaign to erode the scant protections that exist for homeschooled children,
said CRHE’s director of programs, Dr Jonah Stewart. “In successfully introducing an oversight structure to the state, the Connecticut general assembly has fundamentally transformed the national conversation around homeschool policy, proving it is possible for lawmakers to foreground children’s rights and reasonable, evidence-based policy in the face of substantial opposition. We applaud all lawmakers involved, the sponsors in particular, for not wavering in taking a stand for vulnerable children.”

There are still 11 states without any registration or resources for homeschooled children, and 47 states without policy in place to address withdrawal during an active or after a substantiated child welfare investigation. Earlier this year, Nebraska codified two more protections for homeschooled children, and CRHE implores elected officials and leaders in additional states to follow their lead in making homeschooling safer. 

The Coalition for Responsible Home Education, founded in 2013, empowers homeschooled children by educating the public and advocating for child-centered, evidence-based policy and practices for families and professionals. CRHE envisions a future where homeschooled children’s right to a comprehensive and empowering education and to a safe and supportive home environment is affirmed and protected by laws, stakeholders, and society as a whole. CRHE’s strength is our people: our staff, volunteers, and the community of homeschooled children and adults we serve, all powered by the generous support of donors like you.

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