Many members of the homeschooling community support oversight of homeschooling, including current and former homeschooled students and current and former homeschool parents. At CRHE, we are working to change the conversation. We believe that the voices of homeschool alumni should play a role in conversations on homeschool policy, and that the voices of homeschool parents who support oversight should not be ignored or minimized.

If you would like to contribute your own personal reflection, you can! We invite homeschool alumni and current and present homeschool parents who support accountability for homeschooling to lay out and explain their reasons. You may use a pseudonym if necessary. Click here to learn how to submit your own call for reform! We would love to feature your thoughts.

To view all of our voices for reform to date, click here.

Homeschool Alumni Reflect 

Homeschool alumni who support oversight have had a variety of experiences, some positive and others negative. Alumni with negative homeschool experiences often want to save other children from suffering the harm they did while alumni with positive homeschool experiences want to ensure that current and future homeschooled children have positive experiences too.

“I support oversight of homeschooling because every child deserves a good education in all subjects.” ~ Jerusha Loftland

“My family knew homeschooled children … who could barely read and who had learning disabilities that their families were not equipped to even identify, let alone address.” ~ Alisa Harris

Without oversight, there was no need to think about compiling a portfolio. Without state standards, there was no benchmark for my progress.” ~ Caitlin T.

“I can tell you that not having anyone really paying attention to my education cost me years of having to make it up.” ~ Bethany Brittain

• Kimberly R.: “Every abuse had a magnified effect on us” – “My mother . . . read to us a lot and corrected our grammar constantly. As a result, my siblings and I all have excellent literary skills. However, both of my parents were sorely lacking in the area of math and science. Since they were the only source of academic support that I had access to, I did not have access to a proper math and science education. I was told many times in my childhood that boys are naturally better at math and science, and that I, being a girl could never excel, so I never tried.”
• Megan P.: “I do not wish my experience on anyone” – “I was constantly reminded that if I didn’t vouch for my family in the most favorable light, I could and probably would be separated from them. (I now recognize that to be another clear sign of abuse.) The fear of child protective services, and social workers in general (being agents who tore families apart), was both irrational yet deeply ingrained in me as a child.”
• Teresa M.: “P only cared about her check clearing.” – “At the time my parents were homeschooling us in the state of Ohio a certified teacher was needed to sign off that the children were being educated. They were supposed to look over the last year’s work to verify. The woman who did ours was also a member of our church and homeschool support group and never even looked at the stuff mom brought her, which wasn’t much. I even remember mom commenting that ‘P only cared about her check clearing.’”
• Jennifer P.: “My parents broke the state’s homeschooling laws knowingly” – “Upon settling in Pennsylvania, which has regulations that are generally seen as “stringent,” my parents refused to report, having not reported previously. I met other homeschooling families who followed the laws and their children usually participated in a co-op or other activities with other homeschoolers. . . . I was not aware of any educational shortcoming in my friends—even the large families used evaluators and spent a lot of time DOING school.”
• Jamie G.: “I want to see that change, now” – “I was homeschooled … in Illinois, a state that has no homeschool regulation, no testing requirements, nothing. Unless a homeschooled child has been in a public school district before being homeschooled (which would require the family to notify the district as they withdraw the student), local officials and the state quite frankly don’t know you even exist if you are homeschooled.”
• Jeremy C.: “For a long time, I did not support regulation of homeschooling” – “I still believe in John Holt’s vision of a healthy, self-actualized society of lifelong learners, but I see nothing in Teach Your Own that says the lives of abused children don’t matter, or that taking basic precautions to protect against abuse is an unreasonable hindrance to the learning process. Ultimately, I believe that I can best advocate for homeschooling by advocating for regulations that protect homeschooled children; being a supporter of homeschooling and a supporter of homeschooling regulation are, for me, the same thing.”
• Lana Martin: “I suffered severe depression, suicidality, and disordered eating” – “Early in my childhood, my mother was diagnosed with major depression and generalized anxiety disorder; throughout the homeschool years she struggled to function as a mother, let alone as an educator. . . . My mother also exhibited traits of borderline personality disorder and was unpredictable and frequently intrusive, hypercritical, and explosively angry.”
• Arielle G.: “I was a homeschool poster child” – “I was a homeschool poster child. When proponents tell skeptics about homeschool alums with soaring test scores, stellar credentials, and successful careers, I’m one of the examples they cite. After being home educated K—12 in California and Idaho, I pursued my passion—history—at an Ivy League college, graduating with highest honors and moving on to a Ph.D. program in the same field.”
• Kathryn Brightbill: “I’ve seen how wonderful homeschooling can be” – “I support oversight of home education not because I had a bad homeschooling experience, but because I had a good one. I’ve seen how wonderful homeschooling can be when it works because I’ve lived it. When I hear the stories of homeschooled students who experienced educational neglect or abuse, or the formerly homeschooled adults who are struggling to overcome the deficits in their education, it saddens me to know how much the system failed them.”
• Amethyst Marie: “The students most affected … were girls” – “I believe that the education I received through homeschooling was likely better than what I would’ve gotten in my local public school districts. But I can’t say this for all the homeschoolers I grew up with. I knew teenagers who weren’t being given a complete high school education, particularly high school math and science. The students most affected by this were girls.”

[Read All Alumni Reflections Here]

Homeschooling Parents Reflect 

Many homeschooling parents also support oversight of homeschooling and see the need for reform. Below, homeschooling parents share their own personal reflections and discuss how the current lack of oversight for homeschooling in most states affects them personally.

“As a licensed civil engineer, I would not think twice about my superior evaluating me. … I think about accountability and oversight of home education in the same way.” ~ Amanda Smith

“Until I left my job to start a small private practice so I could be home more to school my son, I was working with people struggling with substance use disorders and trapped in poverty. Most had not graduated high school and never got their GED. A sizeable portion had left school because their parents pulled them out, allegedly to homeschool them.” ~ Rioanna

“Following a few regulations is not burdensome and provides protection for both the parent and child and ensures a successful homeschool experience for all.” ~ Kieth and Gail Brightbill

“I’m a perfectionist who constantly worries about where he is academically or where he needs to be, and I find myself looking up state standards at least several times a month for guidance. I would so much prefer regulation for homeschooling.” ~ E. Bradshaw

• LaDonna Sasscer: “We home educators should welcome accountability” – “The homeschool community should be leading the way in demanding accountability in home education. We who are not abusing our children, we who are providing a quality education, we who want to be accepted participants in community life, should demand politicians put in place a process that differentiates between quality home education and child neglect, and in the worst cases, abuse.”
• Amanda Smith: “I want a professional looking at what I’ve done” – “As a licensed civil engineer, I would not think twice about my superior evaluating me. It simply wouldn’t be safe for the public if I were to design something without that design being checked by my superior. I think about accountability and oversight of home education in the same way.”
• Keith and Gail Brightbill: “We are strong believers in accountability” – “Space does not permit us to discuss the many more positive benefits homeschool parents and their children receive by having accountability procedures in place. Following a few requirements is not burdensome and provides protection for both the parent and child and ensures a successful homeschool experience for all. Remember, the goal is to prepare our children to be educated, moral, productive members of society.”
• Jackie Cordon: “I always felt very fortunate with Iowa’s homeschooling laws” – “As a Christian homeschooling parent of four, I always felt very fortunate with Iowa’s homeschooling laws. I homeschooled my children in Iowa for fifteen years, all the way up until my youngest graduated three years ago. I’m writing because Iowa’s homeschooling law benefited my own children in a real way, and I want present and future homeschooled children in Iowa to have these same benefits.”
• Lara Kondor: “I had never actually intended to homeschool my son” – “Christian believes homeschooling did benefit him. He was allowed to explore reading, math, history and science at his own pace and to develop a great passion for learning. However, he worries that this may not be true of all homeschooled children. He especially worries for the girls he knew that were being told as young as five that they would not go to college because their duty was to be a good wife and mom.”
• Keith and Gail Brightbill: “We are strong believers in accountability” – “Space does not permit us to discuss the many more positive benefits homeschool parents and their children receive by having accountability procedures in place. Following a few requirements is not burdensome and provides protection for both the parent and child and ensures a successful homeschool experience for all. Remember, the goal is to prepare our children to be educated, moral, productive members of society.”
• Jackie Cordon: “I always felt very fortunate with Iowa’s homeschooling laws” – “As a Christian homeschooling parent of four, I always felt very fortunate with Iowa’s homeschooling laws. I homeschooled my children in Iowa for fifteen years, all the way up until my youngest graduated three years ago. I’m writing because Iowa’s homeschooling law benefited my own children in a real way, and I want present and future homeschooled children in Iowa to have these same benefits.”
• Lara Kondor: “I had never actually intended to homeschool my son” – “Christian believes homeschooling did benefit him. He was allowed to explore reading, math, history and science at his own pace and to develop a great passion for learning. However, he worries that this may not be true of all homeschooled children. He especially worries for the girls he knew that were being told as young as five that they would not go to college because their duty was to be a good wife and mom.”
• LaDonna Sasscer: “We home educators should welcome accountability” – “The homeschool community should be leading the way in demanding accountability in home education. We who are not abusing our children, we who are providing a quality education, we who want to be accepted participants in community life, should demand politicians put in place a process that differentiates between quality home education and child neglect, and in the worst cases, abuse.”
• Amanda Smith: “I want a professional looking at what I’ve done” – “As a licensed civil engineer, I would not think twice about my superior evaluating me. It simply wouldn’t be safe for the public if I were to design something without that design being checked by my superior. I think about accountability and oversight of home education in the same way.”

[Read All Parent Reflections Here]

Across the Country

The personal reflections featured here are written by individuals across the country. While the level of oversight in each state varies, nearly every state’s system of homeschool oversight has serious flaws and loopholes. These reflections shed light on a wide variety of problems that plague current homeschool accountability measures, and touch on points for change.

Alabama

• Giselle Palmer: “Good home schools will show progress”

Alaska

Arizona

• Jeremy C.: “For a long time, I did not support regulation of homeschooling”
• Jeremy C.: “For a long time, I did not support regulation of homeschooling”
• Jane N.: “We were completely cut off from the outside world”
• Jeremy C.: “For a long time, I did not support regulation of homeschooling”

Arkansas

California

• Jeremy C.: “For a long time, I did not support regulation of homeschooling”
• Arielle G.: “I was a homeschool poster child”
• Jeremy C.: “For a long time, I did not support regulation of homeschooling”
• Arielle G.: “I was a homeschool poster child”
• Faye Marcinko: “Homeschooling in America is full of contradictions and extremes”
• Rai Storm: “There was no gratefulness. There was no escape. It just went on and on.”
• Alex H.: “I often wonder at what cost”
• Jessica A.: “Homeschool is an abusive parent’s dream”
• Bethany Brittain: “It didn’t take long for me to lose my excitement”
• Sierra S.: “My mom … was obviously overwhelmed”

Colorado

• Linda P.: “I wish I could paint a happy ending to this story”
• Eleanor Skelton: “I saw no balance”
• Cynthia Jeub: “I wasn’t really taught anything after I was ten years old”

Connecticut

• Amber Moore: “Nobody could help me except myself”

Delaware

Florida

• Amanda Smith: “I want a professional looking at what I’ve done”
• LaDonna Sasscer: “We home educators should welcome accountability”
• Lara Kondor: “I had never actually intended to homeschool my son”
• Keith and Gail Brightbill: “We are strong believers in accountability”
• Kathryn Brightbill: “I’ve seen how wonderful homeschooling can be”
• Amanda Smith: “I want a professional looking at what I’ve done”
• LaDonna Sasscer: “We home educators should welcome accountability”
• Lara Kondor: “I had never actually intended to homeschool my son”
• Keith and Gail Brightbill: “We are strong believers in accountability”
• Kathryn Brightbill: “I’ve seen how wonderful homeschooling can be”

Georgia

• Amanda Smith: “I want a professional looking at what I’ve done”
• Amanda Smith: “I want a professional looking at what I’ve done”
• Amy W.: “Supporting homeschool oversight is the least we can do”
• Catherine S.: “Everyone needs a checks and balance system”
• Amanda Smith: “I want a professional looking at what I’ve done”

Hawaii

Idaho

• Arielle G.: “I was a homeschool poster child”
• Arielle G.: “I was a homeschool poster child”
• Arielle G.: “I was a homeschool poster child”

Illinois

• Amanda Smith: “I want a professional looking at what I’ve done”
• Megan P.: “I do not wish my experience on anyone”
• Jamie G.: “I want to see that change, now”
• Amanda Smith: “I want a professional looking at what I’ve done”
• Megan P.: “I do not wish my experience on anyone”
• Jamie G.: “I want to see that change, now”
• Maria M.: “I’m still playing catch-up”
• Amanda Smith: “I want a professional looking at what I’ve done”
• Megan P.: “I do not wish my experience on anyone”
• Jamie G.: “I want to see that change, now”

Indiana

• Rachel Coleman: “Good homeschooling … is not something that happens automatically”
• Rachel Coleman: “Good homeschooling … is not something that happens automatically”
• Danielle C.: “The state never followed up on my education”
• Rachel Coleman: “Good homeschooling … is not something that happens automatically”

Iowa

• Jackie Cordon: “I always felt very fortunate with Iowa’s homeschooling laws”
• Jackie Cordon: “I always felt very fortunate with Iowa’s homeschooling laws”
• Jackie Cordon: “I always felt very fortunate with Iowa’s homeschooling laws”

Kansas

• Jane Morgan: “I was the homeschooled kid who grew up to become a homeschool mom”
• Jerusha Lofland: “Ignorance leaves people vulnerable”
• Amethyst Marie: “The students most affected … were girls”
• Jane Morgan: “I was the homeschooled kid who grew up to become a homeschool mom”
• Jerusha Lofland: “Ignorance leaves people vulnerable”
• Amethyst Marie: “The students most affected … were girls”
• Jane Morgan: “I was the homeschooled kid who grew up to become a homeschool mom”
• Jerusha Lofland: “Ignorance leaves people vulnerable”
• Amethyst Marie: “The students most affected … were girls”

Kentucky

Louisiana

• W. S. Hunter: “Parents are flawed people, like all of us”

Maine

Maryland

• Jennifer P.: “My parents broke the state’s homeschooling laws knowingly”
• Jennifer P.: “My parents broke the state’s homeschooling laws knowingly”
• Jennifer P.: “My parents broke the state’s homeschooling laws knowingly”

Massachusetts

• Jackie H.: “You owe your child a proper education”

Michigan

• Jerusha Lofland: “Ignorance leaves people vulnerable”
• Jerusha Lofland: “Ignorance leaves people vulnerable”
• Jerusha Lofland: “Ignorance leaves people vulnerable”

Minnesota

• Hope M.: “I don’t even know how many people knew we existed”
• Bea M.: “Unchecked power is perilous”
• Cynthia Jeub: “I wasn’t really taught anything after I was ten years old”

Mississippi

Missouri

• Jane Morgan: “I was the homeschooled kid who grew up to become a homeschool mom”
• Chandra B.: “Protections are a necessary part of all educational systems”
• Amethyst Marie: “The students most affected … were girls”
• Jane Morgan: “I was the homeschooled kid who grew up to become a homeschool mom”
• Chandra B.: “Protections are a necessary part of all educational systems”
• Amethyst Marie: “The students most affected … were girls”
• Amber Moore: “Nobody could help me except myself”
• Jane Morgan: “I was the homeschooled kid who grew up to become a homeschool mom”
• Chandra B.: “Protections are a necessary part of all educational systems”
• Amethyst Marie: “The students most affected … were girls”

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

• Jennifer P.: “My parents broke the state’s homeschooling laws knowingly”
• Caitlin T.: “In New Jersey, things fell apart”
• Jennifer P.: “My parents broke the state’s homeschooling laws knowingly”
• Caitlin T.: “In New Jersey, things fell apart”
• Jennifer P.: “My parents broke the state’s homeschooling laws knowingly”
• Caitlin T.: “In New Jersey, things fell apart”

New Mexico

• Samantha Field: “It was far too easy to outright lie”
• Alisa Harris: “Even growing up, I knew I was one of the lucky homeschoolers”

New York

• Jennifer P.: “My parents broke the state’s homeschooling laws knowingly”
• Jennifer P.: “My parents broke the state’s homeschooling laws knowingly”
• Rebecca F.: “The physical abuse and neglect was obvious to me from a very early age”
• Jesse M.: “Some of these things would most likely not have been done if they were not required”
• Elizabeth W.: “I am a survivor”
• Jennifer P.: “My parents broke the state’s homeschooling laws knowingly”

North Carolina

• LaDonna Sasscer: “We home educators should welcome accountability”
• Jane Morgan: “I was the homeschooled kid who grew up to become a homeschool mom”
• LaDonna Sasscer: “We home educators should welcome accountability”
• Jane Morgan: “I was the homeschooled kid who grew up to become a homeschool mom”
• W. S. Hunter: “Parents are flawed people, like all of us”
• Emilie Huffman: “This has been a love letter to my mom”
• Sarah Jones: “I’ve been lucky”
• Holly S.: “If there had only been some protection in place”
• LaDonna Sasscer: “We home educators should welcome accountability”
• Jane Morgan: “I was the homeschooled kid who grew up to become a homeschool mom”

North Dakota

Ohio

• Teresa M.: “P only cared about her check clearing.”
• Teresa M.: “P only cared about her check clearing.”
• Abbey L.: “If anybody ever saw something concerning, nobody ever said a word.”
• Sarah: “The school never did anything to enforce their regulations”
• Elle S.: “Some years I had science, most years I didn’t”
• Lillie S.: “I was never once asked if I felt safe at home”
• Teresa M.: “P only cared about her check clearing.”

Oklahoma

• Jane Smith: “I am haunted by the question of what might have been different”

Oregon

• Kimberly R.: “Every abuse had a magnified effect on us”
• Kimberly R.: “Every abuse had a magnified effect on us”
• Kimberly R.: “Every abuse had a magnified effect on us”

Pennsylvania

• Megan P.: “I do not wish my experience on anyone”
• Jennifer P.: “My parents broke the state’s homeschooling laws knowingly”
• Caitlin T.: “In New Jersey, things fell apart”
• Megan P.: “I do not wish my experience on anyone”
• Jennifer P.: “My parents broke the state’s homeschooling laws knowingly”
• Caitlin T.: “In New Jersey, things fell apart”
• Jesse M.: “Some of these things would most likely not have been done if they were not required”
• Rebecca A.: “I feel I have been denied the opportunity to live up to my potential”
• Sarah M.: “These assessments turned out to be easily avoided”
• Jane Smith: “I am haunted by the question of what might have been different”

Rhode Island

• Jennifer I.: “All that was required was a note every year”

South Carolina

• Holly S.: “If there had only been some protection in place”

South Dakota

Tennessee

• Giselle Palmer: “Good home schools will show progress”

Texas

• Jane Morgan: “I was the homeschooled kid who grew up to become a homeschool mom”
• Lana Martin: “I suffered severe depression, suicidality, and disordered eating”
• Amethyst Marie: “The students most affected … were girls”
• Jane Morgan: “I was the homeschooled kid who grew up to become a homeschool mom”
• Lana Martin: “I suffered severe depression, suicidality, and disordered eating”
• Amethyst Marie: “The students most affected … were girls”
• Amber Moore: “Nobody could help me except myself”
• Joan T.: “My dysfunctional and emotionally abusive home was my school.”
• Erika S.: “Verbal and physical abuse was a norm”
• E. Bradshaw: “Some kind of oversight for me would help me out”

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

• Abbey L.: “If anybody ever saw something concerning, nobody ever said a word.”
• Lynne A.: “I wasn’t protected at all”
• Sarah Jones: “I’ve been lucky”

Washington

• Katrina B.: “My parents sincerely tried their best”

West Virginia

• Brittany Randolph: “As time went on, our schedule became looser and looser”

Wisconsin

Wyoming

The personal reflects presented here are the opinions of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the positions of CRHE.