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Urgent! ​

Illinois lawmakers are now accepting witness slips from anyone in the U.S. to show their support for HB 2827. In just 60 seconds, you can fill out this form and take a stand for homeschooled children. Our opposition is loud — let’s get louder! Fill out the form now, and tell everyone you know to send one, too.
Submit a Witness Slip
What to put on your witness slip:
  1. Fill out your name and contact information. 
  2. For Firm/Business, Title, and Representation, write “Self”
  3. Under position, check “PROPONENT”
  4. Under testimony, check “RECORD OF APPEARANCE ONLY.” If you are a resident of Illinois and want to give written or oral testimony in addition to your witness slip, please wait to file a witness slip and get in touch with us! 

Last updated: March 6, 2025

What’s happening

Right now, Illinois lawmakers are discussing HB 2827, a bill that would protect children’s right to learn and to be safe. The bill is based on the Make Homeschool Safe Act, CRHE’s groundbreaking model legislation which details comprehensive legal protections for children who are homeschooled.

Stand with us in support of HB 2827.

What would HB 2827 do?

If passed into law, HB 2827 would: 

  • Under current law: Parents aren’t required to notify school officials that their child is homeschooled. That means no one knows whether a homeschooled student exists, and there’s no way to distinguish between homeschooled students and truant students.
  • Under HB 2827: Homeschooling parents must notify their local school district of their intent to homeschool their child each year.
  • Under current law: There’s no requirement for parents to maintain any records of their homeschooled child’s education. That means there’s no way for that child and their family to show that the child is receiving an adequate education.
  • Under HB 2827: Homeschooling parents must maintain a portfolio of their child’s work to show the child is receiving an education at least on par with public school standards.
  • Under current law: People who don’t have a high school diploma or its equivalent are allowed to homeschool. That means a parent could homeschool a child through a grade the parent didn’t complete themselves.
  • Under HB 2827: Homeschooling parents must have a high school diploma or its equivalent.
  • Under current law: Convicted sex offenders are allowed to isolate children by homeschooling them.
  • Under HB 2827: People convicted of sexual offenses are banned from homeschooling.
  • Under current law: There is no process for homeschooled children to submit immunization records if they want to participate in public school activities. Sometimes, that leads to barriers to entry for homeschool students. 
  • Under HB 2827: Homeschooled children who take part in public school activities must submit their immunization records the same way that public school students do. By explaining how immunization records should be handled, the bill streamlines the process for homeschooled students to participate in public school activities when a public school district has made that an option for them. All exemptions to immunization available under current law remain in place. 

How you can support this bill

Illinois residents: Contact House democrats on the education committee by phone and email and tell them to say yes to HB 2827.

House democrats to call and email:

Laura Faver Dias (D): (217) 782-7320, info@repfaverdias.com

Diane Blair-Sherlock (D): (630) 415-3520, staterep46@gmail.com

Fred Crespo (D): (217) 782-0347, fred@fredcrespo.com

Maura Hirschauer (D): (217) 782-1653, office@repmaura49.com

Gregg Johnson (D): (217) 782-5970, support@repgreggjohnson.com

Joyce Mason (D): (217) 782-8151, info@repjoycemason.com

Katie Stuart (D): (217) 782-8018, repkatiestuart@gmail.com

Hello, I’m reaching out in support of HB 2827 and ensuring every school-age child in Illinois is safe and educated. 

It’s time for Illinois to join 39 other states in requiring families to notify their local school districts that they are choosing to homeschool their child. This notification is essential to ensure that homeschooled children are accounted for and cannot disappear without anyone noticing. 

HB 2827 creates basic education requirements for parents, which protect children’s right to a safe, effective education.

HB 2827 will also prevent people convicted of sexual crimes from homeschooling, which is crucial to protect children from being isolated by known abusers.

Thank you for your time and your support of HB 2827.

If you have a personal connection to homeschooling, please share your story when you contact state lawmakers about this bill. Your story is particularly powerful if you:

  • Were homeschooled
  • Have homeschooled a child
  • Work with homeschooling families
  • Know a homeschooling family

Everyone: Spread the word about HB 2827

  • Talk about HB 2827 on social media, particularly if you have followers in Illinois.
  • Follow CRHE on Instagram, Bluesky, and Facebook for updates.
  • Talk with your friends and family about how under-regulated homeschooling is – most people in good faith assume homeschooling has regulations and are surprised to learn that’s not the case.

Change the law, change our lives

Content note: mentions of child abuse, CSA, and child death

Current homeschool laws in Illinois are missing crucial protections for children. And too many children have paid a steep price for this policy failure. Since 2000, at least six children have died from abuse and neglect while being homeschooled under Illinois’s current laws. 

Alysha Rose Quate is one of those children. In 2013, she reportedly choked to death after a beating by her father. She was just six years old.

After Alysha died, her parents stored her body in a plastic bin to hide her death from the world. Alysha’s death wasn’t uncovered until years later, when her mother reported it to a women’s shelter.

How could a child be dead for years without anyone knowing? Because when that child is homeschooled in Illinois, no one is required to account for them. No one is checking to see if they’re being educated, if they’re safe, if they’re even alive.

When Alysha’s parents withdrew her from school to be homeschooled in 2011, she disappeared from the radar of officials who could step in and help her. Alysha’s parents also isolated her family and friends. That level of isolation is a known risk factor for abuse.

Stories like Alysha’s demonstrate why Illinois must pass HB 2827. Ensuring that every school-age child is accounted for will protect them from falling through the system’s cracks.

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