Skip navigation
Whereas the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) is a state-wide association that watches, promotes, and defends the rights of parents, families, and children; and
Whereas WPA recognizes that there is no one best way to educate children since their talents and abilities are so varied; and
Whereas home schoolers are a very diverse group with widely varying income levels, approaches to education, religious and philosophical beliefs; and
Whereas the one thing home schoolers have in common is their commitment to establishing and maintaining their parental rights to educate their children according to their beliefs and principles;
Be it resolved that WPA and its members will support parents in their choice in education. 4/88
Whereas the current law (1983 Act 512) regarding Home-Based Private Educational Programs (HBPEP) provides for (a) protecting the state's interest in education by requiring that HBPEPs meet basic educational requirements and comply with the compulsory school attendance law; (b) protecting the parents' rights by requiring that the information reported to the state and attested to by parents, while sufficient to protect the state's interest, is not too burdensome or intrusive; does not violate constitutional, parental, and religious rights; and does not violate the principle of innocent until proven guilty; and (c) protecting the rights of children by allowing HBPEPs enough choice and flexibility so that they can be true alternatives and thereby meet the educational needs of the children enrolled in them; and
Whereas certain recommendations to further regulate HBPEPs (a) have not been supported by documented need; (b) would most probably be unconstitutional; (c) have not worked historically in Wisconsin; and (d) would probably do more harm than good; and
Whereas the current law is working well;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA supports the current law (1983 Act 512) and opposes changing the law. 4/88
Whereas standardized tests are only one way of measuring the mastery of a specific set of facts; and
Whereas standardized tests can become a means of determining and controlling the curriculum, teaching methods, and structure of a school or program; and
Whereas there is increasing evidence that standardized tests do not measure what they claim to measure; and
Whereas standardized tests can be used to label children, to justify additional testing, and to require child placement out of the home; and
Whereas state-mandated standardized testing provides that the state rather than the parent would decide when children are ready for tests, what tests will be used, how and where tests will be administered, and what to do about the results;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA is opposed to state-mandated standardized testing and will work to prevent it from being mandated for Home-Based Private Educational Programs. 4/88
Whereas the United States by its constitution, tradition, and custom has long recognized, practiced, and provided for the parent to have the primary right in and responsibility for a child's education; and
Whereas the distinction between public and private education, including home-based private education, is established by custom, tradition, and statute and is fundamental to the exercise of choice in education and to the avoidance of a state monopoly in education; and
Whereas Article X of the Wisconsin Constitution grants the State Superintendent of Public Instruction authority over public, not private, education; and
Whereas the Wisconsin legislature has passed a law (1983 Act 512) that requires Home-Based Private Educational Programs to meet educational requirements and be in compliance with the compulsory school attendance law, a law that balances the state's, parent's, and children's rights and responsibilities in education;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA views the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to have no authority to regulate private education, including Home-Based Private Educational Programs.
Be it further resolved that the WPA will not initiate or propose matters to the DPI that would recognize, foster, or grant such regulatory authority by the DPI over private education. 4/88
Whereas there is no general agreement as to the one best way to educate children, and no set calendar or curriculum has been shown to be consistently superior; and
Whereas the tutorial approach to education is recognized to be very effective in meeting the individual educational needs of a student; and
Whereas the standardized approach to calendars and curriculums used in the public schools for classes of 10 to 30 students is inappropriate for home-based private educational programs; and
Whereas one of the major strengths of a home school is that the small number of students makes it possible for curriculum to be individually designed for each student to take advantage of his/her talents, abilities, and learning style, and requiring state review and approval of curriculum would seriously threaten this strength; and
Whereas the U. S. Supreme Court has ruled that the state may not have a monopoly in education; and
Whereas state review and approval of calendars and curriculums could lead to a standardization that could result in a monopoly in education; and
Whereas the U. S. Supreme Court has ruled that parents have the right to chose an education for their child that is consistent with their beliefs and principles; and
Whereas the U. S. Constitution and Wisconsin Constitution and statutes provide for the separation of church and state, including parental choice in what subjects and curriculums a child is taught; and
Whereas prior to 1984 the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) in Wisconsin abused even its limited authority to review and approve home schoolers' calendars and curriculums by arbitrary and unfair treatment of them, leading the Wisconsin legislature to deny DPI's request for a statute granting DPI such authority; and
Whereas hundreds of studies have shown parental participation in a child's education to be the single variable that consistently correlates positively with student achievement; and
Whereas the current law provides for prosecution of parents and students under existing statutes for failure to meet the required standards set forth for home-based private educational programs; and
Whereas the current law is working well;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA is opposed to state review and approval of a home-based private educational program's calendar and curriculum and will work to prevent such actions being mandated for home-based private educational programs. 4/89
Whereas numerous studies from the past 25 years fail to show that teacher training, certification, or advanced degrees for teachers result in student achievement; and
Whereas the wisdom of certifying public school teachers is being questioned (the Carnegie Forum on Education and the Economy has recommended abolishing undergraduate departments and schools of teacher education) and several states have waived or are considering waiving public school teacher certification requirements; and
Whereas private schools in Wisconsin are not required to employ certified teachers; and
Whereas the number of states requiring certification of home schooling parents has been reduced through court cases and legislation to, in effect, only one state; and
Whereas the single variable that consistently correlates positively with student achievement is family background and parental participation in education;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA opposes requiring certification of home-based private educational program parents as teachers and will work to prevent it from being mandated. 4/89
Whereas home schooled students have consistently been shown to perform very well academically and socially; and
Whereas entry/re-entry policies have been established without a demonstrated need or basis in fact by local public school districts in Wisconsin in response to or anticipation of Home-Based Private Educational Program students entering public schools; and
Whereas approximately 4,000 former Home-Based Private Educational Program students have successfully entered conventional schools over the past five years without such policies being in effect; and
Whereas such policies often discriminate against Home-Based Private Educational Program (HBPEP) students by applying different standards, criteria, and tests against HBPEP students than against other private or public school students entering a public school in the areas of test scores, social development, trial periods for grade placement, time requirements for graduation, acceptance of courses and grades for courses, and eligibility for awards; and
Whereas such policies can have serious lasting negative effects on a HBPEP student's grade placement, school performance, and personal career; and
Whereas such policies are often in violation of a parent's and student's protection under the 1st, 4th, 9th, and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and Wisconsin equal protection, fair treatment, and anti-discrimination statutes; and
Whereas such policies can arbitrarily affect a parent's and student's free choice of public education, detour citizens from choosing a HBPEP, and punish a family for choosing a HBPEP for one or more of its members;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA opposes such discriminatory policies, encourages its members to oppose the development and enactment of such discriminatory policies by local school boards, and encourages its members to work toward rescinding such discriminatory policies where they have been adopted. 4/90
Whereas some home schoolers want to take one or more courses in a public school; and
Whereas the Wisconsin Constitution provides for free public education to all persons ages four through 20 years of age; and
Whereas the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has given advice to local school boards that has led to policies denying home schoolers access to public school courses; and
Whereas some formal policies adopted by local school boards prevent (in highly discriminatory ways) home schoolers from taking public school courses; and
Whereas such policies are often in violation of a parent's and student's rights under the 1st, 4th, 5th, 9th, and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and under Wisconsin's statutes covering equal protection, fair treatment, and anti-discrimination; and
Whereas such policies can deny students equal educational opportunity and have long-term effects on a person's educational and career goals and accomplishments;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA opposes such discriminatory policies, encourages its members to oppose the development and enactment of such discriminatory policies by local school boards, and encourages its members to work toward rescinding such discriminatory policies where they have been adopted. 4/90
Whereas home schoolers come from all walks of life; they home school for a number of different reasons; and they use a variety of curriculums and approaches to education; however, they all have one thing in common, namely, their determination to preserve the right to choose for their children an education consistent with their beliefs and principles; and
Whereas the Wisconsin statutes defining private schools (including home schools) resulted from the hard work of the full range of home schoolers and people involved in other small private schools in this state; and
Whereas home schoolers have organized themselves as Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) to watch and protect their parental rights in education, especially home schooling rights and responsibilities; and
Whereas WPA has steadfastly refused to take any position on approaches to education, religion, moral values, and has fought for the rights of its members and others to make their own decisions in these matters; and
Whereas it is not necessary for home schoolers to agree on educational approaches or religious and moral beliefs and principles in order to work together to secure and preserve the rights and freedoms all home schoolers need in order to make choices; and
Whereas home schoolers are a small minority and are opposed by powerful political interest groups and organizations; and
Whereas Wisconsin has a reasonable home schooling law; and
Whereas the unity of home schoolers on home schooling legislative issues has earned home schoolers respect in the Wisconsin Legislature and has worked to prevent unnecessary regulation of home schoolers; and
Whereas WPA is a grassroots organization which relies on the strength of its own local members rather than "experts," especially out-of-state experts who become involved in state legislative matters;
Be it resolved by members of Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA affirms its goal of assuring reasonable home schooling laws by working together as a united group that is open to all home schoolers; and
Be it further resolved that WPA opposes any state or national efforts that would split home schoolers into factions and thus weaken the ability of home schoolers to ensure reasonable home schooling laws. 4/90
Whereas parents are the primary educators of their children; and
Whereas the family has consistently been shown to provide the best environment for a child's growth and development; and
Whereas the family provides continuity of significant human relationships that provide academic, social, emotional, and moral support for a child's learning; and
Whereas a child's interaction with people of many different backgrounds and ages (rather than isolation with age-mates) provides him or her with adult role models and lessens stress and problems of peer pressure and dependence; and
Whereas children are individuals who vary in talents, abilities, and needs and in how and when they learn best; and
Whereas parents understand their children and their styles of learning and their special abilities better than persons who interact with them on a much more limited basis and parents have a stronger bond and commitment to their children; and
Whereas the one-on-one tutorial approach to education available to a home schooled child supports learning without undue pressure or labeling; and
Whereas parents rather than the state are responsible for their children, including their educations, and the state cannot be held accountable for the education of children (as shown through court cases where parents have consistently lost suits against school districts for failing to educate their children);
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA and its members will inform the general public and policy makers of the primary and central role of the parent in education; and
Be it further resolved that WPA and its members will work to ensure that parents retain their freedoms in education. 4/91
Whereas parents are responsible for their children, including their educations; and
Whereas the state has no constitutional, statutory, or common law authority to demand, require, or invoke any specific educational program for a child; and
Whereas the state has no legal authority in education except that available under the federal constitution's policing provision and only within the past 50 years has the citizenry used this authority to extend compulsory attendance laws through the high school years; and
Whereas schools derive their authority from parents and other citizens rather than from federal or state constitutions or authorities but this unfortunately is no longer commonly understood by many citizens; and
Whereas the state is assuming an increasingly large role in education by requiring standardized curriculum and standardized tests, extending the ages covered by compulsory school attendance laws, etc.; and
Whereas the state is tending to reduce parental freedoms by enlisting voluntary participation in publicly supported day care, preschool, four-year-old kindergarten, pre-school screening, parenting classes and home visits by publicly employed school district and/or social service workers to evaluate the development of preschool children and the adequacy of their parents' nurturing and the education they are providing; and
Whereas some parents, caught by the economic and social pressures of our society, are perhaps unknowingly surrendering their rights and responsibilities and allowing the state to take over some of the functions of the family; and
Whereas an increasing number of parents are working hard to regain their freedoms and responsibilities for their families, particularly in the area of education, but are needing to overcome the recently promoted notion that professional specialists in large institutions are authorities in the area of education and child rearing practices and should have a larger say in these basic family activities; and
Whereas home schooling parents recognize that they have a special opportunity and responsibility to demonstrate and defend the right and ability of parents to assume the primary role in their children's education;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA and its members will inform the general public and policy makers of the risks associated with the state's becoming involved in the basic responsibilities of parents and the family; and
Be it further resolved that WPA and its members will work through personal example and actions, their legislators, and other available means to counter encroachments of the state into such family responsibilities. 4/91
Whereas in this country, educational goals are now chosen by students and parents, generally assisted by teachers; and
Whereas the compulsory school attendance law requires attendance but does not and cannot dictate the outcome of that education (or there would be no freedom of thought or learning); and
Whereas public schools provide a service for those who choose to use them; and
Whereas the establishment of state goals in education would mean that the law would be requiring "education" rather than attendance; and
Whereas this country was founded in large part on the basis of freedom of thought and belief and with a determination to protect its citizens from the tyranny of state controls over thought and belief; and
Whereas there is no U. S. or Wisconsin constitutional authority for establishing state education goals or for limiting freedom of thought and freedom of education; and
Whereas a free society cannot exist if its citizens are required to have a state education;
Be it resolved by the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA and its members are opposed to the establishment of state goals in education and will work to inform its members and the general public of the problems and risks associated with the establishment of such goals. 4/92
Whereas there now exist national and state education plans and goals known as America 2000 and Wisconsin 2000 which are virtually identical in content and purpose and which would create national and state goals in education; extend the federal and state governments' role in education and family life by merging social services and educational services and extending them into the prenatal period; institute skills clinics; and require state-mandated tests and assessments and/or a national series of assessments and a national curriculum; and
Whereas these plans call for policies and legislation that would have professionals and institutions pass judgment on very young children and their parents and make determinations about people's knowledge, skills, and minds; and
Whereas these plans would change the fundamental role of education from that of providing a service to those who choose to attend a public school, to that of determining the way in which children are raised and the kind of adults they should become; and
Whereas these plans will draw private schools into serving the federal and state governments because in order for private school students to meet the state's skill and career certification requirements for jobs and colleges, private schools will have to administer the state's tests, follow its curriculum, and adopt its values; and
Whereas under these plans the state and schools rather than parents will choose and enforce requirements for what children should know and believe and how they should behave; and
Whereas these plans would further weaken local control of schools and school-based manage-ment and further restrict the decision making authority of teachers and administrators; and
Whereas these plans and their goals are based on using education and schools as the primary if not the sole basis for solving much larger problems in our society such as unemployment, poverty, and inadequate health care and nutrition; and when these are labeled "education goals," education and schools are identified as the problem, education and schools can become even more repressive in their role as agents of social control; and larger underlying problems that do not relate directly to education are neither articulated nor addressed; and
Whereas these plans provide very tempting opportunities for social service and school "experts" to identify (and sometimes even create) problems throughout families (including babies, children, and parents); the more alleged problems are found, the more jobs there will be for the "experts" while the taxpayers have to cover the increasing costs; and
Whereas Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) has taken strong positions through previous resolutions against: a. state control of education and the family; b. the claim that the state has authority over private schools including home-based private educational programs (as distinct from attendance); and c. state-mandated standardized tests; and is committed both to informing and reminding parents that parents have the primary role and responsibility in education and also to ensuring that parents retain their freedoms in education;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA and its members are opposed to American 2000 and Wisconsin 2000 and will work to inform WPA members and the general public of the problems and risks associated with these plans and their goals. 4/92
Whereas education vouchers being proposed at the federal and state levels of government would allow the government to define education and impose its values, judgments, and often its testing on people; and
Whereas such education vouchers would not be available to the family but only to the institutions that the family selects and which the state certifies as eligible to receive voucher moneys from the state; and
Whereas such education vouchers can easily lead to state control of education similar to a state religion and further control of families; and
Whereas there are better and more direct ways for the state and federal governments to assist families in funding private education, including home schooling, such as reducing taxes to families, increasing tax deductions for dependents, and providing tax credits;
Be it resolved by the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA and its members oppose education vouchers that would require the surrender of educational freedom, and, instead, WPA supports measures that would strengthen families by decreasing their tax burdens and thus leaving them money to use for private education or by returning money directly to the family, thus allowing the family true choice in how moneys are spent for education. 4/92
Whereas under Outcome-Based Education (OBE) the state would set the goals for a child's intellectual, social, emotional, and moral development and then determined whether the child's development in each of these areas was satisfactory; and
Whereas under OBE the government would decide which specific employment skills, living, skills, and attitudes a child should have; and
Whereas the government would enforce its decision by granting or denying a child the certificate or diploma required for further education or a job; and
Whereas OBE represents a basic change in the role of the government in education from that of providing a service to that of requiring specific outcomes; and
Whereas this change would mean that the government's claim of authority would move dramatically beyond compulsory attendance laws to compulsory education laws; and
Whereas compulsory education is inconsistent with freedom of thought and belief and the basic tenets of a free society; and
Whereas OBE blames the problem with our schools, economy, and society on the individual and family rather than the powerful interest groups and bureaucratic organizations; and
Whereas OBE would affect home schoolers because they would be expected to meet the government's goals in education in order to be certified for college or many jobs;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA and its members are opposed to Outcome-Based Education (OBE) and will work to inform WPA members and the general public of the problems and risks associated with OBE. 4/93
Whereas legislative proposals are being made to combine the budgets, rule making authorities, and exchange of information about individuals and families among the state government departments of education, social services, labor and employment, the judicial system (including law enforcement officials, the courts, and corrections), and the University of Wisconsin-Extension service; and
Whereas such collaboration would greatly expand the authority of the state in the lives of individuals and families, ranging from prenatal care and counseling to day care to mental health assessments and employment services; and
Whereas collaboration would change the role of the government from that of providing a service to those who requested and/or needed it to that of determining which people need help and deciding who is fit for what kind of education and work; and
Whereas such a role combined with the authority of a super-governmental agency would further displace the role and responsibility of the family in raising children, nurturing self-confidence and independence, and supporting a wide range of principles, beliefs, and acceptable ways of learning; and
Whereas there is a growing trend of government using its authority to extract specific behavior in exchange for services and/or money; and
Whereas a government with this kind of authority over the individual would threaten civil liberties, minorities such as home schoolers, and basic freedoms;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA and its members are opposed to legislating such government collaboration and will work to inform WPA members and the general public of the problems and risks associated with such proposals. 4/93
Whereas in the United States the distinction between public and private schools has always been maintained; and
Whereas this distinction ensures freedom of choice in education including the freedom not to be subject to any doctrinaire ideology, state religion, or monopoly in education; and
Whereas the United States constitution does not grant to the state any authority in education and the states have only quite recently passed compulsory school attendance laws which are based only on the U. S. constitution's policing powers granted to the states; and
Whereas the Wisconsin Department Public of Instruction has authority over public and not private education; and
Whereas recent legislative proposals such as those requiring testing of students in private education (the expansion of the Milwaukee choice program); creating charter schools that are private but subject to the same state testing requirements as public schools and subject to the DPI's approval and audits; and establishing state goals in education including Outcome Based Education goals would place the state and the DPI in authority over private education and would in effect eliminate the distinction between public and private schools; and
Whereas these legislative proposals would destroy three vital distinctions that grant choice and freedom in education to families in this country, namely, the distinctions between public and private education, the distinction between attendance and education, and the DPI having authority over public, not private schools;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA and its members are opposed to proposals that weaken or destroy these distinctions and thereby allow the state to move from requiring attendance to requiring education and from regulating public schools to regulating private schools and that WPA will work to inform WPA members and the general public of the problems and risks associated with such proposals. 4/93
Whereas a growing number of government programs screen, evaluate, and label children at earlier and earlier ages; and
Whereas the power of these programs is growing and spreading because they often involve a number of different public and private agencies, organizations, and professionals now working together through new programs to promote collaboration among government agencies; and
Whereas the definition of "children with special needs" has been broadened so that many children who are following their own unique timetables but are well within the range of normal development are now being labeled as "developmentally delayed," or "learning disabled," or some such label; and
Whereas these labels are very destructive because they undermine the confidence of children and parents and become self-fulfilling prophecies; and
Whereas these programs are technically voluntary and require parental permission for children to participate and be evaluated, BUT increasingly parents who allow their children to be evaluated and placed in such programs are unable to get their children out of the programs unless they enroll in a private program or a private school (including homeschools); and
Whereas pressure is being put on parents and the general public to believe that institutions and so-called experts know how to evaluate, label, and train very young children; and
Whereas requiring children to participate in programs and/or schools at early ages is not generally good for children or their families; in fact, there is growing evidence that these programs are detrimental to children and their families; and
Whereas requiring young children to participate in such programs could lead to including younger children in the compulsory school attendance law; and
Whereas requiring participation in such programs could expand the authority of these programs, of the schools in general, and of "professional experts" and further reduce the role and respect given to parents and the family;
Be it resolved by the members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA and its members will work to inform parents about their rights and responsibilities in education; to inform parents about the problems associated with screening, evaluating, and labeling of children, including very young children; and inform parents about how they can get their children out of such programs. 4/94
Whereas the U. S. Constitution gives no authority to the federal or state governments in the area of education; and
Whereas rights and powers not granted to the state are reserved for the people; and
Whereas section 432 of the federal statute General Education Provisions Act of 1970 states that the federal government may not control education; and
Whereas the states have the authority to control schooling through compulsory school attendance laws based on the policing powers granted to the states by the U. S. Constitution; and
Whereas the federal government acquires its power in the area of education by providing money and services to people through public schools in exchange for their compliance with the federal government's regulations; and
Whereas if people request exemptions from federal education programs, they give authority to the federal government that it would not otherwise have, lose part of their freedom, and gain little if anything in return since the states rather than the federal government directly control public schools; and
Whereas once homeschools are named in federal education statutes there is the strong possibility that federal regulations will be written that define and establish criteria for what a homeschool needs to be in order to qualify for participation in programs and services; and
Whereas states might use such federal definitions and regulations to justify changing state homeschooling laws in order to be eligible to receive federal moneys;
Be it resolved by the members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA and its members oppose seeking funding or participation in federal education programs for homeschooling and oppose asking the federal government to protect or exempt homeschoolers from federal education programs. 4/94
Whereas there are increasing efforts by government, researchers, schools, and big business interests to identify and track the behaviors, values, interests, abilities, buying habits, and risks of individuals and families in our society; and
Whereas increasing efforts are being made to screen and evaluate children's abilities and development and to assess how well families are preparing their children for school and the values of the school; and
Whereas screening, labeling, and recording of information about young children may threaten a family's freedom to homeschool; and
Whereas identification and tracking systems and practices not only invade one' privacy but also put authorities, institutions, professionals, and businesses in the position of judging and labeling children, parents, and families and thereby threatening their freedoms; and
Whereas a federal bill may soon be reintroduced to promote immunization and establish the first federal registry of all children beginning at birth; and
Whereas a bill was recently introduced in the Wisconsin legislature that would help protect people's privacy by significantly restricting the identification, tracking, and surveillance practices that can be used by government, businesses, and schools, including limiting the use of social security numbers to identify and track people;
Be it resolved by the members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA and its members will work to inform people of practices that invade their privacy and threaten their freedom and will work to support legislation that will protect people's privacy. 4/94
Whereas the homeschooling movement has to do with choosing an education consistent with one's principles and beliefs; and
Whereas maintaining this freedom requires the commitment of a diverse group of people; and
Whereas basic freedoms, including freedom of choice in one's principles and beliefs, are central to our democratic society; and
Whereas the homeschooling movement has succeeded by recognizing and working for the freedom of choice for all families rather than for just those people associated with a particular political party, religious belief, ideology, educational philosophy, or approach to homeschooling; and
Whereas there is a tendency by the media and by the general public and sometimes within the homeschooling movement to characterize and label homeschoolers in political and religious terms; and
Whereas understanding and tolerating the differences of people in a free society has been one of the by-words of American society as expressed in the words: "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.";
Be it resolved by members of Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA recognizes that the homeschooling movement is first and foremost a movement of freedom of choice in one's principles and beliefs; that it includes and relies on people from a wide variety of backgrounds and beliefs to maintain its freedoms; and that it works to maintain those freedoms for all families.
Be it further resolved that WPA will work to inform the general public that the homeschooling movement is primarily a movement to maintain freedom of choice in one's principles and beliefs and is not a partisan political or religious or ideological movement. 4/95
Whereas social service and educational professionals, corporations, the media, and public policy makers are increasingly identifying the family as the primary cause of many of our social problems; and
Whereas these same interests have tremendous political power through their professional associations, institutions, companies, and access to the media; and
Whereas addressing the complexity of social problems includes assigning significant responsibility for our problems to the very professions, institutions, corporations, and government bureaucracies that hold most of the power in our society; and
Whereas some of these interests are now advocating fundamental changes in the rights, authority, and role of the family including having professionals rather than parents decide what is in the best interests of the child, reducing the age at which a child may be jailed, requiring parents to undergo mental health treatment if their children are accused of breaking a law, removing trial by jury for parents and children in matters having to do with family life and alleged criminal behavior by children and youth, authorizing judges to making rulings and dispositions regarding children and their parents that are the "most effective" in the eyes of a judge and the state rather than the "least restrictive" of individual and family rights and responsibilities; and
Whereas the family is the basic unit of society and has been shown consistently to be the best place for resolving difficulties that arise within a family and within society at large except in the most extreme cases; and
Whereas the policies outlined above would be a severe repression of fundamental freedoms and civil liberties as they relate to the family and would also be the most basic undermining of the role and function of the family this society has witnessed; and
Whereas members of both political parties and the professional and corporate power centers of this nation support such policies; and
Whereas professional and corporate interests represent a very small percentage of the American people; and
Whereas most families do not have institutional or organizational avenues for having their opinions and concerns heard; and
Whereas families are not only the basic unit of society but the best place for carrying out the basic activities, work, and nurturing that a society needs; and
Whereas the importance of families has been weakened by policies that place professional, institutional, economic, and governmental interests ahead of the family;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA will work to advance the principle of Families First by informing the public of the importance of the family to society, the strengths families have, the benefits of putting families first; and WPA will work to inform people of the challenges to the importance and integrity of the family, including how these challenges affect all families, not just those involved with social services or the juvenile justice system. 4/95
Whereas homeschoolers have regained significant freedom of thought and belief by working to establish and maintain their independence as private schools; and
Whereas many of the educational reform initiatives authorize the state to have a greater role in public education and, through choice initiatives, certain private schools; and
Whereas many of these reforms such as Goals 2000, Outcome-Based Education programs, performance-based assessment, school choice and voucher programs, charter schools, and distance learning programs are state programs and involve state goals and assessments and begin at very early ages; and
Whereas the state goals and assessments apply to a student's intellectual, social, physical, and moral development; and
Whereas the state is initiating more collaboration, including exchange of confidential information, among many government agencies including social services, schools, juvenile justice, public health agencies, police, district attorneys, and university extension services; and
Whereas certain school reform initiatives designed to "break the mold" of public or conventional schools nevertheless carry with them the state's goals, assessments, and collaboration; and
Whereas some of these new programs might in the future involve educational services that would come directly to the home through a voucher or distance learning program in conjunction with a charter school; and
Whereas there may be a desire and temptation on the part of some homeschoolers to view direct educational services to the home as "homeschools" and such programs may be called "homeschools" by others; and
Whereas such programs would inevitably be accompanied by the state's goals and testing programs and perhaps also computer and television and other electronic surveillance and accountability intrusions into the home;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA and its members oppose any such program that would require the surrender of educational freedom or place homeschools under the authority of the state in exchange for educational services or money, and, instead WPA supports measures that would strengthen families by decreasing their tax burdens and thus leaving them money to use for private education or by returning money directly to the family, thus allowing the family true choice in how moneys are spent for education. 4/95
Whereas Wisconsin has a reasonable homeschooling law that homeschoolers have worked hard to pass and maintain; and
Whereas homeschoolers are a small minority; and
Whereas there are interests that are politically and financially powerful that would like to see increased regulation of homeschools by the state; and
Whereas any change to the homeschooling law or any privilege or benefit to homeschoolers that might be proposed, such as providing legislatively that homeschoolers be counted for state aids when taking one or more courses in a public school, could easily open up the homeschooling law for debate, change, and amendment; and
Whereas legislating any privilege or benefit gives the state additional authority and power over the people that receive it;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA will work to maintain the homeschooling law in Wisconsin as it is; and
Be it further resolved that WPA will work to inform the general public and legislators that we are not asking the legislature to pass laws that would increase the privileges or benefits granted to homeschoolers by the state and that we are not asking for clarification of laws relating to homeschools. 5/96
Whereas the primary rights and responsibilities of people are given by God or nature and not by the state; and
Whereas parental rights and responsibilities for rearing children, especially in the areas of education, health, and welfare, are so fundamental that they cannot be realistically reduced to statutory or constitutional language; and
Whereas the state does not now have at any level of government (federal, state, or local) the authority to direct how a child should be educated, cared for, or nurtured; (For example, compulsory school attendance laws require attendance but do not require education.) and
Whereas once people ask the state for protection in areas such as education, health, and welfare, they give over authority to the state and allow the state (through laws, regulations, public and private agencies, professionals, and the courts) to direct how children are raised; and
Whereas by doing this, people would greatly increase the power and authority of the state; and
Whereas homeschoolers in Wisconsin working through Wisconsin Parents Association have shown that our freedom is best protected by the actions of families taking direct responsibility for the education of their children and informing people in their communities that homeschooling works;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA will work to inform the general public and legislators that we are not asking federal or state legislatures to pass laws or constitutional amendments to protect the rights and responsibilities of parents or families. 5/96
Whereas Wisconsin has a reasonable homeschooling law that is working well; and
Whereas Wisconsin's homeschooling law protects both the rights of families to homeschool and the interest of the state to see that its citizens do not grow up to be a burden on the state; and
Whereas any law that establishes eligibility requirements for homeschooling undermines the rights and responsibilities of parents to choose for their children an education consistent with their principles and beliefs; and
Whereas any law that gives the state the right to determine who is eligible to homeschool gives the state inappropriate authority in private education; and
Whereas attempts to solve truancy problems by passing legislation that makes habitual truants ineligible to homeschool would thereby undermine the rights and responsibilities of parents; and
Whereas truancy is a complex problem that could not be solved by such legislation; and
Whereas Wisconsin already has laws to deal with truancy, child abuse and neglect, and juvenile crime;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA will continue to work to maintain Wisconsin's reasonable homeschooling law and will oppose legislation that would establish eligibility requirements for homeschooling; and
Be it further resolved that WPA will work to inform parents and the general public (including other people involved in private education) and legislators of the unacceptability and risks of giving the state the right to determine who is eligible to homeschool. 4/97
Whereas school-to-work programs would greatly increase the influence that schools have over people's lives by giving the schools the authority to issue "certificates of initial mastery" and "certificates of advanced mastery" that would be required for some jobs; and
Whereas school-to-work programs aim to change the fundamental nature of schooling by requiring that students acquire certain knowledge, skills, abilities, and values in order to pass the tests that lead to the certificates; and
Whereas proposed state and national standards in education give the government the authority and ability to require that students acquire specific knowledge, skills, and abilities; and
Whereas these standards would set a dangerous precedent by allowing the state to require compulsory education (current laws require compulsory school attendance but not compulsory education); and
Whereas school-to-work programs and state and national standards in education would combine to give the government increased power and authority over people's lives; and
Whereas school-to-work programs include testing to determine the knowledge, skills, abilities, and values that are held by students; and
Whereas school-to-work programs would affect homeschoolers who are interested in jobs that require certificates of initial and advanced mastery;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA will continue to oppose state and national standards in education (see WPA resolution "America 2000 and Wisconsin 2000" 4/92) and will oppose school-to-work programs; and
Be it further resolved that WPA will work to inform the general public and legislators of the problems with school-to-work programs. 4/97
Whereas state and local governments and public and private agencies are using increasingly repressive measures to try to keep young people in school, including day-time curfews and police pick-ups of young people who are not inside a school building during "school hours;" and
Whereas such repressive measures have not been shown to be effective in any case but rather have often been found to be counterproductive; and
Whereas these measures are a severe infringement of people's basic freedoms and civil liberties, including the freedom to be in public places and not be interrogated or arrested without reasonable evidence and due process, and to be presumed innocent until proven guilty; and
Whereas truancy sweeps and ID cards issued to young people by the state through a school district mean that the state has claimed the authority to determine who is free and who is not, which replaces parental responsibility and authority with institutions and the police; and
Whereas the ID cards do not prevent children, including children as young as five or six (or younger if a current legislative bill AB686 passes), from being stopped and questioned by police, social workers, or others designated by public schools to enforce truancy laws; and
Whereas these measures send strong negative messages of dislike and mistrust to young people, the vast majority of whom are law-abiding citizens; and
Whereas such gross infringements on civil liberties and the basic tenants of a free society threaten the freedom of all of us, not just young people in cities where such repressive measures are practiced;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA will work through its members to oppose the use of ID cards for homeschoolers, day-time curfews, and truancy sweeps; and
Be it further resolved that WPA will work through its members to inform parents, the general public, and legislators of the unacceptability and risk of such laws and practices. 5/98
Whereas state and federal governments are proposing tax credits for educational expenses and are trying to convince homeschoolers to support such proposals by including homeschooling expenses; and
Whereas specific expenses such as "educational" expenses qualify for tax credits only if those expenses meet the state's standards in education, schools qualify only if they are accredited or in some other way approved by the state, tutors qualify only if they are officially licensed, etc.; and
Whereas tax credits are one way for the government to get people to do things the government wants them to do whether or not these things are best for all, or even some of, the people; and
Whereas government accountability strings will affect not just homeschoolers who decide to take the tax credits but will inevitably spread to all homeschoolers as voluntary compliance turns into mandatory requirement; and
Whereas tax credits do not result in significant financial benefit to a family because they are carefully designed to limit the amount of money individuals and families can save or receive; and
Whereas either general tax credits to all families that are not tied to educational expenditures or an increase in the basic tax deduction for children would be much better ways to benefit families while allowing each family to decide where and how to spend money for education;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA will continue to work through its members to maintain Wisconsin's reasonable homeschooling law and will oppose initiatives that would increase state regulation of homeschools in exchange for tax credits; and
Be it further resolved that WPA will work through its members to inform parents and the general public and legislators of the unacceptability and risks of such initiatives. 5/98
Whereas homeschoolers have regained significant freedom of thought and belief by working to establish and maintain ourselves as private schools independent of public schools; and
Whereas Wisconsin has a reasonable homeschooling law that homeschoolers have worked hard to get passed and to maintain; and
Whereas homeschoolers are a very small minority but large and powerful interest groups are pressing for increased state regulation of homeschooling; and
Whereas, in order for Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) rules to be changed so that homeschoolers could participate on public school sports teams, homeschools would have to comply with the Department of Public Instruction (DPI)'s policies and regulations, including the DPI's definition of a full-time student, standards for acceptable curriculum, determinations of scholastic standing in terms of grades and credits through testing, and other demonstrations of qualifications that are consistent with public school standards and approaches to education; and
Whereas if just a few homeschoolers convinced the WIAA to change its rules to allow homeschoolers to play on public school teams, this would result in state oversight and intrusion into homeschools; and
Whereas, once in place, such state regulation of homeschools could easily spread to other areas of homeschooling and over time to all homeschoolers; and
Whereas young people who want to play sports can either choose from among opportunities available outside public schools or can enroll in public schools, but families who want to homeschool can only do so under the laws and regulations of the state of Wisconsin (which would be less favorable to homeschoolers if WIAA rules were changed to allow homeschoolers to play on public school sports teams);
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA will continue to work through its members to maintain Wisconsin's reasonable homeschooling law and will oppose initiatives that would increase state regulation of homeschooling in exchange for the opportunity for a few homeschoolers (who were interested and judged to be qualified) to play on public school sports teams; and
Be it further resolved that WPA will work through its members to inform parents and the general public and legislators of the unacceptability and risks of such initiatives. 5/98
Whereas the 1998 Wisconsin High School Mock Trial Tournament, sponsored by the State Bar of Wisconsin, presented an extremely negative and misleading impression of homeschoolers (see their 1998 Handbook of Case Materials); and
Whereas the case materials developed by the State Bar of Wisconsin and distributed to high schools throughout the state foster misunderstanding and unwarranted prejudice against homeschoolers; and
Whereas the materials reduce truancy to a simplistic behavior and fail to distinguish between compulsory attendance and compulsory education; and
Whereas the materials are similar to the highly prejudicial and misinformed testimony presented at a hearing in April, 1997, before the Wisconsin Senate Education Committee by a judge who was supporting SB106, the bill he had asked Senator Breske to introduce to increase state regulation of homeschooling, and this same judge served on the committee of the State Bar of Wisconsin that prepared the case materials; and
Whereas pp. 91-93 of the case materials present the testimony of a fictitious librarian, Blair Prescott, who discloses the identity and activity of a library patron (the homeschooler), thereby violating Section 43.30 (1) of the Wisconsin Statutes which prohibits such disclosure except by court order (the case materials make no mention of such an order); and
Whereas these irresponsible case materials do a serious disservice to our judicial system, librarians, high school students, teachers, parents, and homeschoolers;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA will work through its members to inform homeschoolers and the general public of the misinformation contained in these case materials and to encourage people to better understand homeschoolers, the very positive effect homeschoolers have in their local communities, and the strong relations that exist between librarians and homeschoolers. 5/98
Whereas recent legislation requires that beginning in 2003, public school students must pass a state-mandated graduation test in order to receive a diploma; and
Whereas in the future this test could be required of private school students (including homeschoolers) either in exchange for vouchers or merely because the state decides such tests are a good idea for private school students; and
Whereas such standardized tests are unfair and biased against women, minorities, and people who do not have the same values and experiences as those who design the test; and
Whereas such tests do not measure important qualities such as common sense, honesty, integrity, mechanical ability, etc.; and
Whereas in order to prepare for and pass such tests, a student needs to follow a curriculum similar to those used in public schools and to adopt, at least temporarily, the values and attitudes of those who designed the test, and thereby give up the opportunity to pursue an education consistent with his/her principles and beliefs; and
Whereas the Governor's 1999 budget bill calls for eliminating the provision in current law that guarantees the right of parents to exempt their children from taking the graduation test; and
Whereas the graduation test would inevitably lead to public and private school students (including homeschoolers) using a single curriculum, thereby undermining the ability of families to choose an education consistent with their principles and beliefs; and
Whereas homeschools in Wisconsin have been successful in large part because, in the absence of a state-mandated test, they have been free to choose or develop a curriculum that works well for their family;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA and its members oppose the graduation test as a state mandate and oppose the repeal of the law that guarantees the right of parents to exempt their children from the graduation test; and
Be it further resolved that we will work to inform homeschoolers, the Legislature, and the general public of problems associated with both the graduation test and the repeal of the law that guarantees the right of parents to exempt their children from it. 5/99
Whereas homeschoolers are a small minority that has regained its rightful educational freedoms in Wisconsin through hard work and maintained them through constant vigilance; and
Whereas our approach to education is generally not understood or shared by the majority of people in our society; and
Whereas our elected representatives are accustomed to providing state programs in education in exchange for state regulation of schools by means of state goals, state educational standards, state-mandated tests, state audits of educational institutions, and state prescriptions of who is qualified to teach and/or receive benefits; and
Whereas most homeschoolers value their homeschooling freedoms more than they value receiving conventional state schooling benefits such as tax credits for educational expenses or educational vouchers; and
Whereas legislation supposedly designed to ensure that homeschoolers can participate in public school programs is unnecessary (because the few homeschoolers who want to participate can make the necessary arrangements with their local school districts) and would undermine our homeschooling freedoms; and
Whereas legislators may hear from a few homeschoolers who want some of the supposed benefits even though they undermine our homeschooling freedoms; and
Whereas legislators are accustomed to introducing bills when constituents ask for legislation that would give them government money; and
Whereas legislation that would undermine our homeschooling freedoms is likely to be adopted unless a significant number of homeschoolers actively communicate with their legislators both before such legislation is introduced and, if necessary, after it has been introduced;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA and its members will work to ensure that their legislators understand that homeschoolers value their freedom more than they value legislation that would cost them their freedom, including legislation that at first may seem to provide benefits. 5/99
Whereas constant pressure for increased regulation of homeschooling comes from a number of sources; and
Whereas legislation that increases regulations for any homeschooler inevitably increases regulations for all homeschoolers and when laws are designed to prevent certain families from homeschooling, everybody loses homeschooling freedoms; and
Whereas such laws would make the state the judge of all homeschoolers in order to prevent a very few from homeschooling; and
Whereas the argument that "homeschooling families that are doing a good job should not object to requirements designed to ensure that children are getting a 'good education'" only works if families don't mind being investigated and having their privacy invaded and if families are willing to have their homeschools judged by the standards the state has chosen for education; and
Whereas legislation that unnecessarily regulates homeschooling is unconstitutional because it undermines the fundamental character of homeschools and forces them to conform to public school standards and approaches, thus interfering with families' rights to choose for their children an education consistent with their principles and beliefs; and
Whereas some so-called "unqualified" homeschoolers are dropouts and expelled students who have been told to homeschool by school officials, although dropouts and expelled students should not be forced into homeschooling; and
Whereas Wisconsin already has strong truancy laws and people who have been charged with truancy and then begin homeschooling can be prosecuted for having been truant; and
Whereas laws that increase state regulation of homeschooling interfere with homeschools that are working well. An old legal maxim states, "Hard cases make bad laws,"); and
Whereas the restrictive truancy laws that have been passed in Wisconsin recently have not solved truancy problems; and
Whereas laws that would allow the state to determine who is qualified to homeschool would give the state too much power over homeschoolers;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA will work through its members to oppose laws that would prevent some people from homeschooling and will work through its members to inform parents, the general public, and legislators of the unacceptability and risk of such laws and practices. 5/00
Whereas survey research on homeschooling undermines our homeschooling freedoms in several ways, including the following:
• Survey research is generally designed to compare homeschoolers to students in conventional schools, using the standards of conventional schools, which implies that homeschools should adopt the standards, practices, and values of conventional schools and assumes that these are the only correct ones.
• People who feel homeschoolers should be required to take state-mandated tests can point to survey research that includes homeschoolers' scores on standardized tests as evidence that homeschoolers are willing to take such tests.
• Research that indicates that even a very small number of homeschoolers are not complying with their state's homeschooling law could be used by critics of homeschooling to claim that increased regulation of homeschooling is necessary.
• Research that shows that many homeschooling parents have a certain educational background, income level, etc. could be used to argue that all homeschooling parents should be required to have similar education, income level, etc.; and
Whereas it is very difficult to draw a representative sample of homeschoolers because some states do not require homeschoolers to register and states such as Wisconsin that require that parents file a form with the state fortunately are not willing to supply the names of homeschoolers to researchers. Therefore, when evaluated by the standards used by social scientists, survey research on homeschoolers is inaccurate and misleading; and
Whereas many families feel that the questions asked by researchers do not cover the most important reasons that they have chosen to homeschool; and
Whereas assurances of confidentiality of information do not mean much when the practice is that many people have access to this data in the name of research and increasingly government agencies can use and exchange data in the best interests of the state and/or child; and
Whereas more accurate information about what homeschooling is really like comes from cases studies of current and grown up homeschoolers and adequate evidence that homeschooling is working well comes from the lack of reports of homeschoolers having difficulty when they enter school, college, or the workforce, despite the fact that opponents of homeschooling look for such problems; and
Whereas researchers continue to probe deeper and deeper, claiming that each survey research report demonstrates the need for more research;
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA will work through its members to educate people about the problems connected with survey research, especially on homeschoolers; to encourage homeschoolers not to participate in survey research on homeschooling; and to oppose the use of the results of survey research to justify increased regulation of homeschooling. 5/00
Whereas schools need to prepare students for tests they are required to take, which means that required tests dictate what curriculum will be used and how it will be taught; and
Whereas federal testing represents a major increase in government control of education because although states, not the federal government, have the policing authority to make laws that govern schools, the federal government is claiming it has the authority to require federal testing of students in schools that accept money from the federal government; and
Whereas federal testing is especially powerful because it applies the same requirements to the whole country, undermining local control, diversity of thought and belief, and freedom of education; and
Whereas any public or private school that accepts federal funding for any reason may be required to administer federal tests to its students, so that federal tests may be required of private schools that would be free from regulation by the government as long as they did not accept tax dollars, which means that private schools lose an important part of their long-standing independence of significant regulation by the government, and homeschoolers' claim that they should not be required to take government tests because they are private schools would be weakened; and
Whereas the Milwaukee Choice Program allows federal and state funds to go to religious schools, so that even religious schools may begin requiring their students to take federal tests (in addition to the state tests that are already required of religious schools that participate in the Choice Program); and
Whereas standardized tests can be used to label children, to justify additional testing, and to control the choices parents have in where and how their children will be educated; and
Whereas government-mandated standardized testing means that the state rather than parents would decide when children are ready for tests, what tests will be used, how and where tests will be administered, and what action will be taken based on the results; and
Whereas in order to prepare for and pass such tests, students need to follow a curriculum similar to those used in public schools and to adopt, at least temporarily, the values and attitudes of those who designed the test, and thereby give up the opportunity to pursue an education consistent with their principles and beliefs; and
Whereas homeschools in Wisconsin have been successful in large part because they have not been required to take tests required either by the state or by the federal government, so they have been free to choose or develop a curriculum that works well for their family; and
Whereas if homeschoolers accept money from the federal or state government in the form of vouchers, choice programs, tax credits, tax deductions, or in other ways, homeschoolers will voluntarily give the federal or state government a basis for claiming that homeschoolers should be required to take government-mandated tests; therefore,
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA is opposed to testing required by the federal government and will work to prevent its being mandated for homeschoolers; and
Be it further resolved that WPA reaffirms the commitment it has made in previous resolutions to work to oppose programs that would provide homeschoolers with money from the government and will work to inform homeschoolers and others about the risks of accepting such money. 5/01
Whereas Wisconsin statutes state that, "'Home-based private educational program' means a program of educational instruction provided to a child by the child's parent or guardian or by a person designated by the parent or guardian. An instructional program provided to more than one family unit does not constitute a home-based private educational program." (s. 115.001[3g]); and
Whereas a homeschool in Wisconsin is a private school that is limited to one family unit; and
Whereas a national homeschooling organization based outside of Wisconsin has informed some homeschoolers in Wisconsin that they can disobey this part of the statutes by using a questionable legal technicality; and
Whereas Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) is committed to informing homeschoolers about the importance of complying with Wisconsin's reasonable homeschooling law and maintaining the relationship of trust we have with the Wisconsin Legislature and therefore WPA opposes the idea of using a technicality to circumvent this statute; and
Whereas it is reasonable that small groups of homeschooling families who get together occasionally to participate in educational activities that involve a parent or guardian from all or almost all of the families are not in violation of this statute; and
Whereas homeschooling parents are unlikely to be considered in violation of this statute if they provide children from other family units with instruction (such as music lessons) that is independent of the homeschooling program they provide their own children; and
Whereas anyone who sets up a program that provides children from more than one family unit with a significant portion of the 875 hours of instruction required by Wisconsin statutes can reasonably be considered to be in violation of the law (Such programs blur the commonly understood distinction between homeschools and conventional schools that needs to be maintained to ensure that homeschools are not subject to regulations placed on public schools or on private schools that are not homeschools [even though homeschools are one type of private school]. Also, parents or guardians who are homeschooling their own children are jeopardizing their homeschooling status if they provide a significant program of instruction to children from other homeschooling family units.); and
Whereas so-called "homeschooling cooperatives" (in which children from more than one family unit are provided with a significant portion of the required 875 hours of instruction by some of the parents or guardians or by people they hire) are not legally considered to be homeschools in Wisconsin and therefore participants should not file form PI-1206 with the Department of Public Instruction (however, such families can form a small private school that is not a homeschool, which is not difficult to do in Wisconsin); and
Whereas WPA strongly opposes any attempt to change this statute because such an attempt would open the homeschooling law and allow opponents of homeschooling an easy opportunity to increase regulation of homeschooling, which many people would try to do, especially if the intent of the legislation were to make it easier for homeschoolers to organize themselves into school-like programs; therefore,
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA supports Wisconsin's homeschooling law and will work to ensure that people are informed about the provision that Wisconsin homeschools are limited to one family unit. 5/01
Whereas public e-schools are public schools that are located in homes by means of a computer and the requirements and oversight of federal and state governments; and
Whereas these schools are often called homeschools and the public will undoubtedly view them as homeschools; and
Whereas these public schools require state and federal testing of students; and
Whereas such schools are required to meet federal and state standards; and
Whereas such tests and standards will dictate the curriculum of the schools; and
Whereas state and federally mandated curriculums eliminate any real choice in how an actual homeschool could have an education consistent with a family's principles and beliefs because they limit the family's choice in curriculum and methods; and
Whereas over time the general public and legislatures are highly likely to regard public e-schools and actual homeschools as very similar if not the same and therefore are very likely to impose the same testing and curriculum requirements on actual homeschools as they do on public e-schools; and
Whereas parents choosing public e-schools can get a similar if not the same education through regular public schools or private e-schools; and
Whereas once actual homeschools come under regulation similar to that required of public e-schools, parents seeking an education consistent with their principles and beliefs will no longer be able to choose to homeschool in a way that is consistent with their principles and beliefs because the regulations will limit the family's choice of curriculum and methods; and
Whereas public e-schools would limit the choices available to parents rather than increasing them; and
Whereas public e-schools displace the role and authority of parents and families; and
Whereas public e-schools would funnel large amounts of tax money through school districts and turn them into profits for corporations that are promoting such schools; and
Whereas promoters of public e-schools are taking unfair advantage of laws relating to open enrollment, charter schools, and state aids for education that were not designed to deal with such schools; therefore,
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA is opposed to public e-schools and will work to inform homeschoolers and the general public of the problems with these schools and;
Be it further resolved that WPA will work to ensure that public e-schools and corporations that promote them do not become a basis for increased, unnecessary regulation of homeschools. 5/02
Whereas bills have been introduced in several states, including Wisconsin, authorizing the governor to require that all citizens be immunized against one or more diseases by declaring a public health emergency; and
Whereas there would in effect be no exceptions to this requirement since those objecting or refusing to be immunized for reasons of health, religion, or personal conviction would be placed in quarantine; and
Whereas giving the government this authority would override existing statutory law that recognizes and provides for exemptions from required immunizations based on health, religion, or personal conviction; and
Whereas clear evidence indicates that immunizations are sometimes unsafe, dangerous, and even fatal; and
Whereas those who believe that immunizations are effective and receive them should be protected against the diseases in question and therefore should not be harmed by those who choose not to be immunized; and
Whereas this kind of legislation is driven more by fear than reason; and
Whereas granting such authority to the government could set a precedent for the loss of other civil liberties unless people exercise reason and independence; therefore,
Be it resolved by members of the Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA is opposed to such legislation and will work to prevent it and similar legislation from being passed. 5/02
Whereas education vouchers, educational investment accounts, and tax credits and deductions for education that are being proposed at the federal and state levels of government would allow the government to define education and impose its values, judgments, and often its testing on people; and
Whereas such education vouchers would not be given to families but only to the institutions that families select from among those the state has certified as eligible to receive money from the state through vouchers; and
Whereas such education vouchers can easily lead to state control of education and further control of families; and
Whereas legislation providing for educational investment accounts and tax credits and deductions tied to educational expenses sets the terms of who, what, and under what conditions one qualifies for such tax breaks, including defining key terms such as teacher, educator, homeschool, private school, educational expense, etc.; and
Whereas defining, interpreting, and applying such key terms provides federal and state governments with the authority to further regulate private schooling including homeschools; and
Whereas monitoring (including auditing) the use of such tax breaks, credits, and deductions can further define and regulate homeschools; and
Whereas there are other publicly funded services that we as citizens pay taxes for (such as fire departments and prisons) but hope we will not use their services for ourselves; and
Whereas there are better and more direct ways for the state and federal governments to assist families in funding private education (including home schooling), such as reducing taxes to families and increasing tax deductions and credits for dependents;
Be it resolved that members of Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA opposes education vouchers, educational investment accounts, and tax credits and deductions for education that would require the surrender of educational freedom, and, instead, WPA supports measures that would strengthen families either by decreasing their tax burdens and thus leaving them money to use for private education or by returning money directly to families, thus allowing families true choice in how moneys are spent for education. 5/03
Whereas public school administrators and officials are contacting homeschoolers through surveys, invitations to public meetings, and other announcements in an effort to bring homeschoolers into the public schools; and
Whereas private companies in conjunction with public schools are marketing public e-schools to homeschoolers; and
Whereas although homeschoolers come from all walks of life, homeschool for a number of different reasons, and use a variety of curriculums and approaches to education, they all have one thing in common, namely, their determination to preserve the right to choose for their children an education consistent with their beliefs and principles; and
Whereas homeschoolers have organized themselves as Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) to watch and protect their parental rights in education, especially homeschooling rights and responsibilities; and
Whereas WPA has steadfastly refused to take any position on approaches to education, curriculum, religion, moral values, and has fought for the rights of its members and others to make their own decisions in these matters; and
Whereas homeschoolers are a small minority and are opposed by powerful political interest groups and organizations; and
Whereas the distinction between public and private schools, including homeschools, is essential to the preservation of homeschoolers' freedom to choose an education consistent with their principles and beliefs since public schools require state standards and testing that determine the curriculum and values and beliefs of students attending public schools even if they are located in students' homes; and
Whereas the distinction between public schools and homeschools is being blurred through the initiatives of public schools to bring homeschoolers into the public schools, especially into public e-schools; and
Whereas persons who choose public e-schools or similar public school programs that are considered to be homeschools by the general public often see their choice to enroll in such a public school program as equivalent to the freedom to choose homeschooling as a private school; and
Whereas the freedom to choose an education consistent with one's principles and beliefs can easily be lost unless homeschoolers explicitly and publicly make clear that choosing public school programs such as public e-schools is not just a decision to place one's children under the values and beliefs of the state but threatens the more basic freedom to choose homeschooling as a private school;
Be it resolved by members of Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA will work to insure that the basic right to choose an education consistent with one's principles and beliefs is maintained for homeschoolers by informing homeschoolers and the general public that public school programs including public e-schools that are marketed to homeschoolers threaten the freedom to choose an education consistent with one's principles and beliefs; and
Be it further resolved that WPA will encourage homeschoolers to make known explicitly and publicly how such public school programs marketed to homeschoolers threatens our basic homeschooling freedoms. 5/03
Whereas the media in the United States holds enormous power to persuade and to inform or misinform the public; and
Whereas the media is a primary source of news for most people, including those who hold it in low regard; and
Whereas the media seldom does in-depth, independent fact-finding but rather relies on experts in universities, think tanks, foundations, and large organizations for the news they report; and
Whereas the media increasingly reports at face value the views and prejudices of government officials instead of playing the media's historic role as the "fourth estate" of questioning, if not challenging, government officials on behalf of those who hold less political power; and
Whereas minority groups such as homeschoolers are especially susceptible to being misrepresented since we are not large in number, are not wealthy, and are not politically powerful; and
Whereas maintaining our homeschooling freedoms requires that the general public and elected representatives be well informed about homeschooling and the rights and responsibilities of homeschoolers; and
Whereas homeschoolers in Wisconsin have secured and maintained their homeschooling freedoms in large part through the work of thousands of homeschooling families accurately informing their elected officials, school boards, school officials, and the media and, when necessary, correcting misinformation reported in the media;
Be it resolved by members of Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA will work to inform its members and homeschoolers throughout the state about the importance of responding to misinformation reported in the media so that homeschoolers can maintain the positive reputation homeschoolers have worked to achieve with the general public and can maintain our homeschooling freedoms. 5/04
Whereas federal and state governments are requiring that more and more personal information about any family that receives government education services be collected, stored, and used in government controlled databases; and
Whereas these databases include or will soon include a great deal of personal information that goes well beyond the names and addresses of families to include nicknames, disabilities, income level, occupation, test scores, etc.; and
Whereas the information collected serves the interests and values of those designing the database systems and not the interests of parents or students and more specifically not the interests of homeschoolers; and
Whereas information within such government database systems can by law be shared with other government agencies; and
Whereas knowing information about a person or family gives power over that person or family; and
Whereas school officials have sought this kind of information and power over homeschoolers for the past 20 years in Wisconsin; and
Whereas school officials knowingly or unknowingly have exceeded their authority regarding the privacy of parents and students and will undoubtedly do so with regard to these database systems; and
Whereas individual homeschoolers may not realize that their decision to seek or accept government education services or education tax benefits would easily lead to their inclusion in such government databases and would then affect all homeschoolers by setting precedents and/or establishing the idea that homeschoolers are willing to exchange their privacy and freedoms for government education services or tax benefits;
Be it resolved by members of Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA will continue to work to inform its members, homeschoolers throughout the state, and the public about problems related to student identification database systems and how homeschoolers can work to ensure that they are not included.
Whereas an increasing number of federal and state mental health screening programs are being established to screen preschool and school children as well as young children, teens, and adults; and
Whereas the questions asked during the screenings are so general and ambiguous that nearly anyone could be identified as mentally ill or in need of further testing; and
Whereas doctors, workers in health clinics, school personnel, social service workers, juvenile justice authorities, etc. are all being encouraged to conduct such screenings, and people may not realize that they are being screened; and
Whereas screenings are especially targeted at groups considered marginal to the mainstream of our society because of their practices, small numbers, and/or anti-social behavior (categories in which homeschoolers could easily be included); and
Whereas certain institutions and professionals are either suspicious or critical of homeschooling or have vested interests in stopping people from homeschooling; and
Whereas mental health screenings could be used as an effective way to curtail homeschooling; and
Whereas the pharmaceutical industry is spending large sums of money to encourage professionals and legislators to promote mental health screening; and
Whereas the drugs that are being administered through these programs to people who are diagnosed as "mentally ill" through these screenings have been shown to be harmful to people;
Be it resolved by members of Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA will work to inform its members, homeschoolers throughout the state, and the general public about the importance of recognizing mental health screenings in whatever setting they occur, to inform them of their rights and responsibilities as parents and as patients, to question and/or refuse such screenings, and to oppose legislation that encourages or requires mental health screening that leads to highly subjective identification of mental illness and use of drugs for treatment. 5/2005
Whereas the federal government has no constitutional authority over education but gains power over education by creating programs in education that give federal tax dollars to states and school districts who comply with the requirements of these programs; and
Whereas the federal government has used its grants of tax dollars to influence and control education, including in recent years the establishment of national standards for elementary and secondary education; and
Whereas a major piece of legislation known as No Child Left Behind was recently passed that requires of any school that receives federal education money to test children in grades one through eight using state-approved reading and math tests; and
Whereas public and private schools that take money under No Child Left Behind and do not meet federal standards can be taken over by the state; and
Whereas preparing students for the tests requires that schools use curriculums geared to the tests, that teachers teach to the tests, and that the values and beliefs of the government are instilled in children; and
Whereas such legislation puts increasing pressure not just on public schools but also on private schools to conform to the national standards and testing requirements; and
Whereas such testing requirements erode alternatives to conventional schools and local control of public schools; and
Whereas any school including private schools that accepts federal education money comes under the very broad authority of No Child Left Behind; and
Whereas it is shortsighted to say that since homeschoolers pay taxes, we should also receive the monetary benefits from federal and state education programs;
Be it resolved by members of Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA will work to inform its members and homeschoolers throughout the state about how No Child Left Behind threatens homeschooling freedoms and to ensure that homeschoolers do not request or support programs such as No Child Left Behind. 5/2005
Whereas the pioneers of the modern homeschooling movement in Wisconsin worked together despite their differences to ensure that the Wisconsin Legislature passed a homeschooling law that recognized the right of families to choose for their members an education consistent with their principles and beliefs; and
Whereas WPA has formulated essential principles and practices to ensure that our homeschooling freedoms survive-these include knowing what is required of homeschoolers in Wisconsin; doing only the minimum required by statute or regulation; not ignoring violations of our rights, even if they seem too small to matter; not seeking or accepting benefits from the government; not pushing for new homeschooling legislation; staying out of court if at all possible; understanding and applying the distinction between compulsory school attendance and compulsory education; and working with other homeschoolers; and
Whereas we cannot assume that freedoms and laws will continue in perpetuity once they are established and recognized but must be continually safeguarded; and
Whereas it is easy for people to be lulled into assuming that their freedoms will continue without any action or effort on their part; and
Whereas freedoms are often lost because people don't notice when small bits are removed gradually over time; and
Whereas maintaining an accurate understanding of how we came to have the homeschooling freedoms we have is essential to informing succeeding generations about the principles and practices essential to their continuance;
Be it resolved by members of Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA will work to ensure that its members and others understand the history of homeschooling in Wisconsin, the legacy they have received, and the principles and practices that have been used to ensure homeschooling freedoms in Wisconsin and will encourage its members to follow these principles and practices within their families, in their local communities, and throughout the state. 5/06
Whereas there is a growing movement to institutionalize children at younger and younger ages; and
Whereas this movement takes a variety of the forms including the Birth to Three year old program, Child Find programs aimed at identifying children in need of special services, preschool screening, preschool programs, and kindergarten programs for three- and four-year olds; and
Whereas professionals, corporations, and government have joined together through federal and state commissions and through studies and have identified early childhood education as a good practice and part of the answer to ensuring a strong economy; and
Whereas the National Center on Education and the Economy, the same organization that was central to bringing us national standards in education and the No Child Left Behind program, is calling for preschool for all three and four-year-olds; and
Whereas there is a growing tendency on the part of professionals and their associations to identify families as the cause of children’s problems and to claim that institutional care, education, or treatment are the solutions to children’s problems; and
Whereas homeschoolers know through personal experience the importance of parents being with their children for nurture, learning, and support; and
Whereas policy and/or legal requirements adopted for the larger society put pressure on homeschoolers to follow these practices and approaches to early childhood education;
Be it resolved by members of Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA will work to ensure that its members and others understand the positive role and result of parents and grandparents spending time with their young children and grandchildren, the tremendous benefits that result from this investment of nurture and support, the serious mental and emotional costs to children of institutionalizing them early, and the ways that expansion of three and four-year-old preschool can impact homeschooling families. 5/07
Whereas during the past 30 years, parents and families have reestablished and confirmed the basic and traditional concept of homeschooling in the United States as a practice whereby parents take primary and direct responsibility for the education of their children with as little state regulation as possible; and
Whereas this practice in Wisconsin has been achieved primarily through the hard and continuous work of homeschooling parents working through Wisconsin Parents Association against great resistance from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, public school boards, teachers unions, school district administrators, and others in the educational establishment; and
Whereas although today there is greater acceptance of homeschooling by the general public, this acceptance is often based on an understanding of homeschooling that assumes homeschools are or should be significantly regulated by the state and that homeschools do or should include the practices of conventional public schools such as compliance with state standards in education, state curriculum, standardized testing, etc.; and
Whereas these practices would undermine a family's right to educate their children in accordance with their principles and beliefs by imposing the state's principles and beliefs through state approved standards, state approved curriculum, and testing; and
Whereas many legislators, people in the media, and members of the general public seem not to understand why homeschooling needs to be or should be free of state standards, state curriculum, and testing; and
Whereas the very success of homeschooling has resulted in public schools deciding to offer programs, computers, materials, and the services of certified teachers to families and to allow these families to remain in their homes while receiving public school education services on the condition that these children meet state standards in education, use state approved curriculum, take state standardized tests, and be directed and judged by state certified teachers; and
Whereas some families who participate in these public school programs call themselves homeschoolers or are called homeschoolers by others; and
Whereas the growing efforts on the part of public schools to enroll families into public school programs that allow families to receive this education in their homes are blurring the distinction between public schools and homeschools; and
Whereas if homeschoolers in Wisconsin are not aware of and do not take direct and clear action to maintain the basic principles of homeschooling, (namely, that parents take the primary and direct responsibility for the education of their children with as little state regulation as possible), the critical distinction between homeschools and public schools in homes will be blurred or lost which will cost homeschoolers their homeschooling freedoms;
Be it resolved by members of Wisconsin Parents Association (WPA) that WPA will work to educate homeschoolers (including homeschooling support groups), legislators, the media, and the general public about the important principles of homeschooling and the need to maintain the distinction between homeschooling and public school programs in homes; and
Be it further resolved that WPA will work to ensure that the term homeschooling and its related usages be used only for families who take primary and direct responsibility for the education of their children with as little state regulation as possible and that the term not be used to refer to public schools in homes. 5/08
Copyright 1998-2008 Wisconsin Parents Association.
Web site designed & hosted by Jason Stitt.