Whitewashed curriculums and zero tolerance policies in schools

Requiring documentation for homeschooling

Providing financial aid for homeschooling

- The main story is about homeschooling during the pandemic
- Homeschooling can be a positive experience for some families, but it can also be damaging due to lack of regulation
- There are various reasons why parents choose homeschooling, including social or health problems, safety concerns, and dissatisfaction with school curriculums
- Homeschooled children can have transformative experiences, but there is little oversight on their education
- Some homeschooling materials have troubling content, such as biased history books and Nazi-approved curriculum
- Lack of regulation allows for a wide range of educational approaches, including using chores as lessons

- The Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is a powerful lobbying group that has expanded the rights of homeschoolers in the US.
- The HSLDA has a strong evangelical conservative outlook and has opposed issues unrelated to homeschooling, such as vaccine mandates and same-sex marriage.
- Many parents feel they have no choice but to be members of the HSLDA, even if they disagree with its political leanings.
- Deregulation of homeschooling has led to serious consequences, including cases of abuse and neglect being hidden behind the homeschooling system.
- The HSLDA has fought against efforts to put any regulations in place, arguing that it is an invasion of parental rights.
- The HSLDA's committed membership gives it the power to stop oversight and prevent laws aimed at protecting children from being passed.

- The HSLDA (Homeschool Legal Defense Association) is a powerful lobbying organization that opposes legislation aimed at protecting homeschooled children from abuse.
- Some argue that the HSLDA's extreme agenda is similar to that of the NRA.
- It is suggested that at the very least, all 50 states should require homeschool children to be registered to ensure their existence is documented.
- Basic child safety protections should be implemented to prevent parents from using homeschooling as a means to escape scrutiny for abuse.
- Government intervention may be necessary to protect children in these cases, despite concerns about social services and the child protective services system.
- The HSLDA's policies indirectly support child abusers and Nazis.
- Basic reforms for child welfare should not be controversial and are common sense.

- Homeschooling during the pandemic has both positive and negative aspects
- Reasons for homeschooling include social or health problems, safety concerns, and dissatisfaction with school curriculums
- Lack of regulation in homeschooling can lead to troubling content and a wide range of educational approaches
- The Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) is a powerful lobbying group with a conservative outlook that opposes regulations and supports unrelated issues
- Deregulation of homeschooling has led to cases of abuse and neglect being hidden
- Some argue that the HSLDA's extreme agenda is similar to that of the NRA
- Suggestions for reform include requiring registration of homeschooled children and implementing basic child safety protections

John Oliver discusses homeschooling, its surprising lack of regulation in many states, and, crucially, Darth Vader’s parenting skills. 

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♪♪ Our main story tonight concerns school.

For some, it's the place to make lifelong friends and enjoy first crushes, while for others, and I'm not naming names, it's not.

Specifically, we're gonna talk about homeschooling.

During the pandemic, many parents were suddenly forced to do it, and while some struggled, others, like this family, absolutely thrived.

QRSTUVWXY, and Z ♪ Now you know your ABCs

That is clearly excellent, but it's also...

It is also a pretty mean way to make other parents look like total shit.

Because that is significantly better than anything I did with my kids during the pandemic.

It was much less singing certified alphabet bangers and much more hiding in the closet, praying they would not find me.

Also, quick shout-out to the baby on the counter living her best life.

She has no idea what's going on, but yet there she is in the center of it all, like Mariah Carey on a New Year's broadcast.

Now, that family, like many, eventually sent their kids back to school.

But for some, homeschooling isn't just a pandemic-era necessity, it's a way of life.

And you may have heard a stereotype of homeschoolers being Christian conservatives who object to what kids learn in public school environments.

Take this man, who offers this pretty shaky rationalization for pulling his kid out of school.

I think the type of content on what they're teaching about sex or anal sex, that my third grade daughter should not be in a classroom where a teacher or someone else is teaching her about that.

I threw friends in other spots that hadn't been kids at those ages, because mine was only in first grade when we pulled them.

Although I guess I do basically agree with him there.

Things that are definitely not happening should continue not to happen.

But the truth is, the homeschooling community is much broader than just right-wing parents afraid of hypothetical third grade lube demonstrations.

By 1 estimate, there are now around 2000000 children being homeschooled in this country, and parents can choose that for all sorts of reasons.

Maybe their kids have social or health problems or disabilities that aren't being accommodated.

Maybe they're families with legitimate fears about school safety, or who are in the military and move around a lot.

And there's also a growing number of Black parents opting to homeschool due to whitewashed curriculums and 0 tolerance policies in schools that disproportionately criminalize their kids at an early age.

And the fact is, for some kids, getting to be homeschooled can be genuinely transformative.

At 15, Victoria asked her mom, Bernita, to take her out of Detroit schools.

She says she was being bullied relentlessly for her appearance, and it didn't seem like her administrators cared.

It made me not want to ask questions, you know, or not want to ask specific questions, because I'm like, ugh, am I like, they're going to call me dumb.

how did you start to feel about yourself?

Kind of like a sunshine, like the clouds opening a little bit.

And I know that's not something you usually hear me say after a clip on this show.

It's usually a variation of, that's horrible, that's heartbreaking, or shut the fuck up, you baby bitch lawn darts.

The point is, the ceiling of how good homeschooling can be is admittedly very high.

But the flaw of how bad it can get is basically non-existent.

Because to an extent that you may not realize, in many parts of the country, homeschooling is essentially unregulated, which can result in enormous damage.

So given that, tonight, let's take a look at homeschooling.

And let's start with the fact there is a lot that we don't know about homeschooled kids, from exactly how many there are, to what they are learning.

When I said there are around 2000000 of them, the reason that's an estimate is that depending on the state, homeschooled families might not have to report what they are doing at all.

In these 26 states, parents simply have to file a notice once a year with officials to let them know that they are homeschooling their child.

In these 13, they only have to file a notice once with no requirement to check in ever again.

And in the remaining 11, they don't have to notify anyone at all.

And when it comes to the education itself, filing a notice is typically where supervision stops, as in most states, there is no oversight and no evaluation by anyone of the academic program and of students' progress.

And homeschooling advocates will tell you that that is not a concern.

And the parents will simply come up with all sorts of innovative ways to teach their kids.

Here is 1 parent enthusiastically explaining how he taught his kids science.

I can't tell you how many times, you know, in my home, in our kitchen table, we've dissected, you know, sheep eyeballs or, frogs.

Well, John, you can just Google sheep eyeball for homeschoolers.

Okay, first, are kitchens the best lab for this kind of thing?

I think probably labs are the best lab for this kind of thing.

I'm just saying, maybe don't go dissecting sheep eyeballs in the same place where you cut olives for salad.

Also, do not Google sheep eyeballs despite what that man just said.

I did it, and I'm not even gonna show you the result unblurred because it is too nauseating.

Suffice to say, it looks like what would happen if an oyster had a butthole.

And while that man was clearly willing to go to impressive lengths for at-home science lessons, not everyone has the time or the resources to develop a curriculum from scratch.

That is why there are big publishers who offer material specifically tailored to homeschoolers.

Now, much of that market is dominated by these 3 Christian textbook publishers who promise learning through a biblical filter.

And look, it is absolutely a parent's right to educate their child with religion if they so choose.

But the quality of some of these books can be troubling.

For instance, 1 current Abeka history book says that the beginning of the 20th century witnessed a cultural breakdown that threatened to destroy the very roots of Western civilization.

The cause of this dissolution was an idea or philosophy known as liberalism.

Meanwhile, a workbook from ACE celebrates the Confederate General Robert E.

Lee as a devoted Christian who practiced his Christianity in all his dealings with others.

And a science book from Bob Jones University claims that biblical and scientific evidence tends to support the idea that men and dinosaurs existed at the same time.

And if you're wondering what that would look like, A.C.E.

Actually had a workbook featuring this rendering implying that not only did men and dinosaurs exist at the same time, but they were totally cool with each other.

Let's just keep whacking these leaves with that 1 sword knife that you brought.

But while all of that is pretty troubling, the truth is, in many states, the rules and oversight can be so lax, parents don't ultimately have to teach their kids anything at all.

Just watch as this former homeschool student breaks down her daily schedule.

First, we've got classical music, which was just turning on classical music in the morning so that everyone could hear it.

It was usually just walking around the block.

And then the whole entire rest of the list...

I mean, don't get me wrong, he's an absolute zaddy.

Wood, will, and I'll take seconds, but...

As hot as he makes doing chores seem, it's not an adequate alternative to education, is it?

Although, I will say, even that is a preferable alternative to the single worst homeschool curriculum that we found, whose creators excitedly promoted it on a podcast.

We are so deeply invested into making sure that that child becomes a wonderful Nazi.

And by homeschooling, we're gonna get that done.

You never want to hear a mother lovingly utter the sentence, my kids are wonderful Nazi, outside of maybe if they're praising their son's performance as Rolf in The Sound of Music.

And even then, just say wonderful Rolf, what's wrong with you?

That woman and her husband actually launched their own online community, Dissident Homeschool, in 2021, after she had a, quote, rough time finding Nazi-approved school material for her homeschool children.

That probably shouldn't be an easy Google.

In fact, if you search for that, it should probably auto-correct to, did you mean, how do I take myself to jail?

At 1 point, Distant Homeschool had nearly 2,500 subscribers and included ideas like, handwriting exercises consisting of writing out quotes from Adolf Hitler, which I think we can all agree is just appalling.

They should be working on their keyboard skills through games like Mavis Beacon teaches the final solution.

The channel also posted tips ensuring that their parents were in full compliance with the law, so that the state wouldn't interfere.

But as you have already seen, in most states, they don't have much to worry about there.

Because when it comes to homeschooling, basically, anything goes.

Well, in large part, it's thanks to a very powerful homeschooling lobby, whose most prominent player is the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, or HSLDA.

And here is where I will concede some ground.

Because it grew out an environment that was, in many places, overly restrictive of homeschooling, with some states and local school districts effectively banning it entirely.

In Texas in the early 1980s, homeschooling families were actually prosecuted.

But a turning point came after several Texas families filed a class action suit against their school districts and ultimately won.

And around that same time, the HSLDA was formed with the aim of expanding the rights of homeschoolers in every state.

And from the very beginning, it had a strong evangelical conservative outlook.

Its founding president and chairman, Michael Farris, has referred to public schools as a godless monstrosity.

And here he is back in 2004, speaking to the Christian Coalition and describing his long-term hopes for the next generation.

Today, it is not preposterous to recognize what's going on.

The promotion of homosexuality, the promotion of other kinds of things that you heard from Walter Jones and you've heard many other times, is a deplorable reality that we cannot countenance.

I can't wait for the day when our young people vanquish the enemy by a 5-4 vote, reversing Roe vs.

Where we vanquish the specter of same-sex marriage.

Okay, there is a lot that is hard to take in that clip, that that's his wish list, that he's already gotten half of it, and that he's saying, vanquish the enemy, despite looking less like a warrior and more like your tax accountant's tax accountant's assistant.

Over the years, the HSLDA has lobbied extensively from a hard right perspective on issues that have nothing to do with homeschooling, opposing everything from vaccine mandates to same-sex marriage.

But it speaks to how significant a force it is that even some parents who are uneasy with its political leanings feel that they have no choice but to be members.

Here is 1 mom who started a homeschooling group to offer an alternative to what she saw as a whitewashed curriculum, talking about her relationship to the HSLDA.

Whenever there's a threat in any particular state to their right to homeschool, oh, you will see us come together.

You know, it may not, we're not gonna stay together, but we will band up because we all desperately need our right to homeschool.

And that's the nuanced aspect of being in homeschool world.

The people that you have to work with in order to maintain what you hold dear are also the people who crush you.

The HSLDA have made themselves so powerful, many parents keep working with them, even if they don't agree with everything they stand for.

It's a dilemma otherwise known as the Tom Cruise conundrum.

On the 1 hand, a billion dollars at the box office.

On the other, a billion-year contract to an alien mafia.

Plus, for what it's worth, the HSLDA, much like Tom Cruise, will probably never die.

As a lobbying group, it's been astonishingly successful.

In 4 decades, its efforts have been credited with rolling back existing laws governing homeschooling in state after state.

And the argument that it will always make against any regulation is, you're just punishing all the parents doing things right to address a handful who are doing it wrong.

But when you've got some parents running the Homeschool Institute of Dishwashing, and others running Lil' Nazis R Us, it seems maybe the reins have gotten a little loose.

And the lack of regulation here has serious consequences, and not just regarding quality of education.

And fair warning, this is where this story gets quite a bit darker.

More than 2000000 children are being homeschooled in the U.S., many of them living in states that have little or no regulations, making it easy for abusive parents to hide behind the system.

These are the faces of just some of the homeschooled children who've died as a result of abuse and neglect.

Susanna Grubbs was homeschooled in Missouri.

She tells us the discipline she received was anything but gentle.

a lot of ways, me and my siblings totally fell through the cracks.

Because, I mean, with my mom's disciplinary techniques and my mom's educational neglect.

It's really terrible that it has happened and it keeps happening, and nobody wants to stop it because parental rights are so paramount to anything else in this country.

And that is massively dangerous because deregulating homeschooling doesn't just eliminate safeguards against parents who are bad teachers, it also eliminates them against parents who are bad people.

For all the HSLDA's talk of parental rights, it's worth remembering, Elon Musk is a parent.

Darth Vader is such a parent, he made it part of his fancy name change.

The point is, having a child does not inherently make you virtuous.

And 1 of the key problems here is, child welfare laws were written before homeschooling was legal in all 50 states.

So they rely heavily on the premise that a child is going to be in school and seen by other adults.

A lot of child abuse gets reported through our schools.

Teachers and school administrators are mandated reporters, so, you know, if a child comes to school with bruises or emaciated, that is a very common way that it gets reported.

Right, because the fact is teachers serve multiple functions at school in addition to education.

They watch out for signs of abuse, they chaperone school events, and they pretend not to know why Ellie won't sit next to Rachel, Rachel won't sit next to Kelsey, Kelsey's not talking to Ethan, even though Ethan's having a joint birthday party with Kelsey's brother Bryce, who just happens to be Rachel's boyfriend since last period.

And they do all of that while also trying to teach long division, teachers are superheroes who should make a million dollars a year.

So, you can probably see the fact that it is possible to pull A kid out of school with no questions asked or follow-ups allowed could easily be exploited by abusive parents, especially as most states don't even screen homeschooled parents for red flags.

Forty-eight states have no background check process for parents who choose to homeschool.

In fact, even if you have a prior conviction of a crime against a child, you can homeschool them.

A study done in Connecticut found that of the 380 students withdrawn in 6 districts to be homeschooled, 138 lived in families that were the subject of at least 1 prior report of suspected abuse or neglect.

And yet, despite this at every turn, the HSLDA has vigorously fought efforts to put any guardrails in place.

Here is their then president in 2015, explaining why they fight all regulations, even ones explicitly designed to prevent child abuse.

Child abuse is a parental issue, isn't it?

Any child, whether they be a non-homeschool child, or parent, whether they be a homeschool parent, they can abuse their children.

Why-why should we, for just a few, invade all of the other innocent parents?

Are there-are there some categories of regulations around homeschooling that you would support that you don't think of as an invasion or a takeover?

Okay, it is bad enough that he's arguing for a total lack of

regulation there, but the fact that he openly licks

the corners of his mouth before doing so somehow makes it worse.

It looks like a cat went to a Zoltar machine and made a wish to be Andy Griffith.

The HSLDA views any oversight whatsoever as an attack, even offering members a 24-hour hotline in case of a visit from the state.

In fact, here is the sister of that woman you saw earlier, explaining how they would practice what to do if Child Protective Services showed up on their doorstep.

The parent would lock the front door, would call the homeschool legal defense association on the phone, hand the phone out the kitchen window, and us kids were supposed to hide in the basement.

We actually did drills on this stuff, folks.

We did drills in case someone ever decided to check in on our well-being.

Drills are meant for practicing what to do to avoid getting hurt, not to avoid getting help.

It's why fire alarms say, pull here in case of emergency, and not snitches get stitches.

And the thing is, because of its committed membership, the HSLDA has the power to stop any kind of oversight in its tracks.

Take Rayleigh's Law, named after an eight-year-old girl in West Virginia whose father pulled her out of school after he was reported for abuse.

She died of neglect only a few weeks later.

Now, eventually, legislators proposed a law that would prevent parents from withdrawing a child from school when there is a pending child abuse or neglect investigation, or when a parent has been convicted of domestic violence, child abuse, or neglect.

And it seems like that law would be easy to get past, right?

But the legislator who proposed it found out, not so much.

There are groups, I want to say, there's like this homeschool defense fund group that came out against Rayleigh's Law.

And there were quotes about how awful this bill was, and it's an attack on homeschooling, and, you know, they want to move the goalposts.

That's what you do in politics, but I always thought maybe protecting children, you wouldn't actually go about that.

And if the HSLDA thinks trying to protect kids from being taken out of school by people convicted of child abuse is an attack on homeschooling, they're saying quite a bit about what they believe homeschooling to be.

If Chili's responded to a health inspector writing their workers up for pissing in the skillet queso with, this is an attack on everything Chili's stands for, don't punish the majority of our staff for the minority who piss and shit in our Presidente Margaritas, you'd have some questions about what Chili's thinks it stands for.

And for the record, that man's bill never passed.

And that story's been repeated in state after state after state.

As 1 legislative aide who has gone up against the HSLDA has said, I've never seen a lobby more powerful and scary.

And a legislator in Arkansas who tangled with them says, they told me the only legislation they wanted was what Alaska had, which was nothing.

At a certain point, it starts to feel like the HSLDA is basically the homeschooling equivalent of the NRA.

An extremely powerful organization that, while it represents a large number of people, pursues an outermost fringe version of their agenda.

Well, in a perfect world, we'd make sure that homeschool kids were both safe and actually receiving a functional education.

And there are smaller organizations like this 1 pushing for those sort of changes.

But at the barest minimum, we could require in all 50 states to register a child as homeschooled so there's at least a record that they exist.

That is how low the bar is here, at the Earth's core.

Which I'm sure, according to at least 1 homeschooling textbook, is somewhere between soil and the fiery bowels of hell.

♪ But Beyond that, we could pass some basic child safety protections to ensure parents can't pull their kids out of school to escape scrutiny for abuse.

A few years ago, to its credit, Georgia passed a law that requires parents who pull kids out of school for no reason to send documentation within 45 days that they are homeschooling their child or proof of attendance at another school.

If they don't do that, they're subject to a follow-up from the state.

And even this Republican Georgia state rep acknowledges that it was needed.

If the people in your world that you believe are most protective of you, are torturing you or abusing you, who's gonna look out for you?

I mean, I don't like government intervention in a lot of things, but I don't, you know, the government's the only person I know of that can intervene in this kind of case to save a child.

And agreeing with a staunch Republican Georgia state rep wasn't something I had on my 2023 bingo card.

I've almost got a full bingo, by the way.

I'm just waiting on you know who to you know what.

And to be clear, I share his ambivalence about government intervention here.

I understand that involving social services and the government in people's personal situations poses a risk, especially to those who aren't wealthy and who aren't white.

It's not like I love the idea of giving the state room to poke around in people's lives, or that I think our child protective services system is flawless, no notes.

We're almost definitely gonna be doing a main story on CPS 1 day.

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Homeschooling: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)