Illinois bishops drop opposition to restrictions on homeschooling

April 10, 2025

The Catholic Conference of Illinois (CCI), which represents the political interests of the state’s bishops (and, theoretically, of lay Catholics as well), has unexpectedly dropped its opposition to legislation that would impose onerous new legal regulations on homeschooling families.

House Bill 2827 would require homeschooling parents to provide state officials with an educational portfolio, identifying both students and teachers, submitting credentials, and demonstrating conformance with state requirements. Parents who failed to comply, or whose educational plans were judged defective, could face fines and jail time.

The proposed legislation drew unprecedented public opposition, with more than 50,000 people registering objections—the highest number since the Illinois legislature began collecting online comments on legislative proposals. Even some public-school administrators expressed concerns, citing the increased workload that school superintendents would face as they monitored homeschoolers.

The Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), a national organization, said that the Illinois proposal left school administrators free to set their own standards, allowing for “unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats to be able to write different sections of regulations.” He saw the bill as an opening gambit to advance regulations on homeschooling in Illinois, and a model for similar legislation in other states. “If this bill is passed into law, it’s going to be expanded in future years to put even more restrictions on homeschool and private-school families,” he predicted.

Opponents of the legislation had felt confident that the groundswell of opposition would block passage of the proposal. But the Catholic Conference of Illinois, which had earlier taken a public stand against the measure, gave the proposal new life by withdrawing its opposition.

Catholic activists in Illinois, pointing to the Church’s clear teaching that parents rather than state officials should be the primary authorities in the education of their children, are voicing dismay about the CCI’s defection.

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• Posted by: dover beachcomber - Apr. 11, 2025 7:01 PM ET USA

  The CCI website provides only generalities, e.g.: "...the amendment [to the bill] we received the night before the hearing satisfied our concern. Our opposition was addressed." What concern was satisfied? What changed? They don't say. Finally they say "There is nothing in this bill nor in the amendments that interferes with our right to teach children according to the tenants [sic] of our faith." Is that so, bishops? Show your work.

• Posted by: dover beachcomber - Apr. 11, 2025 6:46 PM ET USA

  What reason did the CCI give for throwing their sheep to the wolves this way? All I can say is, it better be REALLY good! At this point, this appears to be yet another capitulation of Catholic authority to secular authority for which American bishops have become justly notorious. Worse, they're capitulating to unelected bureaucrats who will likely be hostile to certain Church teachings, which I doubt I have to list here.