# To what extent should homeschoolers be regulated? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 4, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-should-homeschoolers-be-regulated/527677 "2010-02-04T15:47:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-should-homeschoolers-be-regulated/527677/1 "2010-02-04T15:47:29Z")
In the thread about granting asylum to a family fleeing from Germany in order to legally homeschool their children, it turned into a debate on how much regulation is appropriate for homeschoolers. [Granting asylum to people fleeing from Germany? - Great Debates - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=550352) In order to stop hijacking that thread, I said I’d bring the topic here. The people who were anti-regulation said that educating children in the manner you see fit is a fundamental right of parents. The government should not get involved without evidence of a crime. The people who were more pro-regulation said that it is society’s duty to ensure that children get an appropriate education and therefore homeschools should be regulated. So here are some questions to consider: Should families that homeschool their children be subject to some form of inspection? Should the children be required to take standardized tests? Should the parents have to have a certain level of eduction or training? What (if any) regulations should there be concerning families who are exclusively teach their children at home? ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-should-homeschoolers-be-regulated/527677/2 "2010-02-04T16:02:14Z")
Well, to my mind it isn’t a fundamental right at all, because that seems to treat the child as a possession. We can recognize that parents are usually the best people to act in the child’s best interest, but still also recognize that laws are necessary to avoid situations where parents’ view of the best interests is so far off the chart that we find it unacceptable. Schooling your children at home is, I think, similar to sending them to a private school. Home schooled children should ahve the same protection then as children at private schools. Should “home schools” be inspected? Absolutely, and without necessary any evidence of wrongdoing if other private schools may be inspected without evidence of wrongdoing. Should the children take standardized tests? I am not a fan of standardized testing, but if other children are required to take them, then so should home schooled children. Should the parents have to have a certain level of education or training? Harder - I am not sure if private schools are required to do this. If they aren’t, then it shouldn’t apply to home schools either. Regulate them as private schools. Now, on a more legal (and unfortunately US centric) level, I don’t think there is a problem with banning home (or private) schooling. The Supreme Court disagrees with me, but they are a bunch of clowns anyway. Given that I think it can be banned, I certainly think it can be heavily regulated. We accept in multiple areas that a parent’s role as guardian of his or her child’s rights is subject to limits. I don’t see why this one should be any different. ---
**Author:** ![code\_grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-should-homeschoolers-be-regulated/527677/3 "2010-02-04T16:13:26Z")
to slightly rephrase well known legal opinion, “the power to regulate is the power to destroy”. Many exams, especially essay ones, are inherently subjective. If they are graded by the local teachers or government officials (i.e. folks who know that the kid is being home schooled) that makes it even more subjective since then they can intentionally be a dick while grading them. Anyway, if an evil fascist government takes over your neighborhood and tells your kid to write an essay demonstrating his compliance with their ideology or be taken away from you for State-mandated education, would you be happy about that? Would you respond by diligently following the fascist educational program to make sure that the kid does in fact successfully write such a paper on the exam? Would you just give up and send him to the public school to preserve your sanity? Notice that the whole point of home schooling might be precisely keeping the odious fascist teaching away from your kid. Since people (teachers and government officials included) are inherently dicks, the best way to preserve liberty is to restrict the power they exercise over each other. Minimizing government interference into home schooling is a good example of such a limit on power of one man over the other. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-should-homeschoolers-be-regulated/527677/4 "2010-02-04T16:17:36Z")
I can foresee one problem in the regulation. Should the homeschools have to follow the same curriculum as public schools? If not, than how can anyone tell if they are learning as much as they should? For example, my 6th grader is learning in his History class about ancient and classical civilizations: the Greeks, Persians, Aztecs etc. But a homeschooling family might decide to do American history in 6th grade, or even to skip history this year in favor of 2 kinds of science, and pick up a double history next year. So how can it be determined that they are learning at an adequate level? The only thing I can imagine is if homeschooling families have to turn in a curriculum at the beginning of the school year that outlines what they will be working on. Then the person who inspects will know what to ask about. Then of course there is the issue of Unschoolers. Wikipedia defines it “allowing children to learn through their natural life experiences, including child directed play, game play, household responsibilities, and social interaction, rather than through the confines of a conventional school.” So this means that the parents don’t sit down and teach them subject, they just allow the children to pick up information on their own. How in the world could one regulate that? ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kearsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-should-homeschoolers-be-regulated/527677/5 "2010-02-04T16:20:58Z")
I figured you might want to start with: How are home schools regulated currently and go from there. > **[Suite 101 - How-tos, Inspiration and Other Ideas to Try](https://suite101.com/)** > > Suite101 helps you discover home ideas, DIY crafts, gardening, food, style inspiration, how-tos and other ideas to make your life better. This is just Texas but homeschooling if a far cry from being “unregulated” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-should-homeschoolers-be-regulated/527677/6 "2010-02-04T16:21:39Z")
> [@code\_grey](#): > > Anyway, if an evil fascist government takes over your neighborhood and tells your kid to write an essay demonstrating his compliance with their ideology or be taken away from you for State-mandated education, would you be happy about that? If there were an evil fascist government taking over the neighborhood, would they respect the “right” to home-school at all? ---
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-should-homeschoolers-be-regulated/527677/7 "2010-02-04T16:26:31Z")
> [@code\_grey](#): > > Anyway, if an evil fascist government takes over your neighborhood and tells your kid to write an essay demonstrating his compliance with their ideology or be taken away from you for State-mandated education, would you be happy about that? Would you respond by diligently following the fascist educational program to make sure that the kid does in fact successfully write such a paper on the exam? Would you just give up and send him to the public school to preserve your sanity? Notice that the whole point of home schooling might be precisely keeping the odious fascist teaching away from your kid. Sorry, this is ridiculous. If an evil fascist government takes over and requires doctors to report on the racial categorization of every patient they see, and sterilize all non-white patients, I would not go to the doctor. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t think doctors should be regulated now in the current situation. > [@code\_grey](#): > > Since people (teachers and government officials included) are inherently dicks, the best way to preserve liberty is to restrict the power they exercise over each other. Minimizing government interference into home schooling is a good example of such a limit on power of one man over the other. If people, including teachers and government officials, are inherently dicks, aren’t parents inherently dicks too? You are preserving the ‘liberty’ of the parent while increasing the power the parent has over the child. It isn’t a straight “government bad” type situation. ---
**Author:** ![code\_grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-should-homeschoolers-be-regulated/527677/8 "2010-02-04T16:49:16Z")
> [@villa](#): > > Sorry, this is ridiculous. If an evil fascist government takes over and requires doctors to report on the racial categorization of every patient they see, and sterilize all non-white patients, I would not go to the doctor. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t think doctors should be regulated now in the current situation. > > If people, including teachers and government officials, are inherently dicks, aren’t parents inherently dicks too? You are preserving the ‘liberty’ of the parent while increasing the power the parent has over the child. It isn’t a straight “government bad” type situation. Villa, first of all, government officials and quasi-government officials (like ETS or college admissions) ALREADY collect racial categorization. In fact, many lists of addresses sorted by race are available for purchase by private parties. At present the private parties buy them to do bulk mailing advertisement, not to send jackbooted murderers to your home. This is a good example of what I said - once you give people POWER to do something for a good reason, subsequently it can be used for bad reasons as well. If the government tomorrow decides to intern all Chinese Americans, let’s say, they will not have to run around and look for them - the databases are already compiled. As far as the parent being a dick, absolutely. But you see, an evil parent can mistreat how many kids? Three max? Now, how many kids can be mistreated by an evil fascist Minister of Education? Feel the difference? This is also what the Catholic principle of subsidiarity [Subsidiarity (Catholicism) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsidiarity_(Catholicism)) is all about. Broadly speaking, everything that can be done locally according to decisions of locals should so be done to prevent oppression from centralized powers, be that the government or large corporations (and frankly, in cases of tyranny there will be no difference - the government will tell the big corporations what to do). ---
**Author:** ![code\_grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-should-homeschoolers-be-regulated/527677/9 "2010-02-04T16:55:30Z")
so, to continue with my line of thought, a law that today allows the State verify that home schoolers teach their kids algebra can tomorrow be used, by another government, to verify that they teach their kids the fascist ideology of the evil regime in power at the time. I don’t think that testing for algebra knowledge is evil - but I do think that passing such laws is a direct slippery slope to tyranny. It is the strategy of slowly boiling the frog with regards to our liberties here in America [Boiling frog - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiling_frog) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-should-homeschoolers-be-regulated/527677/10 "2010-02-04T17:04:06Z")
> [@code\_grey](#): > > As far as the parent being a dick, absolutely. But you see, an evil parent can mistreat how many kids? Three max? :dubious: Never heard of the Quiverfull movement, have you? > [@code\_grey](#): > > Now, how many kids can be mistreated by an evil fascist Minister of Education? Feel the difference? That difference is based on the strawman assumption that we’re living under an evil fascist system, which we’re not. Yes, evil fascist totalitarians could indeed mistreat millions of children through their educational policies. That’s one of the reasons why we prefer a democratic system to an evil fascist system: we get more individual freedom and more local control of regulation. The issue of regulation comes down to a trade-off between competing aspects of people’s natural dickishness. Under an evil fascist system, I would definitely be more worried about the ill effects of the dickishness of the evil fascist Minister of Education than I would about the dickishness of individual parents, so I’d want parents to be regulated as little as possible. (Not that my opinions about regulation would have the slightest effect in an evil fascist system, of course, but I’m trying not to fight your hypothetical.) Under the current democratic system, though, I think that the impact of the dickishness of regulators versus the impact of the dickishness of parents is more of a toss-up, so I’m more willing to accept a higher level of regulation. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-should-homeschoolers-be-regulated/527677/11 "2010-02-04T17:06:15Z")
> [@code\_grey](#): > > I don’t think that testing for algebra knowledge is evil - but I do think that passing such laws is a direct slippery slope to tyranny. By that logic, speed limits and building codes are also a direct slippery slope to tyranny. As an argument against a particular form of regulation, the slippery-slope-ending-in-tyranny objection is so broad and vague as to be pretty much meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-should-homeschoolers-be-regulated/527677/12 "2010-02-04T17:14:57Z")
> [@Kearsen](#): > > I figured you might want to start with: How are home schools regulated currently and go from there. > > [Suite 101 - How-tos, Inspiration and Other Ideas to Try](http://homeschool-regulations.suite101.com/article.cfm/homeschool_regulations_in_texas) > > This is just Texas but homeschooling if a far cry from being “unregulated” First of all, I never said they were unregulated. It’s simply a question of what level of regulation people are comfortable with here at the SDMB. Second, how can you say from your link that homeschools are a far cry from being unregulated? The link says that in Texas, “Parents have no education requirements placed upon them in order to qualify to operate a home school.” And “no forms or paperwork are required to be filed or submitted to any department or organization.” And also “Texas law does not require a home school to participate in any form of standardized testing or assessment.” This appears to be completely and utterly unregulated. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-should-homeschoolers-be-regulated/527677/13 "2010-02-04T17:15:21Z")
1. There already is regulation, and it varies state by state as it should in our Republic. 2. I would support the management of an annual standardized test of the minimum standards. This would be math, English, history/social studies, and science. If the homeschooled child can pass the test, then no need for follow-up. If they do not pass the test, then some type of review would be needed. 3. I would expect EVERY child to take the test, regardless of the school situation. This means the local public and private schools would also have to take the test. Aggregate scoring data would be reported as well to help provide comparison data to the public. Much of this already exists in some form. I have at least 2 home schooled boys in my Scout troop. One is well adjusted, the other is not. The one that is not well adjusted is home schooled BECAUSE he is not well adjusted. The schools were not equipped to deal with his particular situation, and the parents do a great job of ensuring that he gets a top notch education. In my Scout Troop, he is able to socialize in a better controlled environment than the local public schools. (FYI - My kids are in the public school system, but will switch to private for high school) ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-should-homeschoolers-be-regulated/527677/14 "2010-02-04T17:25:02Z")
> [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > So here are some questions to consider: > > Should families that homeschool their children be subject to some form of inspection? Should the children be required to take standardized tests? Should the parents have to have a certain level of eduction or training? Yes, yes, and yes. Children are seperate beings and have rights as soon as they are born. They should not be completely subjected to the whims of parents. Parents have a role to play, but so do schools and the society we live in. Plus, schools are much better at teaching kids a range of specialized skills and knowledge that parents don’t have. Unless your dad is Leonardo Da Vinci, you’re going to be missing huge chunks of knowledge that your parents cannot impart on you. ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kearsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-should-homeschoolers-be-regulated/527677/15 "2010-02-04T17:26:13Z")
> [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > First of all, I never said they were unregulated. It’s simply a question of what level of regulation people are comfortable with here at the SDMB. > > Second, how can you say from your link that homeschools are a far cry from being unregulated? The link says that in Texas, “Parents have no education requirements placed upon them in order to qualify to operate a home school.” And “no forms or paperwork are required to be filed or submitted to any department or organization.” And also “Texas law does not require a home school to participate in any form of standardized testing or assessment.” > > This appears to be completely and utterly unregulated. Perhaps only as you view the regulation? ---
**Author:** ![code\_grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-should-homeschoolers-be-regulated/527677/16 "2010-02-04T17:31:53Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > By that logic, speed limits and building codes are also a direct slippery slope to tyranny. As an argument against a particular form of regulation, the slippery-slope-ending-in-tyranny objection is so broad and vague as to be pretty much meaningless. the objection isn’t vague. If police can measure your speed with a radar and ticket you - that sucks. But if police are allowed to stop any car that slightly speeds and then search it for “evidence of wrongdoing” that is not in any way connected to the actual fault of speeding, that would be an obvious slippery slope. Under such a law, you don’t need to bring in any extra jackbooted thugs to impose the tyranny - you can use the regular police under its regular laws to terrorize the people. Note that both situations are formally a speed limit law, but the first version of it minimizes police powers to just what is needed to enforce that law. The second version, by contrast, expands police powers far beyond these requirements. In terms of giving the federal education bureaucracy the power to write the test that can be used to take away your kid from you - how is this not a slippery slope? What if a Bush appointee mandates a test to force all American kids (liberals included) to write an essay in support of abortion prohibition and Iraq war? What if an appointee of a liberal President mandates an essay about the need for support of his government’s policy of gun control and unlimited immigration? What if the Supreme Court, at the time packed with folks from the ruling party, approves? (incidentally it isn’t all that hard to pack the Supreme Court - just have a few of the current justices get killed by random meteorite hits and then appoint their replacements). ---
**Author:** ![Kearsen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/82dd89/32.png) [@Kearsen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kearsen)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-should-homeschoolers-be-regulated/527677/17 "2010-02-04T17:33:14Z")
Perhaps this will better help you understand the ‘actual’ regulations. > **[Home](https://www.homeedmag.com)** > > Homeedmag Home Education Magazine Welcome To Homeedmag Art Classroom Crafting I’m David K. Ortiz My goal for this blog is to provide homeschooling families with crafting ideas and resources. I want to show them that ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-should-homeschoolers-be-regulated/527677/18 "2010-02-04T17:36:35Z")
If we want to ensure that kids get a good education, we should regulate public schools, not private schools and home schools. Consider [the facts.](http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000010/200410250.asp) > [@](#): > > In 1997, a study of 5,402 homeschool students from 1,657 families was released. It was entitled, “Strengths of Their Own: Home Schoolers Across America.” The study demonstrated that homeschoolers, on the average, out-performed their counterparts in the public schools by 30 to 37 percentile points in all subjects. A significant finding when analyzing the data for 8th graders was the evidence that homeschoolers who are homeschooled two or more years score substantially higher than students who have been homeschooled one year or less. The new homeschoolers were scoring on the average in the 59th percentile compared to students homeschooled the last two or more years who scored between 86th and 92nd percentile. > > This was confirmed in another study by Dr. Lawrence Rudner of 20,760 homeschooled students which found the homeschoolers who have homeschooled all their school aged years had the highest academic achievement. This was especially apparent in the higher grades. ii This is a good encouragement to families catch the long-range vision and homeschool through high school. > > … > > In a study released by the National Center for Home Education on November 10, 1994. According to these standardized test results provided by the Riverside Publishing Company of 16,311 homeschoolers from all 50 states K-12, the nationwide average for homeschool students is at the 77th percentile of the basic battery of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. In reading, the homeschoolers’ nationwide grand mean is the 79th percentile. This means, of course, that the homeschool students perform better in reading than 79 percent of the same population on whom the test is normed. In the area of language arts and math, the typical homeschooler scored in the 73rd percentile. > > … > > In 1991, a survey of standardized test scores was performed by the Home School Legal Defense Association in cooperation with the Psychological Corporation, which publishes the Stanford Achievement Test. The study involved the administering of the Stanford Achievement Test (8th Edition, Form J) to 5,124 homeschooled students. These students represented all 50 states and their grades ranged from K-12. This testing was administered in Spring 1991 under controlled test conditions in accordance with the test publisher’s standards. All test administers were screened, trained, and approved pursuant to the publisher’s requirements. All tests were machine-scored by the Psychological Corporation. > > These 5,124 homeschoolers’ composite scores on the basic battery of tests in reading, math, and language arts ranked 18 to 28 percentile points above public school averages. For instance, 692 homeschooled 4th graders averaged in the 77th percentile in reading, the 63rd percentile in math, and the 70th percentile in language arts. Sixth-grade homeschoolers, of 505 tested, scored in the 76th percentile in reading, the 65th percentile in math, and the 72nd percentile in language arts. Children who are home-schooled not only outperform those who are public schooled in academic areas, [they are also](http://www.hslda.org/research/ray2003/HomeschoolingGrowsUp.pdf) more likely to continue to every level of higher education, more likely to get a decent job, more likely to be involved in their communities, and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-should-homeschoolers-be-regulated/527677/19 "2010-02-04T17:39:39Z")
> [@Kearsen](#): > > Perhaps this will better help you understand the ‘actual’ regulations. > > [http://www.homeedmag.com/lawregs/texas.html](http://www.homeedmag.com/lawregs/texas.html) So your first link specified no regulations at all. This link also agrees with the first that there is no testing required, no paperwork to fill out, and no requirements in order to call themselves a school. All there is: Compulsory Attendance ages are 6 through 17. This means that when a child turns 6 he must be “in school” and, if not enrolled in a traditional school, the following requirements apply: 1. The home school must be run in a bona fide manner (not a sham or subterfuge. 2. A written curriculum (from any source including video or computer) must be used and must cover the basic subjects of reading, spelling, grammar, math and a course in good citizenship. The child is considered to be in a private school. 3. Parents must reasonably cooperate with any reasonable inquiry from an attendance officer. So they say a homeschool must cover the basics (like reading etc.) but don’t ever test that you have done so. They say you must have a curriculum, although you don’t have to show it to anyone. And you have to say your kids are in school if they ask you. Still sounds pretty darn unregulated to me. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-should-homeschoolers-be-regulated/527677/20 "2010-02-04T17:42:34Z")
> [@code\_grey](#): > > What if a Bush appointee mandates a test to force all American kids (liberals included) to write an essay in support of abortion prohibition and Iraq war? What if an appointee of a liberal President mandates an essay about the need for support of his government’s policy of gun control and unlimited immigration? That seems to be just another strawman. If this kind of blatant mandatory indoctrination isn’t currently a problem with the regulation of public and private schools, why should we assume that it would become a problem if similar regulation were extended to homeschooling? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/to-what-extent-should-homeschoolers-be-regulated/527677.md?page=2)