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My partner and I homeschool our four kids. We chose it for reasons that will sound familiar to many families who educate at home: flexibility, the ability to tailor instruction to each child’s interests and pace, and the chance to foster a learning environment that is more curious, humane, and inclusive than the one we experienced growing up. For my kids, homeschooling means learning real history in a global, interdisciplinary context, exploring niche interests and how they tie into broader issues, and using experiential education to understand different ideas and cultures, all among an intergenerational, diverse community dedicated to supporting one another as we all grow. It’s one of the most rewarding decisions our family has made.

Which is why I find the modern parental rights movement — now the loudest political voice in homeschooling — so disturbing. In response to instances of parents using alleged homeschooling as a means to hide child abuse and neglect, several states across the country have recently considered modest proposals related to homeschooling, such as basic enrollment notices so states know which children are being educated at home, limited academic reviews, or simple information-sharing rules. 

None of these proposals come close to banning homeschooling or dictating curriculum, and most would not affect the overwhelming majority of homeschool families at all. Yet, to hear many homeschooling advocacy groups describe them, these measures represent an existential threat to the American family. Parents are warned that they will be placed on watchlists, that the government will monitor their homes, that bureaucrats will indoctrinate their children, and that ordinary parenting will be criminalized. None of this is true. But the panic is real — and increasingly powerful.

Just this month, opponents narrowly defeated a West Virginia bill simply requiring a 10-day period for Child Protective Services to finish any ongoing abuse or neglect investigations before a child may be withdrawn from school.

Connecticut is one of only 12 states that do not require parents to notify the state or school district that they are homeschooling their children. When lawmakers introduced a bill that provides a........

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