Trista Iodice

I am a home educator in two ways. As adjunct faculty for AIU Online, I conduct class from my home office. As homeschool teachers, my husband and I conduct class whenever and wherever the opportunity lends itself. Our reasons for making the decision to homeschool last year are numerous; not the least of which is we believe it to be the best educational choice for our children for the time-being.

According to the Illinois Compulsory Attendance Law (Section 26-1 of the Illinois School Code) that applies at age 7, parents who choose to educate their children at home are obligated to teach: the branches of education taught to children of corresponding age and grade in the public schools (language arts; mathematics; biological and physical sciences; social sciences; fine arts; and physical development and health), and using the English language.

In the eyes of this law, we are a private school. As is the case with all public and private schools, administration is responsible to its benefactors to prove that it is meeting at least minimum legal requirements in the instruction it offers its students. The benefactors of public schools are taxpayers and government, so administrators test their students using state exams to assess compliance with the law and publicly report the results to the hopeful edification of their benefactors. In the case of our private school, my husband and I are both benefactor and administrator. We are liable to ourselves to ensure that we and all others with whom we entrust the education of our children are in compliance with the law.

Should the state be more involved with our educational choice? No. Within the realm of legality, we are free to house, nourish, dress, praise, discipline, transport, exercise and educate our children as we see fit.