Never forget the HARD road traveled to NV homeschool  freedom!

Here it is, 2017 and I’m sitting in a meeting of the Nevada Assembly Education Committee listening to the introduction of AB 186, a bill to lower the compulsory school attendance age from 7 to 5, mandate Kindergarten for ALL Nevada children, and force all NV Public Schools to offer PreKindergarten.  As NV homeschool parents showed up and testified against the bill because of the threat to their right to decide “when” their child is ready for school it became increasingly clear that current Legislators on both sides of the aisle have NO IDEA what is currently in NV law regarding homeschooling and the justification behind the current freedom of NV Homeschooling.

I began to wonder, perhaps even homeschool parents today really don’t know the torturous history of our homeschool law and the over-burdensome regulations Nevada homeschool parents endured.  In response to a Legislator’s question of how homeschooling in Nevada got to where it is today I wrote this timeline to explain how burdensome homeschool regulations were back in the day and how parents across the state worked together over 25 years to give parents the FREEDOM they enjoy to direct the education of their children without government controls!

~Barbara Dragon, NHN Officer Emerita

So, here goes…

1947, amended 1956 – 1st  “homeschool law” in the nation.

The 1947 Nevada compulsory attendance law  compelled all children in Nevada between the ages of 7 and 18 to attend a Nevada public school.  However, the law also allowed parents to enroll the child in private school or provide education in the home when “equivalent instruction” is approved by the State Board of Education (SBOE) or until the child turns age 14.

• The law was amended in 1956; see page 11 of Homeschooling; The Original Option.  It took 60 years for homeschool parents to gain independence from the public school system.  Many thanks to Frank Schnorbus, our NV homeschool history expert for his exhaustive research on homeschooling law in Nevada in preparing for passage of SB 404 in 2007.
  • 1947 AB8 as Introduced,  1947 Statutes of Nevada,  AB001,1956 Law w notes
• And interestingly in a 2016 Nevada Supreme Court ruling on the NV-ESA program passed during the 2015 Legislative Session the court found that delegates to Nevada State Constitutional Convention of 1864 discussed the education of Nevada children in depth, “And although the debates surrounding the enactment of Article 11 reveal that the delegates discussed the establishment of a system of public education and its funding, they also noted the importance of parental freedom over the education of their children, rejected the notion of making public school attendance compulsory, and acknowledged the need to vest the Legislature with discretion over education into the future.” (Page 19) [Emphasis added]

1982 – Two mothers “applied” to homeschool in Winnemucca, NV

One mother was approved because she was a Nevada certified teacher, the other mother was denied because she was not a certified teacher and the family lived within 50 miles of a local public school.  That mother and father filed a lawsuit and lost.

The reason?

The district court judge ruled on Nov. 11, 1982 in Wallace v. Humboldt  County School District (pages 85-94) that because the NV State Board of Education (NV-SBOE) had never written regulations for the law in existence at the time, nor did the family live outside the 50 mile radius of a public school, there was no basis on which to rule in their favor.  That same judge went further and stated in his ruling  that he objected to the concept of homeschooling and he “recommended” several requirements if it were to be allowed:

• proof of “equivalent instruction” to the public school,
• “where and how education materials are presented” (kind and amount), and
• “controls” or “qualifications to teach” on the parent administering the education such as the use of diagnostic testing of the parent as determined by the local school board (teacher certification).

1983 – Parents seek change to allow parents to homeschool their children without government approval.

However, the Department of Education testified before the Legislature that they were writing regulations based on the judge’s ruling for approval by the NV-SBOE.  The Legislature refused to move the bill forward to allow the SBOE time to “regulate” homeschooling via the Nevada Administrative Code (NAC).  The NV-SBOE not only approved regulations following the judge’s recommendations, they added many additional conditions which turned Nevada into one of the most “over-regulated” homeschool states in the nation.*

The NV-SBOE continued to ADD to the regulations over the next 5 years.  By 1990 regulations included, in part:

• annual notification of intent to homeschool along with education plans,
• “approval” of the homeschool by the local school board,
• birth certificates and photos of the child had to be submitted by the parent and a “cum folder” established for the child by the school district,
• first-time homeschoolers had to work under the oversight of a NV certified teacher for one year,
• children had to be tested annually AT the local public school (not in their home where they were taught),
• remediation of the child if minimum scores not attained by the child on the annual state test,
• minimum number of days and minutes of teaching time equal to the public school were required.

The list went on and on creating a burdensome and time-consuming process for both the parent and the local school district. But at least parents were “allowed” to homeschool.

* 1983 Proposed H.S.regs. ; 1984 Homeschool NACs 7.31.84, 1988 Homeschool Regulations

1988-1996 –  Homeschool parents throughout Nevada work together to oppose the more onerous regulations.

1988 – Silver State Education Association (SSEA) – President Mark Forrest is formed by parents from Northern Nevada Home Schools, Inc – NNHS (1984) reaching out to homeschool families in Southern and Eastern Nevada to combat over-burdensome regulations approved by the NV-SBOE.  NNHS and SSEA also partnered with Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), (J. Michael Smith, Esq.) a national organization dedicated to the defense of homeschool freedom.  Over the next 10 years, SSEA was successful in slowly repealing over-burdensome regulations, almost one at a time.

1991 – So many parents showed up to a NV-SBOE meeting opposing over-regulation prompting the Superintendent of Public Instruction to say, “You parents might be allowed to homeschool but we WILL control you!”  The board, at that same meeting, established the “Northern and Southern Nevada Home School Advisory Councils to the SBOE” and attempted to use the confines of these advisory committees to control parent’s attempts to modify regulations.  One example of this control was that only the Presidents of each council were allowed to speak at SBOE meetings regarding homeschool regulations, thereby limiting the rights of the people to address their grievances.  Another was that a SBOE member and a DOE Administrator were assigned to the committees, these government agents disrupted efforts to improve the regulations at every turn.  But parents kept up the fight and SLOWLY got the regulations reduced, one at at time.  1992 NAC 392.011 to 392.055

1994 – a significant event occurred at the federal level that resulted in a greater public awareness of homeschooling.  HR 6 was introduced in the US Congress and would have essentially eliminated a parent’s right to educate their own child across the country.  NV homeschool parents joined over 20 thousand homeschool parents across the country in nearly shutting down the Capitol Switchboard in Washington, D.C., over multiple days, with telephone calls opposing HR 6.  After days of lobbying, the bill was amended to protect the right of parents to educate their own child.  It was quite a victory!  Read this perspective from a homeschooled student, now a homeschool speaker, author, and dad – HR-6: A Dead Giant or a Living Lesson (1994) 

1996 – NV homeschool parents, unified under SSEA (President Stephen Balkenbush, Esq.) and in partnership with HSLDA (J. Michael Smith, Esq.), worked through the Advisory Councils to meet the ultimate goal of eliminating the annual state-mandated testing requirement as discrimination against homeschooled children and not authorized by NRS 392.070, the homeschool statute.  Elimination of the annual testing requirement allowed parents to devise and execute an individual education plan suitable to the academic needs of their child.  SSEA disbanded in 1998 as leaders moved on to other things.  1997 R109-97 NAC 392 Adopted-1997

1997-2002 –  Regulations are tweaked in ’99 and ’02 

However, the regulations were still “more restrictive” than allowed in law simply because the NV-SBOE believed they were authorized to “regulate” homeschooling no matter what the law actually said.  Further all 17 school districts wrote varying policies regarding homeschooling.  Local homeschool support groups stayed active by sending reps to the Northern and Southern Homeschool Advisory Councils that continued to meet quarterly addressing error-laden policies of local school districts attempting to add to the regulatory burden on homeschooling.

Through these years Frank Schnorbus (Northern Nevada Home School Advisory Council – President), Kime King-Patraw (Southern Nevada Home School Advisory Council – President), and Barbara Dragon (NNHSAC – member) worked diligently to build relationship with NV Dept. of Education personnel and members of the NV State Board of Education.  Gradually, ambassadors for the strength of homeschooling as an excellent Education Option in Nevada were able to convince government officials that parents truly can be their children’s best teachers.
1999 R038-99 NAC 392 Adopted – 11.3.99, 2002 R018-02Adopted.effective 5.29.02

More “wins” for NV Homeschool parents:

1999 – Homeschool students may participate in public school classes/activities.

AB 348  was co-sponsored by a large bi-partisan group of Legislators to establish charter schools in Nevada.  The bill also authorized homeschool students to participate in public school classes and extra-curricular activities.  The bill passed and was signed into law by Governor Guinn (R).  Homeschooled students submit a Notification of Intent to Participate in Programs and Activities (NOIPPA) when seeking to take a class or participate in an extra-curricular activity, they are not “enrolled” in the public school.

2002 – New statewide homeschool organization formed

Nevada Homeschoool Network (NHN) is co-founded by Elissa Wahl and Frank Schnorbus and other homeschool parents  statewide to continue the battle for homeschool freedom in our state in unison with other local and regional homeschool organizations.  The first item of business was to propose and rewrite the NV homeschool regulations (NAC) to better reflect the intent of the existing statute, NRS 392.070.

2003 – Changes enacted by the State Board of Education and the NV Legislature

• New regulations proposed and approved.  NHN and the Northern (Frank Schnorbus, President) and Southern (Kime King-Patraw, President) Nevada Home School Advisory Councils were invited by the Vice-President of the NV State Board of Education, Gary Waters, to offer the “least restrictive” regulations possible under existing law to the SBOE and those would be passed.  With the assistance of HSLDA (Scott Sommerville, Esq.) new regulations were proposed in February of 2003 and approved in October. 2003.c R009-03Adopted.effective 10.30.03

HSLDA has archived the details of this effort and subsequent events to the present.*

Details are also available from the NHN Webmaster on an older version of the NHN website.**

• SB 503 authorized homeschool students to “participate” in NIAA sports programs in the public schools.  The bill, introduced by the Senate Committee on Finance, passed and was signed into by Governor Kenny Guinn (R).  Again, homeschool students submit a NOIPPA to the local school, they are not “enrolled” in the public school when participating in classes, activities, or sports.  The bill also established a definition of homeschooling: “Homeschooled child” means a child who receives instruction at home and who is exempt from compulsory attendance pursuant to NRS 392.070.”

2005 – Change continues – Freedom is coming

• February, 2005 – A homeschool study was commissioned by NHN through Nevada Policy Research Institute (NPRI) impacting state and national education policies.  Homeschooling in Nevada: The Budgetary Impact says that public school educators should look at home and private school students as assets, not as liabilities. Because of these students, note authors John T. Wenders and Andrea D. Clements, Nevada school districts realize a net gain of between $25.9 and $42.7 million annually. (This research was upheld in 2017 showing that home and private school families save the nation 22 Billion dollars a year, How Much Money Each State Saves Thanks to Homeschooling.)
• SB 367 – Revises provisions governing education of suspended and expelled pupils.  This bill changed the law that forced the parents of certain children kicked out of their public school to homeschool those children. That was a recipe for disaster; parents who had already lost control of their children having to take on the added responsibility of providing the child with an education. But NHN was able to refocus the law onto independent study programs, distance education programs, and the new charter schools that were emerging. The public school system saw homeschooling as a dumping ground, being able to rid themselves of difficult children, while saddling homeschooling with non-academic and often violent students.  NHN will continue
  to advocate against the use of homeschooling for such political and bureaucratic reasons.
• June 17, 2005 – Governor Kenny Guinn signed a bill that among other things, requires all social workers to be trained in their duty to protect an individual’s constitutional and statutory rights during an investigation.  They must inform you of the allegations against you during an investigation.  The original bill, SB 402 passed the Senate but did not get a hearing in the Assembly committee.  However, NHN and HSLDA learned It’s Not Over Til It’s Over!
• October 31, 2005 – Additional amendments to the NAC were requested by NHN through the Advisory Councils in April of 2004 and finally approved in 2005… that is just another example of how slowly the regulatory process works and why homeschool parents  continue to push for full autonomy from government control of the education of their children.  Among other things, the new regulations restricted the NV-SBOE from writing over-restrictive regulations and local school districts from writing more restrictive policies than allowed by the NRS that NV homeschoolers had had to live under since 1983. NAC 392 adopted October 2005

2007 –  The Homeschool Freedom Bill is introduced in the NV State Legislature 

• SB 404,  sponsored by State Senator Maurice Washington (R), was a bill to “codify” existing regulations. Former Assemblywoman Sharron Angle (R) had requested a Bill Draft Request (BDR) for “homeschooling” in 2006 before she left office and Senator Washington agreed to be the sponsor of the bill in 2007.
• Frank Schnorbus and Barbara Dragon co-authored the bill, with legal counsel from HSLDA (Christopher J. Klicka Esq.).  The bill came out of the NV Legislative Counsel Bureau exactly as we wrote it, a major accomplishment in and of itself, and a testament to the YEARS of experience we had in rewriting regulations and getting those approved.
• NHN spearheaded the lobbying efforts to get the bill passed. We were able to meet with all Senate Health & Human Services committee members as well as Assembly Education committee members prior to the bill being heard in each house which was a crucial aspect of our lobbying efforts.  NHN and HSLDA also worked to communicate with Nevada homeschool parents who helped by making phone calls and sending letters and emails expressing support for SB 404.
• One other major factor in moving the bill through the Legislature was that the Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Keith Rheault, was supportive of the bill.  NHN had worked with Dr. Rheault for years advocating for homeschool freedom.  In addition, then Assemblyman Mo Denis (D) was very helpful in ushering the bill through the NV Assembly.  
• SB 404 unanimously passed both the NV Senate and Assembly and was signed into law by Governor Jim Gibbons (R) on June 14, 2007. 

• During the Legislative bill process, NHN produced Answers to Good Questions to explain to Legislators why we had requested SB 404. Basically, the new law moved “homeschooling” out from under the oversight of NV-SBOE and gave parents the right to direct the education of their child based on the age and skill level of the child as determined by the parent.
• By signing the Notification of Intent to Homeschool parents take FULL RESPONSIBILITY (including financial) to provide education of their child. Education neglect laws do apply to protect the interests of the child.  However, to date there has never been an accusation of education neglect against a parent in Nevada who has filed an NOI to Homeschool.
• Nevada Administrative Codes NAC 392.011 to 392.065 are rescinded, homeschoolers are no longer under the over-sight of the NV State Board of Education.

SB 404 PASSED Highlights

L to R:  Kelley Millard-Radow (NHN), Tina Goodman, Frank Schnorbus (NHN), Barbara Dragon (NHN), Governor Gibbons,  Assemblywoman Sharron Angle, Carl Lucas (NHN), Kime King-Patraw, Irene Rushing.   Not pictured:  Elissa Wahl (NHN), Laura Seigal (NHN), Lynn Chapman, Marita Sanders

Nevada homeschool parents have worked hard to not only educate their children well but to defend their right to do so.  Many parent groups have been formed throughout the state, beginning in 1983, always advancing the cause of homeschool freedom.

NHN was founded in 2002 as a “statewide organization” by parents living in both the north and the south to work together to protect the fundamental right of parents to direct the education of their children via homeschooling.  Elissa Wahl and Frank Schnorbus were two of the original founding members of NHN who dedicated their time, effort, and resources to the success of the organization. Over the last 30 years Nevada parents have also worked hand in hand with HSLDA to advocate for parents who are doing a GOOD job educating their own children, without “help” or oversight from the government.

In hindsight, it is now interesting to compare and contrast the 1947 law and the skirmishes that ensued 1983-2007 with the following statement from a Nevada Supreme Court ruling in Schwarz v. Lopez, Pages 19-20  (2016 – regarding the NV-ESA bill, SB 302) reflecting the mindset of the writers of the NV Constitution in 1864 with regards to parental rights:

• “And although the debates surrounding the enactment of Article 11 reveal that the delegates discussed the establishment of a system of public education and its funding, they also noted the importance of parental freedom over the education of their children, rejected the notion of making public school attendance compulsory, and acknowledged the need to vest the Legislature with discretion over education into the future. See Debates & Proceedings of the Nevada State Constitutional Convention of 1864, at 565-77 (Andrew J. Marsh off. rep., 1866); see also Thomas W. Stewart & Brittany Walker, Nevada’s Education Savings Accounts: A Constitutional Analysis (2016) (Nevada Supreme Court Summaries), http://scholars.law.unlv.eduffivscs/950, at 12-15 (discussing the history of Nevada Constitution Article 11, Section 2).”

There are SO many details I could add to this timeline… as well as the names of ALL the parents who participated in the process over the years.  But the list is long and I may forget someone!  If you were one of those parents we want to say THANK YOU for all you did to ensure that future generations would not suffer the intolerable regulations of days gone by.  And to all you parents just starting on your homeschool journey, WELCOME… you will succeed because you care!

________________________________________________________

The road to education liberty for NV homeschoolers was long… but we must remain vigilant to maintain our freedom. To that end NHN keeps on working:

2008 – Governor Jim Gibbons signs the first Proclamation of the Governor declaring March 30th-April 5th as “Home Education Awareness Week.”

2009 – Governor Gibbons signs the second Proclamation of Governor, again declaring March 30th-April 5th as “Home Education Awareness Week.”

2009 – Legislative Session:  After a time consuming 2007 session we were hopeful 2009 would be easier… not so much.

We’re now in “defense” of any attempted changes to the new Homeschool Freedom Law. During the session NHN tracked over 2 dozen bills pertaining to “education, the family, and/or children.   We focused on defeating SB292 – Child’s “Best Interests” Attorney bill and SB378 – Early Childhood Education creating a state approved prekindergarten curriculum.

• SB 292 (Care – D) died in the Assembly and although SB 378 (Senate Health & Education Committee, D controlled) passed both houses, NHN lobbied Governor Jim Gibbons (R) to veto the bill which he did on 5/28/2009.  Of note in the Governor’s Veto Message of SB 378 are the following statements,
  • “Early childhood education is critical for mental and emotional development and school preparedness. However, this is an area that has traditionally been left to parents.” (emphasis added)
  • “Requiring all state-funded preschools to follow this set curriculum would also restrict parental choice. It would allow wealthy parents to make free choices about their young child’s education but force those of less means into a program dictated by the state.  This establishes unequal access to educational choices for parents of varying income levels.” 

In future sessions Nevada parents will see Legislators repeatedly attempt to thwart parental choice which Governor Gibbons astutely warned against.

NHN 2009 Legislative Wrap-up

NHN Officers: Frank Schnorbus (Minden), Chair  ·  Barbara Dragon (Gardnerville), Treasurer  ·  Elissa Wahl (Las Vegas), Secretary · Carl Lucas (Lovelock) · Laura Siegal (Las Vegas) · Kelley Millard-Radow (Reno) · Missy Pique (Fallon)

2011 – Sometimes “quiet” is nice.  

In order to introduce new and returning Legislators to homeschooling and our efforts to achieve homeschool freedom, NHN drafted a Letter of Introduction that we delivered to all legislators.  Two bills did affect homeschooling in a round about way and were easily amended to protect parents and children.

• AB 171 (Benitez-Thompson, Smith – D; Denis, Kihuen – D) regarding charter schools but also would have changed our homeschool law to require homeschool parents to notify the local school district if they enrolled their child in an online public charter school.  But the DOE agreed to our request to have the charter school notify the school district if a formerly homeschooled child was enrolled to avoid “another step” for the parent.
• AB 138 (Committee on Education – D controlled) was a bill “governing pupils” that deleted some “parent/child rights” language.  On HSLDA’s recommendation we requested an amendment to leave the language they were trying to delete.  Two of the three statutes we requested to leave on the books were not deleted per our request, one was.

 2011 Legislative Session Wrap-up

• NHN Officers: Frank Schnorbus, Chair; Barbara Dragon, Treasurer; Elissa Wahl, Secretary; Laura Siegal,member; Kelley Millard-Radow

2013 – NHN joined with ParentalRights.org to introduce the “Fundamental Parental Rights” bill.  

We asked Senate Majority Leader Mo Denis (D) to sponsor SB 314 to secure fundamental parental rights for all parents in Nevada.  The bill codified court case president, acknowledging that parents have a “fundamental” right to direct the  health, education, and welfare of their children.  NHN Chairman, Frank Schnorbus wrote the information pamphlet:

The Right of Parents to Raise Their Child (and conversely the right of the child to be raised by his/her parent)

explaining the need for such in a law in Nevada.  ParentalRights.org attorneys Michael Farris, Esq. and Scott Woodruff, Esq. were instrumental during our lobbying efforts.  Mr. Woodruff’s oral and written testimony were vital to passage and explained the reason Nevada needed

Fundamental Parental Rights 

legislation.  The bill passed both the Nevada Senate and Assembly and was signed into law on 6/15/2013 by Governor Brian Sandoval (R).

Two other bills that threatened the very fundamental parental rights we were fighting for with SB 314 were successfully defeated this session.

• AB 203 (Livermore – R) was a “grandparents visitation”  bill that would have threatened the rights of an “intact” family to determine who their children should associate with.  Existing law already allows grandparents to sue for visitation in cases where parents are divorced on one is deceased however, this bill sought allow grandparents to sue parents for visitation of their grandchildren even if the child’s parents choose not to allow visitation.  NHN argued that asking the state to usurp the parent-child relationship and decision making by granting legal recourse to the grandparents would be a violation of current court decisions uphold fundamental parental rights.  Legislators agreed and the bill “died in committee.”  Similar bills had been requested over previous sessions dating back to 2001 and all have met similar fates.
• SB 182 (Smith – D) sought to lower the compulsory school attendance age from 7 to 5 as well as mandate that “All-Day Kindergarten” be provided in every public school and that all 5 year olds attend (or enroll in a private school or homeschool).  NHN opposed the bill and later offered an amendment request to maintain a parent’s right to decide when the child was ready to attend school up to the age of seven.  Senator Smith did amend the bill though not as we originally requested.  However, in the end due to the “unfunded mandate” on local school districts regarding all-day kindergarten, this bill also died in committee.

It should be noted and remembered, that similar bills to these two have been requested over previous sessions dating back to 2001 (grandparents visitation) and 2007 (lowering the compulsory attendance age) and more than likely will be seen again.  HSLDA (J. Michael Smith, Esq.) partnered with NHN to defeat both these bills.

• SB 445 (Education on behalf of the Governor) was a very innovative program that would have allowed businesses,financial institutions and others who pay an excise tax to make a donation to a scholarship organization to grant scholarships to children living in low-income families to attend private schools or an “accredited program of homeschool study.”  However, NHN was concerned with language that would have negated the freedom of these families to direct the education of their children currently provided under the Nevada homeschool law and return them to being “approved” by the local school district.  NHN provided an amendment to the bill to “fix” the problem but the Governor’s office refused to accept our suggestion.  On the day of the hearing for the bill, NHN had to begrudgingly oppose the bill.  The bill died in committee.

2013 Legislative Session Wrap-up

• NHN Officers:  Frank Schnorbus, Chair (Minden); Elissa Wahl, Vice-Chair (Las Vegas); Barbara Dragon, Treasurer (Gardnerville); Kelley Millard Radow, Officer (Reno); Laura Siegal, Officer (Las Vegas); Ray Poole, Secretary (Gardnerville)

2015 – A session like no other to date!  

As always we hope that each session brings no threat to homeschool freedom, but this was not to be one of those, there seemed to be a fire everywhere we turned.  And the threat came from those we traditionally consider “our friends.”  For the first time since 1929, the Republicans controlled the State Senate and the Assembly!  A Republican was Governor as well.

By late 2014 we began to smell trouble in River City… not Iowa, but rather Carson City, NV.  Nevada Policy Research Institute (NPRI) began touting a “government funded school choice” idea that would quietly make its way to passage in 2015 as a political tool to convince Republican lawmakers to vote for the largest tax increase in the history of Nevada (the Commerce Tax).  In fact, the Commerce Tax, written by Governor Sandoval (R), was exactly the same as the teacher’s union backed Margins Tax the voters of Nevada had rejected at the voting booth in 2014.  But I digress…

Having attended NPRI events in Reno and Las Vegas in November/December 2014, Barbara Dragon and Elissa Wahl spoke at these events against government funding of homeschooling due to the burdensome “strings” that would be attached with tax-payer funding.  In January, 2015 prior to the start of the Legislative Session NHN posted the following position statement, Alternative Education Funding Programs.  

•  SB 302 – (Hammond – R) The Educational Savings Account (ESA) bill made a surprise appearance on Friday, April 3rd (Good Friday!). The bill was scheduled for hearing on the of the deadline for bills to be heard in their first committee (if not heard they die). It was a “surprise” because the original bill was nearly totally rewritten by the sponsor of the bill, Senator Hammond, and national “school choice” advocates, The Friedman Foundation (now Ed Choice) just prior to the meeting.
  • NHN Officers had gone on record with Senator Hammond requesting that he protect HOMESCHOOL FREEDOM. However, although NHN Officers had been in constant contact with Senator Hammond on other bills, he never informed us of the intent to use the homeschool law as a “vehicle” for students to receive tax-payer funding from the state and the “controls” that go with it. Thankfully, Elissa Wahl was in attendance the day of the hearing and “opposed” the bill as written.
  • NHN was able to work with Senator Hammond and by Monday, April 6th we submitted an amendment to protect those parents who DO NOT wish to receive money from the state. Further, the bill was amended  to clearly state that a “homeschooled child” not an “opt-in child” who receives funding through the ESA program.  Details of what happened can be found here, Homeschooling vs ESA Grant.  In the end “homeschool freedom” was protected and kept separate from “government funded school choice” but as always, that freedom came with a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.

 Click here for continuing updates on ESA program.   For more information on the impact of ESAs on homeschooling follow our blog; ESAs: Public-funded ED Choice vs. Self-funded Education Liberty

Other bills of addressed by NHN in 2015:

• SB 25  – This bill was submitted by the Department of Education as a “house keeping” bill. However, section 2 of the bill was very concerning to NHN as it would give the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) authority to “Coordinate educational programs for children from birth through prekindergarten.”  NHN testified against Section 2 of SB 25 at the hearing and submitted this letter to Senate Education.  Other parent groups also opposed this intrusion on parental rights and the DOE withdrew Section 2 of SB 25 from the bill. A win!
• SB 228 – (Gustavson – R) Student Right to Privacy bill.  NHN supported this bill.  Since this bill would protect ALL Nevada parents and their children whether enrolled in a public, private, or home school; Barbara Dragon, Elissa Wahl, Frank Schnorbus, Kelley Radow, and Ray Poole, Legislative Liaisons for ParentalRights.org, lobbied in support of SB 228: WHY DO WE NEED SB 228?
  • Will Estrada, Federal Relations Director for HSLDA also provided testimony on SB 228.
  • However, the Senate Education Committee Chairwoman, Senator Becky Harris (R) was not willing to bring the bill for a vote and instead [at the request of Senator Gustavson (R) and Senator Mo Denis (D)] agreed to amend two protective sentences from the bill into another “student privacy bill”.  A sentence declaring that a student’s personally identifiable information and data “belongs” to the student was amended into SB 463 (letter in support of SB 463 – 5.1.15).  SB 463 (Senate Education Committee – R controlled) was passed by the full Senate. However, the protective language from SB 228 was DELETED by amendment (letter in opposition to the SB 463 amendments – 5.15.15) by the Republican controlled Assembly Education Committee as was other protective language in the bill.  A very watered down version of SB 463 was passed by the Assembly and “concurred with” by the Senate. A loss.

• AB 221 – (Kirner – R) This bill did not affect homeschooling but was a “companion” bill to SB 463 mentioned above. The bill was intended to protect public school student information and data collected by the public school, the school district and the Department of Education but in reality was only a “sunshine bill”; meaning the DOE and local school districts must tell parents what info/data is being collected on their child and allow for “corrections” to the information/data to be made, as requested by the parent or student over the age of 18. ParentalRights.org/Nevada opposed AB 221 and submitted this letter to the Assembly Education Committee – 3.23.15 Here again, there were many amendments in both houses to this bill before it was eventually passed and signed into law by the Governor.
•  SB 126 – (Senate Education – R controlled)  NHN opposed language calling for “regulation and evaluation” of “any early childhood education and prekindergarten programs at both private and public schools”. NHN also opposed language in the bill allowing public school officials to “conduct a survey AT THE HOME of child whose primary language is not English”. In both cases the problematic language was removed by amendment. However, the amended bill was never brought for a vote and “died” in committee. Another win!
• SB 117 – (Health & Human Services – R controlled) A bill adding two new vaccinations required for “school enrollment” also died in committee. NHN did not take a position on this bill but did notify homeschool parents and friends of homeschooling that this bill was being considered.

The passage of SB 302 (ESA) and AB 165 (Choice Scholarship Program)  created new numbering within the Nevada Revised Statutes for “Alternative School Choices” encompassing:

• Homeschooling (parent funded/directed education)  NRS 388D.010-070
• ESA Opt-in child (government funded/controlled education) – NRS 388D.100-140
• Educations services for children employed in the entertainment industry (government or employer paid tutoring services) – NRS 388D.200
• NV Educational Choice Scholarship Program (donation based for qualified low-income children to pay private school tuition) – NRS 388D.250-280

2015 Legislative Wrap-up

• NHN Officers:  Frank Schnorbus, Chairman; Elissa Wahl, Vice-Chair;  Barbara Dragon, Treasurer; D. Raymond Poole, Secretary; Kelley Millard Radow, Officer; Aaron Sutherland, Officer; Matt Alder, Officer

2016 – NV Supreme Court rules on lawsuits against the ESA

In late 2015 two lawsuits were filed to stop implementation of the NV ESA program established by SB 302.  The decision handed down by the NV Supreme Court on September 29, 2016 in Schwartz v. Lopez revealed some noteworthy comments with regards to the rights of parents in making decisions regarding their children’s education.  The court found that delegates to Nevada State Constitutional Convention of 1864 discussed the education of Nevada children in depth, “And although the debates surrounding the enactment of Article 11 reveal that the delegates discussed the establishment of a system of public education and its funding, they also noted the importance of parental freedom over the education of their children, rejected the notion of making public school attendance compulsory, and acknowledged the need to vest the Legislature with discretion over education into the future.” (Page 19) [Emphasis added]

In addition to referencing original documents from the 1864 Constitutional Convention, the court also references a Nevada Supreme Court Summary,  Nevada’s Education Savings Accounts – A Constitutional Analysis by Thomas W. Stewart and Brittany Walker.   Comments relative to parental choice and control of their children’s education are highlighted on pages 12-15. This discussion may be of great importance to parents choosing to homeschool their children should the Nevada Legislature attempt to infringe on the right of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children.

2017 –  Government always says they know what is best for children.  FALSE.

That was the theme of at least one bill during this year’s session.

• AB 186 – (Diaz) proposed (yet again!) to lower the compulsory attendance age from 7 to 5, mandate Kindergarten attendance, and force public schools to offer prekindergarten with no additional funding. NHN Officers met with Assemblywoman Diaz early in the session to express our concerns for taking the responsibility of parents to decide when their child is ready for school out of their hands.  But she decided to move ahead with her bill because she believes that although homeschool parents are competent to decide, other parents are not and she’s “protecting children.”  NHN and HSLDA joined forces to defeat this piece of legislation.  Thankfully, the bill languished in the Assembly Ways & Means committee for lack of funding and died in committee.
• SB 506 (Senate Education for Governor Sandoval) – This was a “funding” bill for the ESA program that passed in 2015 but that the NV Supreme Court declared unconstitutional and placed an injunction on the program until the funding mechanism was corrected.  To correct the problem, the Governor proposed to fund the program with $60 million from the state’s general fund (not the Distributive School Account).  However, the now Democratic controlled Legislature chose to to ignore the bill and it too died in committee.  NHN watched the bill closely to ensure that “homeschooling” was not written back into the program limiting the rights of self-funding homeschool parents.

2017 Legislative Session Wrap-up

• NHN Officers: Elissa Wahl (Las Vegas), NHN Chair; Matt Alder (Reno), NHN Vice-Chair; Kelley Millard-Radow (Reno), Treasurer; D. Raymond Poole (Gardnerville), Secretary; Aaron Sutherland (Reno), Officer; Kristi Casaus (Reno), Officer ~ Advisory:  Barbara Dragon, Officer Emerita-2016 – Legislative Liaison (active); Frank Schnorbus, NHN Chair Emeritus 2017

2018 –  Tracking Events in Other State Legislatures

This year saw the report of a single HORRIFIC case of child abuse perpetrated by “homeschool” parents in California.  As result of this one outlier case, there was an attempt in several states to increase regulations on homeschool whose Legislatures were in session.  Even in Nevada there was an “opinion” piece published in the Reno Gazette Journal calling for MORE restrictive homeschool regulations in Nevada.  But as an organization we advocate for the right of parents to educate their own children as they see fit and responded with a NHN Position Statement and tracked all the legislation in other states to their DEFEAT.

• NHN Officers: Elissa Wahl (Las Vegas), Chair; Matt Alder (Reno), Vice-Chair/Treasurer; Kelley Millard-Radow (Reno), Secretary;  D. Raymond Poole (Gardnerville); Aaron Sutherland (Reno), Officer; Kristi Casaus (Reno), Officer; Maureen Ford (Reno), Provisional  ~  Advisory: Barbara Dragon, Officer Emerita-2016; Frank Schnorbus, NHN Chair Emeritus 2017

2019 – A nice quiet year at the Legislature for NHN and NV homeschool families!

2019 Legislative Session Wrap-up

• NHN Officers: Elissa Wahl (Las Vegas), Chair; Matt Alder (Reno), Vice-Chair/Treasurer; Kelley Millard-Radow (Reno), Secretary;  D. Raymond Poole (Gardnerville); Aaron Sutherland (Reno), Officer; Kristi Casaus (Reno), Officer; Maureen Ford (Reno), Provisional  ~  Advisory: Barbara Dragon, Officer Emerita-2016

____________________________________________________________

In even years NHN is not idle.  During “off years” we are continually advocating for homeschool freedom and parental rights; addressing issues raised by parents, educators, school districts, politicians, public policy groups, government bureaucrats, journalists… the list goes on and on; and helping families new homeschooling to get started.

We invite any interested homeschool parent to join our team.  Potential Officers spend a year on our email loop “learning the ropes” so you’ll be well equipped before becoming a voting member. Please contact us via our email contact page if interested, we’d love to have you!

*HSLDA has an archived history of Nevada homeschool freedom events, 2002-present.

** Contact the NHN Webmaster for 2002-2008 history from an older version of the NHN website.

Info-Graphic:  The History of Home Schooling in America