The deaths of two Detroit children who were taken out of public school to be home-schooled and later found in a freezer in March has sparked debate over whether more state oversight of home-schooled students is needed to prevent tragedies.
Michigan is one of only 11 states that does not require home-schooling parents to register with the state or have any contact with officials. But legislation introduced recently could impact the way home-schooling operates in Michigan.
Detroit residents Abbey and Kevin Waterman have homeschooled all eight of their children over the last 24 years and said they believe more oversight would create an unnecessary burden on families.
"The way it is right now has made home educating in Michigan a lot less complicated," Abbey Waterman said. "We already do all of our own administration, we have our own books, our own home library and we're responsible for it all. Having yet another administrative responsibility to the state is burdensome and awkward for us. I really appreciate the fact I don't have to register and validate. ... Home-schooling in Michigan is wonderful. Don't weigh us down with another burden."
But Lansing resident Cheryl Overly, who has homeschooled her seven children for 12 years, said that while most who choose to home school are wonderful parents, more oversight is needed. Overly submits a report to the state annually because two of her sons receive speech therapy services. Overly said the process is simple and nonintrusive.
"A lot of people are intimidated by registering with the state, but it's not an undue burden, by any means," she said.
Rachel Coleman, executive director of the Coalition for Responsible Home Education, a group that advocates for homeschooled children, said parents who are truly doing a good job should not object to what she believes is an added protection for children. Coleman, who was home-schooled, said too many children slip off the radar.
"We need the conversation to change," Coleman said. "We're not denying that there are plenty of abusers in public schools, but we have a system in place to help them. That's something home-schoolers don't have." The legislation would require parents or a guardian who choose to home school to:
_Provide their address and names of the children who will be home-schooled to their school district.
_Require that home-schooled children meet twice a year with someone from an approved list of individuals, such as a physician, licensed social worker, school counselor or teacher.
_Require parents to keep records of those meetings and make them available upon request.
The legislation was prompted by the deaths of 13-year-old Stoni Blair and 9-year-old Stephen Berry, who were found dead in a deep freezer March 24. Prosecutors said they believe the children's mother, Mitchelle Blair, brutally abused them before killing them. Before the discovery of their bodies, Blair had removed them from a local school to home school them.
The case of a home-schooled 13-year-old boy who was allegedly abused and found in the basement of his family's Detroit home last June after being missing for 11 days is also reason for more oversight, according to home-school reform advocates.
Some state legislators and local officials said Stoni's and Stephen's deaths could have been prevented had there been more home-schooling oversight.
"When we found out about both Stoni and Stephen, we were just astonished that the mother took them out of school and no one knew where they were," said state Rep. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, who introduced the legislation. "This really should be about the children and making sure that we are accounting for every single child in the state of Michigan. ... If 39 other states are doing this, I really believe Michigan can and should take this step forward."
But other home-school supporters say the deaths don't reflect the majority of parents who choose to home-school.
"A person who would do something like that to children is not a home-schooling parent," said Mike Donnelly, staff attorney for the Home School Legal Defense Association. "They are a criminal and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. We live in a free society, and there's no way to prevent failures 100 percent. ... Even if there were the most stringent requirements, those types of parents, they're not going to submit a notice of intent, so by imposing more restrictions because of a few bad people, that's not an American fundamental approach to law."
___ The number of parents who choose to home-school their children has grown exponentially over the last several years, Donnelly said.
"In the U.S., you're talking about almost 2 million children," he said. "The population has grown between 7 and 10 percent within the last 10 to 15 years."
Based off of data compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics, the Coalition for Responsible Home Education estimates that 51,000 to 68,000 students are home-schooled in Michigan. The state doesn't have an official count because it does not track home-schooled students.
In Michigan, parents or guardians who choose to homeschool are expected _ but not required _ to assign homework, give tests and issue report cards, transcripts and diplomas "based on internal standards," according to the state's home-school law.
Unlike other states, registration with the Michigan Department of Education is not required unless the child has special needs and is requesting special-education services from the local public school or intermediate school district, according to state law.
And unlike students enrolled in traditional schools, home-schooled children are not required to take standardized tests, although they can participate in the Michigan Educational Assessment Program and the Michigan Merit Examination at the request of their parents.
The Watermans' children have taken a variety of standardized tests, especially prior to applying to college. Some home-schooling parents choose not to have their children tested or are selective in which tests their children take _ Overly, for example, prefers to have her children take the Iowa Test of Basic Skills.
Bill DiSessa, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Education, said the state does encourage home-schooling parents to give notice of their intent to avoid the student being marked absent or being contacted by a truancy officer.
DiSessa said it's possible that some districts have their own way of following up on students who are homeschooled, but they cannot require students to be registered, under state law.
"We don't know what districts might be doing with regard to that, but again, they can't usurp state law, they can't mandate the parent report something to us because state law doesn't require it," he said.
Representatives for Oakland Schools, an intermediate school district that serves Oakland County, and Wayne RESA, a service agency that serves 33 school districts in Wayne County, said neither have a set policy in place to monitor home-schooled children because it isn't a requirement of the state.
Jennifer Mrozowski, spokeswoman for Detroit Public Schools, said the district requires all attendance agents who determine a student is being home-schooled to contact a program supervisor who then contacts the parent. She said the program supervisor would then request that a written letter from the parent be kept in the child's file at the school building where he or she was enrolled and also at the district's attendance office.
The step is not a requirement, but Mrozowski said "it allows us to know that the parent made the decision, allows the student to be properly exited from our system and allows DPS to avoid initiating unnecessary truancy charges when a parent is actually home-schooling their child."
In the case of Stoni and Stephen, DPS said the children were not enrolled in the district at the time of their deaths, but declined to say whether they were ever enrolled, citing privacy laws and the need for a parental consent.
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