A Michigan State Representative Stephanie Chang, a Detroit
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| Rep Stephanie Chang (D) |
Democrat, proposed legislation Friday to create a state registry of
homes chooled students following the deaths of two Detroit children who were
found in a freezer.
The law would require visits with children at least twice
per year by someone such as a licensed social worker or law enforcement
officer.
The bill would also require that parents who want to homeschool their
children provide their names and ages, along with the name and address of a
parent or guardian, to the superintendent of the school district in which they
reside.
Chang used the case
of Stoni Ann Blair and Stephen Gage Berry as a reason for planning the
legislation. Investigators believe Stephen was 9 when he died in August 2012
and that Stoni was 13 when she died the following May. Their mother, who is
accused of torturing and killing them and then stuffing their bodies in the
freezer, had said she homeschooled them.
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| Senator Phil Pavlov (R) |
“We all failed Stoni and Stephen because Michigan does not maintain
a list of homeschooled children and so we have no way to identify and then
protect any child who could be at risk for abuse,” Chang said. “Most homeschool
parents have their child’s best interest in mind, and many do a fine job
homeschooling, but with Stephen and Stoni, that wasn’t the case.”
She said the state must ensure that every child is accounted
for.
Gov. Rick Snyder did not embrace the concept of a homeschool
registry.
Today Senator Phil Pavlov, (R) St. Clair County, made it clear that her bill would never leave committee as he wrote a letter to Michigan home school parents and posted it on his legislative web page.
Dear Parents,
Stoni Ann Blair and Stephen Gage Berry were precious
children with limitless potential, and their senseless deaths at the hands of
their mother have shocked and saddened the entire state of Michigan.
Mitchelle Blair, the Detroit woman accused of killing Stoni
and Stephen and then hiding their bodies, is a murderer who deserves, at best,
to spend the rest of her life in prison.
This tragic situation is not, and never was, however, a
homeschooling problem.
That’s why I am so dismayed by the introduction of a new
bill in the state House of Representatives to exploit Stoni and Stephen’s
tragic deaths as an excuse to impose new regulations on loving, committed, and
law-abiding Michigan families.
Let’s be clear-this legislation would not have stopped Ms.
Blair from killing her children. Blair was willing to break every law on the
books, and routinely and effectively lied for years to hide her crimes.
Instead, the new bill is a transparent attempt by some in
Lansing to bully, threaten, and intimidate parents who choose not to send their
children to traditional public schools. The legislation would force every
homeschooling family to register with local officials and to open their homes
twice yearly for police inspections, to prove that they have not murdered their
own children.
Parents have rights. Parents deserve choices. And parents
deserve so much better from Lansing.
As the Chairman of the Senate Education Committee I wanted
to write you today to assure you that this anti-parent legislation will not see
the light of day in my Committee.
Parents who choose homeschooling as the best education
option for their children lovingly pour themselves into their kids, and they
get great results. Homeschooled children are among the most successful in the
state, go on to attend colleges and universities, get and keep great jobs, and
help lead our communities.
Every child learns differently, and no one understands the
needs of a child like his or her parents. That’s why when it comes to making
education decisions for their children, or for choosing the kind of education
that will work best, Lansing should trust parents, not bully them.
Sincerely,
Senator Phil Pavlov
Chairman, Senate Education Committee
Phil Pavlov has announced that he will be running for Candice Miller's Congressional Seat in the 10th District.
