Worst-Ever Homeschool Law Proposed in Ohio by Sen. Capri Cafaro
Sen. Capri Cafaro, D-Hubbard, announced her decision to pull Senate Bill 248, also known as Teddy’s Law, late Thursday.“SB 248 was never meant to be a policy debate about educating children in the home. It was meant to address weaknesses in the law pertaining to child protection. Unfortunately, the true intent of the bill to curtail child abuse has been eclipsed by the issue of home schooling.”
The language in the bill would have required all parents who home-school to undergo a social services investigation, including interviews and background checks, to determine if home schooling would be permitted. If parents didn’t pass the investigation, an ‘intervention’ would be recommended before further consideration of their request to home-school.The proposed law was intended to honor Theodore “Teddy” Foltz-Tedesco, who was tortured and murdered by his mother’s boyfriend earlier this year. His mother had withdrawn Teddy from school, saying she was going to home-school him after teachers initiated an investigation into his potential abuse. Both adults were convicted of charges relating to his death and are serving time in prison.
She sent a letter to the Senate president requesting that all further action on the bill be suspended, noting an official motion to withdraw the bill will be made when the Senate returns to session in 2014.
Cafaro also requested field hearings next year to address child welfare in Ohio.
“It is our hope that this new focus will bring the discussion back to where it was always intended to be: protecting children,” she said in her statement. “I will not include any content related to education in the home in a new bill, or in any other bill.”
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