Last month's tragic discovery of horrible child abuse at the hands of David and Louise Turpin has led the California Legislator to launch a general assault against all homeschoolers in the state. AB 2756 would require all homeschool families to open their doors to "Fire Inspections."
Please read the following letter from HSLDA (hslda.org) and take action to support homeschool rights in California:
"Fire Inspection" Bill Threatens Private Homeschooling
A message from Mike Smith
Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:
On Friday, February 16, AB 2756 was introduced into the California General Assembly, significantly impacting homeschooling.
You can find the full text of the bill here. Enter the bill number in the "Quick Search" box.
The authors of the bill assert that the purpose of the proposed law is to protect children in home-based private schools by mandating annual fire inspections of all private schools that file an annual private school affidavit. This would include private schools with fewer than than six students—which are currently exempt from fire code inspections.
Why are they exempt? Because these are private homes where children are homeschooled, and private homes should not be subject to fire inspections.
The bill is an attempt to give raw power to state officials to enter private homes of homeschoolers to "look around" to make sure the children are "safe." This is an overreaction to the Turpin family case in Perris, California.
We are working with Family Protection Ministries, as well as the other statewide homeschool organizations, to organize a concerted effort to defeat this bill, and you will play an important role in that. In the very near future, we will provide you with a more detailed explanation of the threats this bill brings to our freedom and specific actions to be taken.
Until then, here are two objectionable aspects of this bill:
Government officials would be empowered to enter a home without a warrant, reasonable cause or consent. In other words, this is a clear violation of protections we have under both the federal and state constitutions. Our homes are free from this type of unlawful actions of the state.
The intent of the bill is to protect children from abuse, but there is no credible evidence that homeschooled children are more susceptible to abuse than other children. So, to be fair, every home with children should be subject to this type of scrutiny. Citizens would not stand for this invasion of their home.
Please get the word out to your fellow homeschoolers and freedom-loving citizens regarding this threat to freedom. If the state can to do this to homeschoolers, no one is safe from its overreaching power.
Until our next communication, please pray and consider how you can help defeat AB 2756, and any other proposed legislation that may affect private homeschooling. We will be sending out a detailed action alert prior to the first hearing of AB 2756, which will be no earlier than March 19.
Respectfully,
Mike Smith, President