MaineChristian.com Politics

Peter Mills and homeschooling

Posted by Bob S. on May 12, 2010.

A friend has reported that Sen. Mills recently described himself as supporter of homeschooling.  My response to this follows.

Several years ago Mr. Mills sponsored a legislative bill to authorize and require the Maine Department to regulate homeschooling.  As I remember it, he thought that some homeschooled students were not being properly educated and wanted to rectify this through government intervention and regulation, including increased mandatory testing and or reporting.

Needless to say the Homeschoolers of Maine strongly opposed this bill.  I and my two sons, who were being homeschooled, drove 3.5 hours one-way to to Augusta for the bill’s hearing.  Hundreds of other parents and students also came to the hearing.  As sponsor, Mr. Mills testified first, displaying his ignorance of homeschooling practices and successes. He also advocated that the solution to the alleged problems that he perceived would be granting the Dept. Education control over homeschooling. This was absurd, since all of the educational problems he alleged among homeschoolers were and are much more common among students in government schools!

Expert witnesses and many home school parents and students, including myself, testified throughout the day against the bill.  Although I am told that I testified calmly, I remember my strong annoyance with Mr. Mills and his bill.

Mr. Mills was not a friend of homeschooling then and has not to my knowledge repented of his sponsorship of this bill. I suppose that as a progressive liberal, he feels that anything that he supports should be regulated, since he likely believes such regulation is a good thing for homeschooling.

Thankfully, the hundreds of homeschoolers present that day, who behaved calmly and patiently, and testified lucidly, convinced even the Democrats on the committee that no such regulation was needed.  The bill was defeated soundly.

I ask all homeschoolers to support other candidates and not Peter Mills in the Republican Primary on June 7.

I do not know the positions of all the GOP candidates. However, I have heard he positions of two men.  Bill Beardsley has told me personally of his admiration for homeschooling; he also said complimentary things about homeschooling in response to a question in a recent debate.  Paul Lepage said in a recent debate which I attended that part of the solution to the state’s education problems would be to encourage homeschooling.  Clearly, homeschoolers have good options in the primary.

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