Peoria Standard

Jim Rule, chairman of the Tazewell County Republicans, has urged legislators to oppose House Bill 2827, emphasizing the importance of protecting parental rights and homeschooling freedoms that have been upheld in Illinois for over 70 years. Rule expressed his views to the Peoria Standard on February 18.

"Legislators must take a stand and oppose House Bill 2827, a direct attack on education freedom and parental rights," said Rule. "For over 70 years, Illinois has protected homeschool families from government interference—this bill would destroy those hard-won freedoms. Parents, not bureaucrats, should decide how their children are educated, and we refuse to allow this outrageous government overreach. Illinois citizens must demand that lawmakers defend parental rights and reject HB 2827."

According to a post on the Illinois General Assembly website, House Bill 2827, known as The Homeschool Act, proposes the creation of a Homeschool Declaration Form. This form would be used by homeschool administrators to submit information indicating a child's enrollment in a homeschool program. The post states that students enrolled in a homeschool program without notification via this form would be considered truant, with applicable penalties. Additionally, the act outlines requirements for homeschool administrators and programs along with reporting obligations.

Awake Illinois, in a February 9 post on the social media platform X, called for opposition to HB2827. "We need you to help us oppose IL #HB2827 filed Feb 7 by woke radical Democrats," Awake Illinois said. "It will override education freedom that has been in place for homeschoolers since 1950. This IL bill is an attack on homeschool freedom."

The National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) reports that homeschooled students tend to score between 15 to 25 percentile points higher on standardized tests compared to their public school counterparts. Furthermore, NHERI notes that 78% of studies favor homeschooled students academically and that their success is not significantly influenced by parental education level or household income. Homeschooled students also reportedly perform above average on college entrance exams such as the SAT and ACT, which has led to increased college recruitment efforts.

Rule, who resides in Morton, was first elected Chairman of the Tazewell County Republicans in 2018. According to the organization's website, he is committed to increasing Republican voter turnout, expanding party membership, and communicating party positions on issues important to Tazewell County voters.