Mark Lowery Was a True Champion for Homeschooling in Arkansas

In Memoriam
Above: Rep. Mark Lowery and Jerry Cox visit following passage of Act 820 of 2021 prohibiting public schools in Arkansas from engaging in transactions with abortion providers.

On Wednesday Family Council learned Arkansas Treasurer Mark Lowery passed away at the age of 66.

Family Council President Jerry Cox issued a statement, saying, “Mark Lowery was a true champion for homeschooling. Legislation he sponsored over the years not only helps current homeschoolers, but it will help generations of homeschoolers yet unborn. Mark’s commitment to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was evident in the legislation he sponsored and in his statesmanship as a public servant. We need more elected officials like Mark Lowery. I consider him a true and faithful friend.”

As a state legislator, Mark Lowery sponsored many good bills, including:

  • Act 1469 of 2013, Arkansas’ “Tim Tebow” law that lets homeschoolers participate in interscholastic activities at public schools.
  • Act 635 of 2017 making it easier for home schoolers to file their Notice of Intent to Home School online or by mail.
  • Act 592 of 2017 letting home schoolers participate in interscholastic activities outside their resident school district if both school districts agree.
  • Act 453 of 2017 amending the state’s “Tim Tebow” law by letting home schoolers participate in interscholastic activities at any private school within 25 miles of the student’s home if the private school is a member of the Arkansas Activities Association and agrees to let the home schooler participate.
  • Act 173 of 2017 letting home schoolers take courses at their local public schools if the school is willing to enroll them.
  • Act 863 of 2017 requiring public schools to give home schoolers who re-enroll in school the very same rights and privileges as public school students and generally preventing the school from denying a home schooler appropriate class credits, proper grade level placement, and the ability to graduate.
  • Act 429 of 2019 preventing schools from charging home schooled students extra to take concurrent credit courses for college credit.
  • Act 430 of 2019 making it easier for home schooled students to access academic courses offered though the local public school system.
  • Act 820 of 2021 prohibiting public schools in Arkansas from engaging in transactions with abortion providers.
  • Act 623 of 2021 making it easier for a student to withdraw from a public school to home school.

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House Education Committee Passes Bill Expanding Interscholastic Opportunities for Home Schoolers

Education, , ,

On Tuesday the House Education Committee passed a good bill expanding interscholastic opportunities for home schoolers.

S.B. 361 by Sen. Matt McKee (R – Pearcy) and Rep. Cameron Cooper (R – Romance) amends Arkansas’ “Tim Tebow” law that lets home schoolers participate in athletics and other interscholastic activities at their local public schools. The law is named after former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, who was able to play football as a home schooler thanks to a similar law in Florida.

S.B. 361 makes it easier for home schoolers to participate in an interscholastic activity in a neighboring school district if their local district doesn’t offer the activity.

It also clarifies requirements in the “Tebow” law about enrollment in public school classes and about the waiting period for students who want to play sports after withdrawing from a public school to start home schooling.

As we said when lawmakers passed it in 2013, the “Tim Tebow” law is about school choice.

It empowers families by providing children with interscholastic options as well as educational options.

Last summer Family Council obtained government data showing at least 463 home schooled students utilized the “Tim Tebow” law in 2021.

The “Tim Tebow” law is a good law that Family Council has been pleased to support over the years.

You Can Read S.B. 361 Here.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Bad Home School Testing Bill Filed

Home School, Legislation,

A bad home school testing bill has been filed at the Arkansas Legislature.

H.B. 1587 by Rep. Jim Wooten (R – Beebe) requires home schoolers to take a nationally recognized norm-referenced test every year in order to receive an form of public funds.

The way this bill is written, home schoolers in Arkansas would have to test if they receive any type of public assistance or any type of grant or scholarship paid for with state or federal funds.

The testing requirements in H.B. 1587 do not seem to be connected to the LEARNS Act that Gov. Sanders recently signed into law.

The LEARNS Act creates a voluntary school choice program in Arkansas, and it requires private school and home school students to take a norm-referenced test each year in order to participate in that voluntary school choice program.

Most home schoolers would not be eligible to apply to be part of the LEARNS Act’s school choice program until 2025.

H.B. 1587 would take effect this summer, and it would require home school families to take a state-mandated test in order to receive any type of public funds.

It seems highly unlikely that H.B. 1587 will pass at the Arkansas Legislature — especially with less than a month left in the 2023 session.

However, it is worth pointing out that the State of Arkansas used to require home schoolers to take a state-mandated test.

In 2009, Arkansas’ home schoolers performed better on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills than 61% – 80% of the students who took that test, nationwide.

According to the 2013-2014 Home School Report from the Arkansas Department of Education, in 2014 home schoolers in grades 3 – 9 scored anywhere from the 51st percentile to the 65th percentile on that same test.

In fact, home schoolers in Arkansas performed so well on standardized tests that the Arkansas Legislature finally ended state-mandated home school testing in 2015.

There is simply no reason to bring home school testing back.

You Can Read H.B. 1587 Here.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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