The problem is that abused children often (but not always) do start off in the public school system. But then their parents get wind that they can make their child virtually disappear out of the system if they simply utter the words "homeschool." So it creates a little loophole for people who never had any intention of genuinely homeschooling.
So for me personally, it's less about trying to track every single homeschooler or accusing the homeschooling community of being ingenuine. It's more about closing this one loophole, which won't solve all problems, but would be a good start at trying to remove avenues for these types of pathetic people.
As other people have rightly noted, a lot of homeschooling parents come out in force to advocate against any type of regulation out of fear. For example, if anyone remembers the case with Raylee Browning (
websleuths thread here), she was dehydrated, starved and beaten to death by her dad and his girlfriend. West Virginia lawmakers tried to pass "Raylee's Law" which would have prevented parents with child abuse investigations from homeschooling their children. It did not pass 15-5, with many lawmakers saying the law could be abused against homeschooling parents (???).
In this OK case with the 11-year-old and siblings, could a law such as requiring notification helped? Requiring yearly testing or portfolios while showing up at the school? We will never know for certain but I'd like to think there may have at least been some questions and worry about the girl's protruding stomach. Maybe it could have at least resulted in the girl giving birth at a hospital and then the abuse being found out there, which at least would have been better than what actually happened. Slight improvements are worth the hassle IMO.
But I think the excuse that because kids who are seeing mandated reporters regularly are still being abused, therefore we should let children further disappear out of society's sight and only be seen by their abusers is a pretty weak position to hold.
MOO.
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