Homeschool Registration Mandate was pulled from the agenda!
Caption photo above:
Attorney Will Estrada, Home School Legal Defense Association
Homeschool Families in Trenton outside the Statehouse Annex on June 5, 2025
Yesterday, home school families traveled to Trenton, and their presence alone was enough to prompt bill sponsor Senator Angela McKnight (D) to delay action and meet with stakeholders for further discussion. While some families and advocates felt both grateful and frustrated—having sacrificed their time to commute and prepare testimonies without the opportunity to speak—their collective presence sent a message far louder and clearer than words could have conveyed. A sea of home school families in red shirts, coupled with thousands of emails and phone calls in less than 24 hours, was so compelling that it shifted the expected outcome. Congratulations to all the organizations for orchestrating such a powerful response in such a short time, and for those of you who completed our Action Alert!
After the committee hearing, I personally spoke with Senator McKnight to better understand her reasoning for sponsoring this bill and to voice our concerns about its timing. Despite being introduced multiple times over six years without movement, the bill was suddenly scheduled for the Senate Education Committee, raising questions about its true purpose. I believe Senator McKnight’s intentions were admirable—she has consistently supported the rights of home school families and has even sponsored a separate bill advocating tax credits for home school families, which she has received bipartisan support for over the past three years. However, while her intentions may be well-meaning, the larger question remains: Why did Senate Education Chairman Senator Vin Gopal (D) allow this long-dormant bill to move forward now?”
Recently, several NJ media articles have criticized the state’s lack of strict homeschooling regulations. While this may surprise some, NJ remains one of the best states for home school families—a status we are committed to preserving. However, growing concerns suggest that the State may be laying the groundwork for burdensome regulations that could lead to curriculum requirements and inspections, potentially restricting what families can use to teach their children in their own homes. It appears that Senate Leadership may be leveraging one legislator’s bill to advance a broader agenda—one that does not align with Senator McKnight’s original intent.
Let’s remember the words of Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, who addressed a USA Today article critical of homeschooling coincidentally just yesterday on his June 5 episode of The Briefing podcast.
“Let’s just state the obvious when the people who are operating their own schools, as in the public schools, will claim the right to regulate those who have pulled their children out of those schools. I think you should hear in that not only something that doesn’t sound wise, I think you should hear in that a threat.”
Dr. Albert Mohler
