2010 LEGISLATIVE INFORMATION REGARDING LEGISLATIVE ALERT FOR HB1543:

      We want to caution everyone from overreacting to Missouri HB 1543 or other bills. Bills to push cradle to grave institutional education have been introduced for as long as Candy and I have been leaders—for the past 24 years, in fact. And for the past 24 years, these bills have not been embraced by the Missouri General Assembly because as past representative and senator David Klarich states, “There are two camps that you do not touch in Missouri —veterans and homeschoolers.” Why? Because David and other members of the General Assembly have stated that CHEF has always maintained a sterling reputation with the General Assembly.

      CHEF is well aware that these issues have been offered again, but simply because someone says that they are going to offer an amendment does not warrant action on the part of our families, and certainly not a declaration of emergency. This does require monitoring, which indeed is why we have CHEF lobbyist David Klarich. He does not anticipate that this will go anywhere, any more than it has in the last 24 years. However, if your participation is needed, David will inform us, and we will respond accordingly.

      A lot of these issues are perennial and require monitoring, but they certainly do not require action. Anyone who has worked with the General Assembly realizes that calls on issues that are not going anywhere infuriate the members and make the callers look foolish and annoying. Any group who speaks too much will be ignored at best, and then eventually worked against, as they become a festering boil to the recipients.

      CHEF and David Klarich have solid relationships in the General Assembly and ones we wish to maintain. We therefore strive to ensure that doors remain open to us. CHEF’s goal is to impact the members of the General Assembly in favor of homeschooling. Thus, we work to present a calm, levelheaded, informed, professional organization that is an asset to Missouri and a sweet aroma to those who serve our state.

      As always, David is diligent to monitor bills and proposed amendments that could affect homeschooling in Missouri. He has a vested interest here because he is a homeschooling father and desires to maintain our homeschooling freedoms in Missouri so that his children’s children will be able to homeschool his posterity. And since David is a past Missouri representative and senator, he fully understands when to wait and see and when to act. Furthermore, because of his longstanding relationships with other Republicans and Democrats in the General Assembly, he often knows where an issue is headed, and yet he takes nothing for granted but remains ever vigilant to proceed with both observation and caution.

      Could issues occur in the future? Absolutely! That is why David very carefully monitors all pieces of legislation that could alter our present homeschooling law. Is it possible that something could slip by in the future? Absolutely, that is why we appreciate those of you who forward your concerns, which we then forward to David for his perusal. And thankfully, for the most part, they are unfounded.

      CHEF is committed to putting out alerts only when there is a real and present danger. This has only been required once many years ago, when we called our CHEF families to the Capitol (which by all comments from staff members was the largest rally the Capitol had ever seen, thanks to all of you). That same day Bob Wells testified on behalf of CHEF, and as expressed by those within the General Assembly, it was his testimony (according to even the Democrats) that swayed the representatives in favor of homeschoolers.

      For those of you who attended, it was a defining moment as God’s Spirit filled that hearing room when Bob so eloquently expressed our God-given rights. The people in that room actually all gasped in awe when he spoke, for all felt God’s Spirit descend upon Bob. Indeed, when Bob requested us to give him guidance as to what to include in his testimony, we directed him to pray and to allow the Lord to lead. God graciously did.

      Realize that we understand that it is not the arm of the flesh that saves us but the mercy of God, and therefore it is to God that we appeal for protection. That is why we diligently pray for all of you and why we fast and pray for our continued protection. But also realize this, that it is our obedience to God’s Word that secures the blessing of peace. That is why it is imperative for us to abide by His precepts and not man’s and why we continually honor God through our articles, our annual conference, and our Prayer and Praise rallies in Jefferson City .

      CHEF’s volunteers work for you out of duty to God and to God’s children, not for money nor for power nor for prestige, but for the glory of God and God alone. With that said, let me just state that our rallies are called Prayer and Praise rallies because we understand that God is Sovereign and in control of all things. We are not to fear man, but to fear and revere, honor, and obey our heavenly King. He has greatly blessed CHEF all these years because we have faithfully labored to honor Him and faithfully labored to serve His people and speak truth to them. We have not used fear tactics; we have not deceived by alluding to victories when indeed the bills in question were not going anywhere; and we have not created crisis
situations so as to make you think that we are working on your behalf. Homeschooling is a mandate from God and a blessing from God. Let us be faithful to the covenant of raising our children according to His design.

      Joye forwarded this message to us last year. We thought you might appreciate it.

Dear Joye,

“I want you to know how much I appreciate CHEF’s calm and professional update to Senate Bill 291. After receiving a dozen urgent messages from…, I received your update and I felt confident that as homeschoolers, we are well represented and that this bill is not intended to destroy the lives of our homeschooled children, purposely trying to remove our freedoms and liberties, as… indicates. Though I realize this bill directly affects each homeschooling family, you removed the anxiousness, helplessness, urgency, and fear that generally permeates from... Thank you for all you, Candy and Jon, CHEF, and our representatives do to protect us and give us the sense of security that we need to do our jobs as homeschooling parents. Thank you for your constant involvement, faithfulness, and prayers.”

      Let me reassure you that Candy and I have nothing to prove to you; our past 24 years speak for themselves. We are not strictly a lobbying organization, nor do we charge you membership fees, and thus do not have to prove to you that we are doing our job. We are a state organization that provides a full gamut of services to equip you to fulfill God’s mandate to disciple your children. Watching legislation is just one small portion of what we do.

      With that said, as more and more of our allies in Jefferson City are eliminated due to term limits, it becomes increasingly more important to make new allies by educating the new members about the excellent qualities and results of homeschooling. That is why it is so important to develop relationships with the members of the General Assembly. We have always suggested visiting them, taking them homemade goodies, helping their campaigns, and even offering a meal to them when they return home. So instead of waiting until a real threat occurs, we need to be developing personal relationships now to ensure that threats to our freedom won’t be jeopardized in the future. Therefore, we are asking that each of you take either a Tuesday or Wednesday during the 2010 session and visit your representative and senator. Take them a gift. Write them a note of thanks for maintaining our freedom to homeschool and state the benefits of homeschooling. So let us remain calm, act wisely,
and work together to develop personal relationships with members of the General Assembly by blessing them throughout the year and also be ready if ever there is a real threat.

      And finally, let us encourage you to thank David Klarich for representing us these past 20 plus years as representative, senator, CHEF attorney, and registered CHEF lobbyist. David has been instrumental in reducing Division of Family Services jurisdiction over families. He has also spoken to and written letters to DFS for us, which immediately results in termination of that department’s harassment of the parents in question. David has always given our families free legal counsel, and as far back as we can remember, our cases have been successfully resolved in favor of the homeschooler. He has written language in bills that have directly benefitted us. He has also written a letter to a vocational school so that one of our students could be admitted. David continues to give us free legal direction and counsel on issues concerning CHEF and is present during the entire legislative session monitoring bills and lobbying on our behalf; therefore, we are greatly indebted to him for all he has done for our CHEF families!!

      You may email your notes of appreciation to David via Joye,  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will make certain that he and his family receive them. Thank you!

2009 Legislative Information

SENATE BILL (SB) 291

Please be assured that CHEF’s homeschooling attorney and lobbyist, David Klarich, has drafted an amendment to address the concerns of SB 291 and has been working with both representatives and senators to protect and preserve our homeschooling rights on this issue. Rest assured that David is in Jefferson City each day of the legislative session diligently working on our behalf both as homeschoolers and as families. We are deeply grateful to God for providing us with such an experienced attorney who has served as both Missouri representative and Missouri senator for many years.

David has discussed this bill with us several times on the phone and as requested, he sent us this note so that we could pass it on to you.

Please note: CHEF does not email alerts unless it is absolutely necessary, but since so many alerts have gone out on this bill, we thought it best to let you know what is transpiring on our end.

David Klarich writes:

I have reviewed the language of § SCS SB 291, and I am confident that the provision in question is both unintentional and amendable.

The objectionable provision changes the compulsory school age from sixteen (16) years to sixteen (16) credits. The author, Rep. Wallace, intends the law to target teenage dropouts and require that they have earned their creditable service, not simply be eligible to discontinue their education because they turn sixteen (16).

To that end, I have drafted the following amendment to attempt to address our concerns:

7. For purposes of subsection 6 of this section, a completed credit towards high school graduation shall be defined as one hundred hours or more of instruction in a given course. Home school education enforcement and records pursuant to this section, and sections 210.167, and 211.031 RSMo, shall be subject to review only by the local prosecuting attorney.

The House Committee on Rules met this evening to amend the underlying senate substitute, but the Chairman declined to amend the controversial section. Accordingly, we are in the process of preparing an amendment for the floor debate, tomorrow, May 14.

Representatives Emery and Representative Schad are assisting our efforts, and they have indicated that they will make every effort to ensure that the objectionable language is amended or deleted.

If SB 291 A.A. is not amended, the only option available is the defeat of the entire bill in the Missouri Senate.

I will keep you informed.

David Klarich

Here is David Klarich’s bio:

Mr. Klarich is a homeschooling father of five and serves as CHEF’s Attorney and Lobbyist. David John Klarich was elected to the Missouri Senate (1994-2002) where he served as the Chairman of Judiciary; Chairman of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules; Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions & Ethics; and member of Judicial Resources; Ways and Means; Pensions and General Laws; and Local Government and Economic Development. He was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives (1990-1994).

Mr. Klarich drafted, sponsored, and passed legislation relating to virtually all subjects. Included among his legislative accomplishments are the creation of the Child Custody, Abuse and Neglect Commission; created and/or protected the Uncompensated Tort Victims fund, Crime Victims Fund, and Unemployment Compensation Fund; passed a law that prohibits frivolous lawsuits by making inmates pay for their own legal fees; created a state program to put “at-risk” youth to work instead of turning to crime; created the first expedited capital crimes procedure; banned the death penalty for the mentally retarded; drafted and passed the first Violent Sexual Predators law, the Predator Registry, and Predator Civil Commitment procedure; defined and defended marriage; drafted and co-sponsored the “Safe Schools Act”; drafted significant civil, corporate, and judicial reform legislation; secured additional resources for education and transportation; and reformed property tax laws.

He also worked in private law practice with the Clayton law firm of Riezman Berger, P.C. In 2002, Mr. Klarich created and now manages a company known as Citizens for Policy Reform, LLC which provides government relations services before the United States Congress, Missouri General Assembly, and administrative agencies. He holds an A.B. in Biology and Chemistry from the University of Missouri-Columbia and an M.A. in Public Policy, and Juris Doctor from Regent University , Virginia .

To contact your representatives or senators call the capitol switchboard at: (202) 224-3121 or 1 (800) 648-3516 (If you aren't sure who your representatives are, the operator will be able to assist you)

To check on the status of any legislation, call (202) 225-1772

Check here for legislative updates which affect homeschooling nation and statewide Missouri Home Education Law

You may also wish to read the law directly from the Missouri General Assembly website.

167.031

1. Every parent, guardian or other person in this state having charge, control or custody of a child not enrolled in a public, private, parochial, [or] parish school or full-time equivalent attendance in a combination of such schools and between the ages of seven and sixteen years is responsible for enrolling the child in a program of academic instruction which complies with subsection 2 of this section. Any parent, guardian or other person who enrolls a child between the ages of five and seven years in a public school program of academic instruction shall cause such child to attend the academic program on a regular basis, according to this section. Nonattendance by such child shall cause such parent, guardian or other responsible person to be in violation of the provisions of section 167.061, except as provided by this section. A parent, guardian or other person in this state having charge, control or custody of a child between the ages of seven and sixteen years of age shall cause the child to attend regularly some public, private, parochial, [or] home school or a combination of such schools not less than the entire school term of the school which the child attends except that (1.) A child who, to the satisfaction of the superintendent of public schools of the district in which he resides, or if there is no superintendent then the chief school officer, is determined to be mentally or physically incapacitated may be excused from attendance at school for the full time required, or any part thereof; (2.) A child between fourteen and sixteen years of age may be excused from attendance at school for the full time required, or any part thereof, by the superintendent of public schools of the district, or if there is none then by a court of competent jurisdiction, when legal employment has been obtained by the child and found to be desirable, and after the parents or guardian of the child have been advised of the pending action; or (3.) A child between five and seven years of age shall be excused from attendance at school if a parent, guardian or other person having charge, control or custody of the child makes a written request that the child be dropped from the school’s rolls.

2. (1) As used in sections 167.031 to 167.071, a "home school" is a school, whether incorporated or unincorporated, that; (a) has as its primary purpose the provision of private or religious-based instruction; (b) enrolls pupils between the ages of seven and sixteen years, of which no more than four are unrelated by affinity or consanguinity to the third degree; and (c) does not charge or receive consideration in the form of tuition, fees, or other remuneration in a genuine and fair exchange for provision of instruction. (2) As evidence that a child is receiving regular instruction, the parent shall (a) maintain the following records: (1) a plan book, diary, or other written record indicating subjects taught and activities engaged in; and (2) a portfolio of samples of the child's academic work; and (3) a record of evaluations of the child's academic progress; or (4) other written, credible evidence equivalent to subdivisions (1), (2), and (3); and (b) offer at least one thousand hours of instruction, at least six hundred hours of which will be in reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies and science or academic courses that are related to the aforementioned subject areas and consonant with the pupil’s age and ability. At least four hundred of the six hundred hours shall occur at the regular home school location.

3. Nothing in this section shall require a private, parochial, parish or home school to include in its curriculum any concept, topic, or practice in conflict with the school’s religious doctrines or to exclude from its curriculum any concept, topic, or practice consistent with the school’s religious doctrines. Any other provision of the law to the contrary notwithstanding, all departments or agencies of the state of Missouri shall be prohibited from dictating through rule, regulation or other device any statewide curriculum for private, parochial, parish or home schools.

4. A school year begins on the first day of July and ends on the thirtieth day of June following.

5. The production by a parent of a daily log showing that a home school has a course of instruction which satisfies the requirements of this section shall be a defense to any prosecution under this section and to any change of action brought pursuant to chapter 210, RSMo. 167.042: For the purpose of minimizing unnecessary investigations due to reports of truancy, each parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the child who causes his child to attend regularly a home school may provide to the recorder of deeds of the county where the child legally resides, a signed, written declaration of enrollment stating their intent for the child to attend a home school within thirty days after the establishment of the home school and by September first annually thereafter. The name and age of each child attending the home school, the address and telephone number of the home school, the name of each person teaching in the home school, and the name , address and signature of each person making the declaration of enrollment shall be included in said notice. A declaration of enrollment to provide a home school shall not be cause to investigate violations of section 167.031. The recorder of deeds may charge a service cost of not more than one dollar for each notice filed.

167.061 

Any parent, guardian or other person having charge, control or custody of a child, who violates the provisions of section 167.031 is guilty of a class C misdemeanor. Upon conviction and pending any judicial appeal, the defendant shall be required to enroll the child in a public, private, parochial, parish or home school within three public school days, after which each successive school day shall constitute a separate violation of section 167.031. The fine or imprisonment, or both, may be suspended and finally remitted by the court, with or without the payment of costs, at the discretion of the court, if the child is immediately placed and kept in regular attendance at a public, private, parochial, parish or home school and if the fact of regular attendance in proved subsequently to the satisfaction of the court. A certificate stating that the child is regularly attending a public, private, parochial or parish school and properly attested by the superintendent, principal or person in charge of the school is prima facie evidence of regular attendance by the child.

167.071

1. In school districts having six or more directors the school board may appoint and remove at pleasure one or more school attendance officers and shall pay them from the public school funds.

2. Each attendance officer has the powers of a deputy sheriff in the performance of his duties. He shall investigate the claims of children for exemptions under section 167.031, and report his findings to the person authorized by that section to grant the exemption sought. He shall refer all cases involving an alleged violation of section 167.031 involving a public school to the superintendent of the public school of the district where the child legally resides and all cases involving an alleged violation of section 167.031 involving a private, parochial, parish or home school to the prosecuting attorney of the county wherein the child legally resides. When reasonable doubt exists as to the age of any such child he may require a properly attested birth certificate or an affidavit stating the child’s age, date of birth, physical characteristics and bearing the signature of the child. He may visit and enter any mine, office, factory, workshop, business house, place of amusement, or other place in which children are employed or engaged in any kind of service, or any place or building in which children loiter or idle during school hours; may require a properly attested certificate of the attendance of any child at school; may arrest, without warrant, any truant, or nonattendance of other juvenile disorderly persons, and place them in some school or take them to their homes, or take them to any place of detention provided for neglected children in the county or school district. He shall serve in the cases which he prosecutes without additional fee or compensation. Each attendance officer appointed by a school board shall carry into effect the regulations lawfully prescribed by the board by which he was appointed.

3. In any urban school, any metropolitan school district and in school districts having six or more directors and which are located in a first class county having a charter form of government, and duly commissioned city or county police officer shall be ex officio school attendance officers. Any police officer exercising duties of ex officio school attendance officer need not refer any child apprehended pursuant to the provisions of this section to juvenile court or a juvenile officer, but nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit the police officer’s regular powers and duties as a peace officer. 

210.167

If an investigation conducted by the division of family services pursuant to section 210.145 reveals that the only basis for action involves a question of an alleged violation of 167.031, then the local office of the division shall send the report to the school district in which the child resides. The school district shall immediately refer all private, parochial, parish or home school matters to the prosecuting attorney of the county wherein the child legally resides. The school district may refer public school violations of 167.031 to the prosecuting attorney. 

This law was enacted during the 1986 legislative session. The most recent revisions (included) were made 8/28/93