MiCHN Moment-We <3 You!- Feb '24

News & Blog MiCHN Moment-We <3 You!- Feb '24
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Michigan Christian Homeschool Network

Feb 21, 2024

Politics, politics, politics. It seems like that has been all we have been talking about at MiCHN lately. Probably that is true, and rightly so, for we have not been under government scrutiny and threat of regulation since our legal separation from government harassment in 1993. With the change in the party controlling our legislature, Governor, Attorney General, and Supreme Court, our freedom to home-educate is indeed in jeopardy, at least the freedom as we have known it. But I digress….

On a positive note, the INCH conference will soon be upon us. This event was initially designed to encourage, reinvigorate, and inspire those homeschooling and those interested in homeschooling to press on in the hard work of discipling the next generation. INCH began as a conference when homeschooling was illegal in Michigan. If that occurs again, we will continue to encourage you and to keep pressing into Jesus as you press on in your pursuit of what is best for your children through home education.
Our speaker lineup particularly encourages me, especially having Brant Hansen attend. All of us will enjoy his teaching and humility, but I believe the men will be particularly encouraged. I have read two of his books and plan to study one of them with some homeschool dads in our community this summer.
We all need encouragement. We all need to remind ourselves of Whom we are serving and why we are home discipling. The INCH conference serves that purpose. Yes, we will continue to discuss the political situation in which we find ourselves in Michigan, but primarily, we will concern ourselves with thanking God for His gift of our children and His leading us into home discipleship even as we encourage one another in this most noble endeavor.
I look forward to seeing you soon.
Mike Winter
President, MiCHN

Early Bird Prices are HERE!!

The new year has arrived. We pray this past holiday season was full of refreshment, relaxation, and seeking the Lord about His plans for you this next year. As our team reassembles in the office, it is becoming clear to us just how busy of a season we have lying ahead of us. The legislature returned to Lansing on Wednesday, January 10th. At this time, there is currently no bill in committee that would affect your homeschool requirements. We fully expect that to change rather quickly, as the legislature picks up speed.

As many of you are aware, on December 5, 2023, Representative Matt Koleszar posted on X, formerly Twitter, the following statement:

Representative Koleszar quickly found himself in a whirlwind of backlash as word began to circulate of his call for more homeschool regulations. On December 6, 2023, Representative Koleszar was quoted in THIS article by the Washington Post. “State Rep. Matt Koleszar, the Democratic chairman of the Michigan House Education Committee, said in an interview Wednesday that when its session begins next month the legislature is “likely to see a bill” that would “at a bare minimum” require the registration of home-schooled children in Michigan, and perhaps establish additional oversight measures.”

Later that same evening, Representative Koleszar went on CBS TV Detroit where he had a civil discussion on the topic. During that interview, the news anchor asked, “I imagine a lot of parents would say, ‘Surely, they will want to know more than just knowing where the children are.’ I mean, receiving a letter that says “This child is homeschooled”….surely there would have to be some kind of home visits, some interaction, right?” It is to this question Representative Koleszar simply answered, “It’s fair to say that, but I think right now the main thing we need to do….is find out where they are.”

Your MiCHN team is working as diligently as they can in order to make sure you are aware of everything transpiring in Lansing. We have held multiple round-table discussions across the state in order to facilitate dialog with all of you. As we wait to see what the legislature will do in the coming months, we are watching as many bills as possible, talking with every state lawmaker we can, and gathering together with other freedom-minded groups and forming a coalition to fight every battle required to keep the freedoms we hold so dear here in Michigan. While many lawmakers in Michigan seem to be bent on driving the populace away from this great state with their bureaucratic regulations, it surely seems illogical to strip away one of the last bastions of hope our state has to offer Americans-freedom in your home education journey.

Be sure to write and call your legislators asking them to please protect homeschool freedoms and please do not vote for any bill that would require home educators to register with the state.

These are quite uncertain times. Right now, MICHN would advise you to make sure your account is up to date and accurate with Homeschool Legal Defense Association. Be sure to visit their website, and if you have not done so already, BECOME A MEMBER today.

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