Good News for Homeschoolers

In August 2010 we reported on a proposed education bill in Russia that would have eliminated the option to homeschool. Hundreds of Russian families immediately joined together, along with homeschoolers from all over the world, and successfully petitioned the Russian government to continue its recognition of homeschooling. A new inter-regional public organization, “For Family Rights,” led the efforts in Russia.

When the proposed legislation was first introduced, homeschoolers and family advocacy groups in Russia were alarmed at the absence of language to protect the rights of parents. Further, any mention of homeschooling, called “family education” in Russia, had disappeared in the new law.

The Russian government has now officially released the text of the proposed education law for online discussion. Thanks to the efforts of homeschool advocates, the bill is significantly altered from its original text. The published bill has been “improved based on different proposals,” stated the Russian Ministry of Education.

Pavel Parfentiev, chairman of For Family Rights, explains that the most important changes include:

Read the rest of this report here: http://www.hslda.org/hs/international/Russia/201012150.asp