H. Res. 578

In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

September 26, 2000.

Whereas the United States is committed to excellence in education and to strengthening the family;

Whereas parental choice and involvement are important to

excellence in education;

Whereas parents have a fundamental right to direct the education and upbringing of their children;

Whereas home schooling families contribute significantly to

cultural diversity, which is important to a healthy society;

Whereas home education allows families the opportunity to

provide their children a sound academic education integrated with high ethical standards taught within a safe

and secure environment;

Whereas home education has been a major part of American

education and culture since the Nation’s inception and

demonstrates the American ideals of innovation, entrepreneurship, and individual responsibility;

Whereas home education was proven successful in the lives of

George Washington, Patrick Henry, John Quincy Adams,

John Marshall, Robert E. Lee, Booker T. Washington,

Thomas Edison, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt,

Woodrow Wilson, Mark Twain, John Singleton Copley,
2

•HRES 578 EH

William Carey, Phyllis Wheatley, and Andrew Carnegie,

who were each home schooled;

Whereas today the United States has a significant number of

parents who teach a total of approximately 1,700,000

home schooled students, thus saving several billion dollars on public education each year;

Whereas home schooled students exhibit self-confidence and

good citizenship and are fully prepared academically and

socially to meet the challenges of today’s society;

Whereas scores of contemporary studies, including a 1999

University of Maryland analysis of the nationally recognized Iowa Test of Basic Skills, confirm that children

who are educated at home perform exceptionally well on

nationally normed achievement tests, and such performance is also demonstrated by the fact that home schooled

students scored well above the national average on the

2000 SAT and the 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000 ACT;

Whereas studies demonstrate that home schooled students

excel in college, with the grade point average of home

schooled students exceeding the college average;

Whereas home schooled students continue to exhibit excellence in academic competitions, as demonstrated by home

schooled students finishing first, second, and third in the

2000 Scripps-Howard National Spelling Bee and by a

home schooled student finishing second in the 2000 National Geography Bee sponsored by the National Geographic Society; and

Whereas National Home Education Week, beginning on October 1, 2000, and ending on October 7, 2000, furthers the

goal of honoring home educators and home schooled stu-
3

•HRES 578 EH

dents for their efforts to improve the quality of education

in the United States: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1) congratulates home educators and home

schooled students across the Nation for their ongoing

contributions to education and for the role they play in

promoting and ensuring a brighter, stronger future for

the Nation;

(2) honors home educators and home schooled students for their efforts to improve the quality of education in the United States; and

(3) supports the goals of National Home Education

Week.

Attest:

Clerk.