UHEA's Legacy: How Brave Parents Pioneered Utah Homeschooling

Imagine, for a moment, that you are wanting to take charge of your child’s education. The law doesn’t permit home education in Utah and you feel trapped in the system. What could you do? Believe it or not, this was the reality for many parents in the 1970s. It was not until 1978 that Utah passed a law permitting home education! This was a challenging time for courageous parents who were pioneers in homeschooling. 

Seeing a need for support and resources, the Utah Home Education Association was organized in 1981. The mission of UHEA has always been to support home education in Utah and to protect the rights of homeschooling families. In addition to connecting families to resources through conventions, symposiums, and support groups over the years, UHEA has been the watchdog of home education rights in the Utah Legislature. The UHEA maintained a Legislative Liaison who developed relationships with lawmakers and kept a close eye on upcoming legislation that might be of concern to homeschooling families.

In 2014, just such a bill came up in the state legislature. SB39 threatened the rights of home educated students to fair process. UHEA’s Legislative Liaison, Karianne Lisonbee, began the long process of negotiating with the bill’s sponsor. Over the next several weeks members of the UHEA Board met with legislators and Mrs. Lisonbee to work on the language in the bill. The bill eventually passed the Utah Legislature with new language that not only didn’t threaten Utah home education… It actually made home education in Utah better! No longer did home educators have to comply with arbitrary curriculum requirements that did not work for their child. They also did not have to file an annual affidavit each year. From this time forward an affidavit would remain on file as long as a student continued homeschooling. 

As we move forward into a future where home education is gaining in popularity UHEA will continue to be vigilant in guarding home education rights in Utah. In partnership with other wonderful home education organizations in the U-HOPE Coalition, we look forward to building a future that supports families who are thriving through home education!