By Annie Knox And Ray Parker| The Salt Lake Tribune\u00a0<\/em>
\nFirst Published Jul 17 2013 09:04 am \u2022 Updated 56 minutes ago<\/em><\/p>\n

Utah educators question state Sen. Aaron Osmond\u2019s assertion that the state shouldn\u2019t force students to go to\u00a0school, saying they are concerned about children who might miss out on an education or forfeit help with other
\nchallenges.<\/p>\n

The South Jordan Republican raised his proposal on the state Senate blog Friday .<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a country founded on the principles of personal freedom and unalienable rights, no parent should be forced\u00a0by the government to send their child to school under threat of fines and jail time,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

Sen. Howard Stephenson, the chair of the committee overseeing school spending, said Wednesday the concept is\u00a0worth investigating. The current \u201cfactory model\u201d of educating all students under the same requirements is not\u00a0working, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of benefits and risks\u201d to the idea, said Stephenson, R-Draper.
\nBut State Superintendent Martell Menlove said Utah parents already have choices. Besides home schooling, Utah\u00a0also has online K-12 options.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we have great opportunities now for parents who choose to send their children to school or not send\u00a0their children to school,\u201d he said.
\nThe Home School Legal Defense Association considers Utah a \u201clow-regulation\u201d state. Parents are required to file\u00a0an annual affidavit with their school district pledging to instruct them in the same subjects taught in public school\u00a0for the same length of time.<\/p>\n

The state does not require testing for those students, inspect parents\u2019 curriculum or police whether the affidavits are filed.\u00a0Osmond argued that public school now forces teachers to become \u201csurrogate parents, expected to do every thing from behavioral counseling to providing\u00a0adequate nutrition, to teaching sex education … Some parents act as if the responsibility to educate, and even care for their child, is primarily the responsibility of
\nthe public school sy stem.\u201d<\/p>\n

He advocates changing to an outcome-based education sy stem, which focuses on completing assignments and passing exams rather than spending a certain\u00a0number of hours in class.\u00a0Sen. Mark Madsen, R-Saratoga Springs, praised Osmond\u2019s proposal as a \u201cgreat idea\u201d that puts responsibility on parents for non-academic issues.<\/p>\n

But Utah leaders should consider how many families can take on home schooling or afford other options, such as day care, said Mary Burbank, director of the\u00a0Urban Institute for Teacher Education at the University of Utah.\u00a0\u201cIf not, then what are the ramifications there?\u201d Burbank said. \u201cIt\u2019s multifaceted, with a ripple effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sen. Luz Robles, D-Salt Lake City , echoed the concern that without the oversight schools provide, some students could fall behind.
\nHaving equal access to education is key for poor families to break out of poverty , she added. \u201cNot everyone might have a highly educated, Ph.D. mom or dad,\u201c she\u00a0said. For students who do not, \u201cwhat might happen to that child?\u201c<\/p>\n

Salt Lake City School board member Michael Clara, who represents an area with a large Latino population, called the Osmond\u2019s idea a \u201cpublicity stunt.\u201d
\n\u201cHe\u2019s try ing to make a point: let\u2019s have students volunteer [to attend] because parents are not taking education seriously ,\u201d Clara said. \u201cBut the cure would be\u00a0worse than the disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clara said with the district\u2019s already high drop-out rate among Latino teens, such a law would create a \u201csubclass of illiterates on a large scale.\u201d
\nInstead, education officials should do more to alert parents about their children\u2019s educational needs, such as letting parents know it\u2019s not OK to have older\u00a0students stay home to provide childcare, or to move students to different schools every time parents can\u2019t pay rent, he said.<\/p>\n

The district\u2019s \u201ccommunity hubs\u201d help by connecting students and families to additional services outside academics, such as medical and dental care, he noted.\u00a0While lauding Osmond for bringing up the concept early \u2014 and noting Osmond is a supporter of quality education \u2014 University of Utah Board of Trustees Chair\u00a0Clark Ivory said that without a set of expectations, the state\u2019s problem with student preparedness for higher education could get worse.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s sort of a risky thing to think about, not having students [complete] certain requirements,\u201d he said. \u201cWho knows what the preparation would be?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sen. Patricia Jones, D-Salt Lake City , fears repealing compulsory education could make Utah\u2019s poor reputation in education worse. The state has the lowest perpupil spending in the country .\u00a0\u201cWhat would this do to the image of our state?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Tribune reporter Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.<\/p>\n