In the wake of a “grassroots tsunami,” the Ohio legislator who had proposed the worst anti-homeschooling bill to date has now withdrawn the controversial and misguided legislation:

On Thursday, [Democrat State Senator Capri] Cafaro released the following statement in regard to Senate Bill 248 [a.k.a. “Teddy’s Law”]:

“SB 248 was never meant to be a policy debate about educating children in the home. It was meant to address weaknesses in the law pertaining to child protection. Unfortunately, the true intent of the bill to curtail child abuse has been eclipsed the by the issue of homeschooling.”

In fact, the bill was entirely about homeschooling. The bill would have forced all would-be homeschoolers to seek permission from the government to educate their own children at home. Homeschooling parents would have had to submit to background checks and social services would interview each member of the family separately, then the government would decide whether homeschooling was in the children’s “best interest.” In other words, the government would treat all homeschooling parents as child abusers until proven innocent.

It is said that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. This episode demonstrates that vigilance pays off.