State superintendent asks Michigan lawmakers for home school registry

State superintendent asks Michigan lawmakers for home school registry

"All students in Michigan will be registered by the government if the Michigan superintendent of public instruction, Michael F. Rice, has his way.

• “Knowing where all children are enrolled in an educational setting is an issue of student safety, neither more nor less,” Rice stated in a Jan. 10 letter to lawmakers requesting the state registration...
• CapCon asked Ackley for data that shows greater dangers for children not registered with the state. He has not replied.

Michael Van Beek, director of research at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, is skeptical of the proposal’s merits. He asked the following questions regarding Rice’s request:

• How exactly will requiring students to register increase safety?
• What is the department planning to do with the information in the registry?
• How will the department identify and prevent the abusive and neglected environments referenced in the letter?...