Calls for homeschool oversight grow after Enfield death; so does disagreement

Another Democrat is voicing support for oversight of homeschooling families after the death of a 12-year-old girl in his district.  

Rep. John Santanella (D-Enfield) also said he’d like to see changes to a bill creating that oversight before it passes, though.  

“I think that the current legislation that was originally proposed went a little too far,” he said.  

NBC Connecticut has learned that the girl, found dead in her home last month, was pulled from public school in 2022 because her family told officials they were going to homeschool her.  

This marks the third case in a little more than a year, prompting concerns about the state’s oversight of homeschool families.  

A Waterbury man set fire to his family’s home in March 2025 to bring attention to what he claimed was decades of abuse. His family said they were homeschooling him as a child. 

A 11-year-old girl, withdrawn from school by her family, was found dead in October in New Britain.  

In all three cases, family members face charges.  

“If we can’t pass anything in the face of some of the most atrocious stories and horrific events that have happened here in Connecticut in the past less than one year, it will feel like a moral failure,” Rep. Jennifer Leeper, (D-Fairfield), said.  

Right now, state law only requires families to provide a notice to their local district that they intend to homeschool their child.  

Leeper, co-chairman of the Education Committee, has authored a bill that would force those families to show they are providing an education on par with public schools.  

She maintained on Monday that the bill, which cleared the committee with a vote that largely fell along party lines, is meant to catch families neglecting their children.  

It continues to draw pushback from homeschooling families, including some who believe the focus should be on the Department of Children and Families.  

It’s not clear if DCF had any contact with the Enfield family, but it did investigate complaints with families in the other two incidents.  

“DCF is still allowed to do their job,” Shawna Lamont, of Preston, said. “They’re supposed to do their job. And in these situations, DCF did not do their job.”  

Many opponents also call the proposed oversight an overreach by the state government.  

Rebecca Grennan, of Groton, said she believes Florida’s laws give families the flexibility to meet standards while personalizing instruction to their children. She’s worried Connecticut’s law will not do the same.  

“The child needs to show progress every year,” she said about Florida’s law. “So it’s not equivalent instruction, which is not ambiguous; it’s specific to that child.” 

Santanella said the recent cases, while few in number, highlight a concern that families can escape the view of a mandatory reporter.  

“With all due respect to them and their rights to educate their children at home, we have children, like my constituent, who suffered horrific conditions on a loophole that exists in our system,” he said.  

Santanella is concerned that the bill could put too much of a burden on local schools, especially if families opt to submit a portfolio of work as proof. He said the bill should focus on standardized testing.  

Leeper said she wanted to give families options so they could maintain the flexibility they want, including a concern that some children struggle with standardized tests even if they receive a quality education.  

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