To The Editor:

I want to personally thank State Representative Mitch Bolinsky for standing up for parents like me who choose to homeschool our children. His willingness to speak out and oppose HB 5468 meant a great deal to families in Newtown and across Connecticut.

Mitch understood the overreach into parental rights and privacy concerns of the thousands of families who voiced their opposition. Requirements such as in-person withdrawal, expanded documentation and automatic information sharing with child-welfare agencies are intrusive and unnecessary. It puts a burden on parents to justify our educational choices that have long been respected in the state of Connecticut.

Mitch also recognized this was yet another unfunded mandate that Hartford was pushing onto school districts. Forcing administrative responsibilities onto school districts without providing additional funding results in raising local taxes which affect the entire town. And Mitch never votes to raise our taxes.

It is unfortunate that the Supermajority in Hartford who happen to be Democrats decided to pass the bill even though there was overwhelming opposition from families, teachers and administrators from across the state. Governor Lamont also ignored the testimony that was widely in opposition and signed the bill into law.

I am grateful that our State Representative Mitch Bolinsky recognized the importance of preserving the rights of parents and made sure our concerns were heard on the floor of the State House. Join me in voting to re-elect Mitch Bolinsky.

Tiffany Hawley

Newtown