Last year, an award-winning foster parent in Casper, Steven Marler, was given a life sentence for sexually abusing the children he was supposed to care for.
Marler’s children were homeschooled, and the abuse went on for years.
The red flag that finally started an investigation was when one of his young girls went into juvenile detention and didn’t want to return home.
Only then did anyone start asking questions.
Thousands of children are homeschooled in Wyoming. The vast majority of them are well cared for by loving and generous parents.
But we can’t ignore the fact that predators like Marler exist.
More than 95% of Wyoming children attend our public school system. There, they interact with caring professional adults on a daily basis who are invested in their well-being.
If a child shows up to public school with a suspicious bruise, or an outgoing student is suddenly silent, educators take notice. If a pattern appears, they can take steps to ensure the child is alright.
Homeschool children do not enjoy this level of protection. As a result, they can be vulnerable to their own parents.
This is not a problem unique to Wyoming. A 2024 national report from the Coalition for Responsible Homeschool Education shows that more than 200 known homeschool children have died from abuse by caregivers.
Some homeschool children are starved to death or “imprisoned” in their own houses. Many are physically and sexually abused.
This is an awful, awful truth. But it is one we must confront. Wyoming state lawmakers have failed to stand up to this harsh reality.
In fact, under the Freedom Caucus’ leadership, the Wyoming Legislature has made the problem worse.
Historically, Wyoming has run a responsible homeschool education program where homeschool families and the public school system are in communication and work together.
But last year, after the Freedom Caucus took control, my colleagues removed any and all reporting requirements for children who are being homeschooled.
Now, there are no check-ins, no formal process to make sure that children are being cared for and adequately educated.
There’s nothing … until a situation like Marler’s boils over, and children have already been permanently hurt.
Wyoming has a moral obligation to protect our homeschooled children.
That’s why I’m sponsoring a bill this year to take the first commonsense steps: We must ensure that no one who has been convicted of a crime against a child is eligible to homeschool in our state, and no one who is under investigation for child abuse can remove their kids from public school in order to stop people from asking questions.
We all believe in the rights of parents. But parents’ rights must have limits.
I’ve seen firsthand the kind of harm that can be done when the rights of parents are left completely unchecked, and no one is looking out for kids.
When I was growing up, our household took in foster children who came from nightmare situations.
I grew up with foster brothers and sisters who had cigarette burns on their arms from their parents, who had gone months without changing clothes before they moved into our home.
One child, who was 11 years old, had never left his house.
Each and every one of these kids was homeschooled.
Any one of them would have been flagged for abuse at a public school, but they didn’t have that luxury.
Parents’ rights are important, but they have their limits. Steven Marler is a perfect example as to why.
We must find a balance when it comes to children who are homeschooled in Wyoming. Families should have freedom, but not if they use that freedom to hurt kids.
The Legislature needs to take the first commonsense steps to address this problem, and to fix what has been broken.
Karlee Provenza represents House District 45 and lives in Laramie
