For the first time in modern Ohio history, home school leaders met with the staff of a sitting Governor. Mark Stevenson Director of Ohioans for Educational Freedom spearheaded the efforts to meet with Governor Kasich's education policy adviser. Thursday night, August 11, 2011, Mr. Stevenson, along with other representatives of the Ohio and national home school community, met with Dr. Bob Sommers at the Advanced Technology Building of Stark State College. After hearing comments made by Gov. Kasich at a film screening of "Waiting For Superman" in May, Mark heard the governor respond to a question (transcript below) about home schooling that made him un-easy and was spurred into action to make this historic meeting happen.

Since Governor Kasich ran for office on the issue of education choice Mark  was concerned that the Governor may begin down a path that would not be welcomed by the vast majority of home educators and therefore initiated Thursday's meeting with Dr. Sommers.

Mark set up the meeting with a staff member of the governor's office, Dr. Bob Sommers, the Director of the Governor's Office of 21st Century. After setting up the meeting, Mark invited Wayne Clark, Chairman of the Christian Home Educators of Ohio, Mike Donnelley, Ohio attorney for Home School Legal Defense Association, along with his wife, Diane and OEF partner Randy Pope.

Mark explained to Dr. Sommers why he wanted to meet with him, sharing the story about the governor's response to the home school question at the showing of “Waiting for Superman.” He then brought up the fact that the governor had run on the platform of school choice, and made it clear that home educators just want to be left alone, and that they would not be disposed to accepting government money. The initial response from Dr. Sommers and his aide was surprise, but that reaction quickly turned to relief. Dr. Sommers was forthright, stating, “I would not have known that if we didn't have this meeting.” He confessed that had OEF not been pro-active in this situation they may have started down another path, and would then have had to retreat.

Finally, the home school leaders gave Dr. Sommers a brief history of home school law in Ohio and explained that the regulations that were created in 1989 were very good for the time, but that Ohio was lagging behind many states including New Jersey, Connecticut, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and surprisingly even California, in home school freedom.

It was apparent that all involved in this historic meeting were pleased with the outcome. The working relationship between home school leaders and the governor's office should be on solid ground as home educators attempt to expand home school freedom in Ohio.

The Governor will get the message that home educators in Ohio just want to be left alone by the state to do their parental duty with no monetary interference.

Governor Kasich sponsored a statewide screening of the movie, Waiting for Superman". There was a live Q & A afterward, with former Washington DC superintendent Michelle Rhee, who has made the cover of Newsweek and several other publications. The following is a transcript of a Question and Answer segment where home schooling came up by a guy in the live Cleveland audience: "Years ago I had friends who home schooled their children and they basically did that on their own. Would you be interested in supporting, with financial costs, home schooling of the children providing books, if they would pass school district administered tests?"

Governor Kasich: "I don't know. I've never been asked that question before. I just haven't thought about it. I believe...look, alot of times people home school because...we have people that my daughters who are eleven, who they went to school with, and one of their best friends are being home schooled now. Why? Mother knows what she is doing. She's been an educator. A guy who works in my office, his daughters are being home schooled. Michelle, do you have an answer?"

Michelle Rhee: "Of the parents who I have talked to who are home schooling their children, do so because they want a certain amount of flexibility and autonomy. What I believe very strongly that when you're putting public dollars towards something you have to have an accountability system that everybody is ready to buy into. Which means that the kids that have to take the same tests so you have an apples to apples comparison make sure those dollars are being spent appropriately. And I know a lot of home school folks wouldn't want to operate under that kind of accountability system, so I'm not sure that it's something that everybody would embrace."