South African homeschoolers will face jail if kids are not in school.

Last week, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed into law a controversial Basic Education Law Amendments Bill in an effort to federalize and centralize control over the nation’s education program. It also expands control over families.

The law would levy a year-long prison sentence for truancy, ban all corporal punishment, and require parents to apply to the National Department of Education for permission to homeschool their children. Otherwise they will face charges.

Christian View Network has been warning for years that the bill is a radical threat to parental rights.

Estimates put the number of homeschooled children in South Africa as high as 300,000, reports the South African Broadcast Corporation.

An organization dedicated to protecting parental rights in South Africa, The Pestalozzi Trust, has informed the president they will be appealing the Act to the nation’s high court. The Trust argues that “the Act imposes excessive regulatory burdens on parents who opt for homeschooling.”

Those in the USA need to watch and learn, be pro-active in keeping laws like this from getting close to stopping out homeschooling rights.