A white supremacist homeschooling group distributes Nazi resources, and the state can’t do anything about it

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A white supremacist online homeschooling organization is distributing Nazi resources, but Ohio law limits the state’s ability to intervene.

Following parents’ complaints about the organization spreading messages of white supremacy in educational tools, the Ohio Department of Education — which does not review or authorize home school curricula — began an investigation and examination of its compliance with statutory and regulatory standards, CNN reported.

The homeschooling group, created in October 2021, has more than 3,000 subscribers and uses a social media messaging platform to share information and lesson plans. Its first message states that they mostly share resources for curriculum recommendations for elementary-aged children.

Since then, it has shared numerous messages that are racist, anti-Semitic, pro-Nazi and homophobic.

“We have fought hard for our right to homeschool the children,” a December post reads, according to CNN. “Without homeschooling the children, our children are left defenseless to the schools and the Gay Afro Zionist scum that run them.” Another displayed pages of handwritten Hitler quotes with a “Thanksgiving copywork” directive.

As Martin Luther King Jr. Day approached just last month, a user named Mrs. Saxon posted that it was their responsibility as parents to assure their children knew the late civil rights leader as “the deceitful, dishonest, riot-inciting negro he actually was.”

“He is the face of a movement which ethnically cleansed whites out of urban areas,” Mrs. Saxon continued, according to CNN, “and precipitated the anti-white regime that we are now fighting to free ourselves from.”

A probe by select media and online researchers indicates area officials believe the organization raising concerns is based in Upper Sandusky.

Ohio law only mandates homeschooling parents to provide annual written notification and assurances, which include 900 hours of instruction across subjects such as language, history, geography, math, health and science. It also requires a short outline of the intended curriculum, plus guarantees that the home instructor has a high school credential or equivalent or is under the supervision of an individual with a bachelor’s degree.

Dr. Stephanie K. Siddens, Ohio’s interim superintendent of public instruction, said she is “outraged” and “saddened” by the group’s messages.

“There is absolutely no place for hate-filled, divisive and hurtful instruction in Ohio’s schools, including our state’s homeschooling community,” Siddens said, CNN reported. “I emphatically and categorically denounce the racist, antisemitic and fascist ideology and materials being circulated as reported in recent media stories.”

A state official claims a preliminary investigation into the group has not yielded any results. It’s unclear whether the state can intervene unless there is significant proof of termination of home education, per Ohio law. If that evidence bears out, the home-taught child must enroll in school.

Ohio Education Association President Scott DiMauro, representing over 120,000 educators in its schools, said such hate “has no place in our state” and is “not reflective of the larger homeschooling community.” However, he believes the lack of leadership and accountability in homeschooling creates lanes those with ill intentions can use to gain ground.

“People are choosing to remove themselves and remove their children from the education system,” DiMauro said, CNN reported. “When that’s the environment you’re in, it opens the door to all kinds of people with all kinds of ideological perspectives to fill that gap.”

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