Gov. Chris Gregoire signed legislation sponsored by Rep. Pat Sullivan, D-Covington, that strengthens the safety and privacy of families who homeschool their children.

Sullivan sponsored House Bill 1110 to prohibit school districts and for-profit companies from sending unsolicited advertising or marketing materials to parents who homeschool their children.

School districts and for-profit organizations are currently allowed to access the contact information of homeschool households and send them information about various learning programs. Sullivan’s bill, however, will only allow districts and organizations to send materials to homeschool households who opt-in to receiving such materials. The legislation does make an exception for school districts to respond to requests from home educators and can include homeschoolers in mailings sent to all households in the districts.

“This is an issue of privacy,” Sullivan said. “In this electronic age, it’s incredibly easy for parents who homeschool their children to seek out information about learning programs if they want it. This is one small thing we can do to protect the privacy of these families.”

DiAnna Brannan, who founded the state’s Christian Homeschool Network, lobbied for passage of the bill.

“State law requires home educators to file with their local school district. Many families did not realize that school districts could and would use this information for marketing purposes,” Brannan said. “Each year I, and many homeschool families across the state, receive unwanted information regarding public school programs. We asked for this bill to be introduced to prohibit this practice. Thankfully, Rep. Sullivan and the rest of the Legislature agreed with us and acted swiftly to protect our privacy by passing this bill into law.”

The legislation goes into effect 90 days after the session adjourned.