The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Wyoming restricts home-based education for individuals with certain convictions or active child abuse investigations
Last action · February 13, 2026: H Did not Consider for IntroductionSponsors: Karlee Provenza and 7 others
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Proposed
House Bill 149 prohibits anyone from administering a if they or a household resident have been convicted of specific offenses involving minors within the preceding seven years. The measure also bars individuals under investigation for child neglect or abuse from withdrawing a child from a public or private school to start a home-based program during the investigation. Violations of these restrictions are classified as a felony punishable by up to three years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.
Parents or household members with recent specified convictions or active child abuse investigations lose the legal option to set up or continue home-based schooling for children, facing felony penalties for noncompliance.
- Wyoming law requires school attendance for children of certain ages, with exemptions for home-based educational programs that meet basic academic standards. context
- Local child protective agencies in Wyoming investigate reports of suspected child abuse or neglect under statutory timelines and procedures. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Home-based education administrators
Administrators face new criminal background checks, restrictions based on household convictions, and potential bans during child abuse investigations.
Department of Family Services
The department is assigned primary enforcement responsibility regarding criminal background and abuse investigation restrictions for home-based programs.
Local child protective agencies
Agencies must provide specific warnings to individuals under investigation and report home-based program restrictions to schools.
Key Facts
- No person may administer a home-based educational program if they, or any household resident, have been convicted of specified offenses involving minors within the preceding seven years.
- Specified disqualifying convictions include offenses related to child abuse, neglect, sexual exploitation, or similar state and federal laws.
- Individuals advised by a local child protective agency during an abuse or neglect investigation may not withdraw a child from a public or private school to start a home-based educational program.
- Persons prohibited from starting a program due to an active investigation may request a hearing before the Office of Administrative Hearings.
Show all 8 facts
- Individuals already administering a home-based program prior to an investigation may continue doing so during the investigation.
- Enforcement of criminal background and abuse investigation restrictions is the responsibility of the Department of Family Services or local law enforcement.
- Administering a home-based educational program in violation of these restrictions constitutes a felony punishable by up to three years in prison, a fine up to $5,000, or both.
- Any person administering a home-based program in violation of the conviction restrictions on the effective date must cease administration by July 1, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is barred from running a home school under this bill?
Can I continue homeschooling my child if I am currently under a child abuse or neglect investigation?
What are the penalties for violating these home-based education rules?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · introduced in the House.
Procedural history
3 actions- Feb 13, 2026HouseH Did not Consider for Introduction
- Feb 11, 2026HouseH Received for Introduction
- Feb 10, 2026Bill Number Assigned
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Introduction of Background Checks and Investigation Limits for Home Education
The bill establishes explicit criminal background hurdles and child protective investigation restrictions for home-based educators, linking home schooling eligibility directly to criminal history and open welfare investigations.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.wyoleg.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy65Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools