While we believe the responsibility for education was given to parents, not the state, your state legislators can either support or supplant that boundary. They can repeal bad laws, roll back needless regulation, and amend statutes that reach too far into the home, or they can pass new laws that layer on more oversight and control.
Most state legislatures have two chambers—a House and a Senate—and you have at least one member in each who represents your district. They cannot represent you well if they do not know you. Find out who they are, and introduce yourself. As the New Hampshire Constitution puts it, “All power residing originally in, and being derived from, the people, all the magistrates and officers of government are their substitutes and agents, and at all times accountable to them.”
Below is a direct link to the official legislator lookup tool for every state.
How to Find Your State Legislator
Find your state in the table below and follow the link. Most states let you search by home address; a few ask for your town or have you click a district map. Within minutes you’ll know exactly who represents your family.
Once you know who they are, reach out and introduce yourself. Get to know one another: learn what drives their work, and help them understand your family and what you value. Aim to be a consistent, trusted resource they can turn to for insight and information. Then, when a bill comes up that affects your family, our guide offers ideas for how to support or oppose it effectively:
How to Contact Your State Legislator →
Find Your State Legislator: All 50 States
Frequently Asked Questions
Find your state in the table above and follow the link. Most tools let you enter your home address; a few search by town or district map. The results will show the senator and representatives who serve your district.
Your state legislators vote on the laws that touch your family’s freedom to educate independently, including homeschool regulations, compulsory attendance requirements, and education funding policy. They can add new restrictions, or they can repeal, amend, and roll back the ones that reach too far. Their votes affect your family directly.
State legislators serve in your state legislature and make, amend, and repeal state law. Federal legislators, your U.S. representative and two U.S. senators, serve in Congress and do the same for federal law. For most education concerns, your state legislators have the most direct influence over the policies that affect your family.
Most lookup tools link directly to each legislator’s official page with a phone number, email address, and mailing address. Use their official contact information, usually a .gov email and the capitol office number. For call and email scripts, see our guide, “How to Contact Your State Legislator,” linked above.
Most legislators include an events calendar on their website where you can learn of local events they host that are open to the public. To learn about these events from a first-timer’s experience, read this blog.
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