Get your Homeschool Books and Curriculum before Big Brother Does

Only recently did I become aware of the threat of a new law and it’s affect on our purchasing and/or selling used and/or new homeschool books or curriculum. I want to make sure you are aware of it as well.

In August 2008, the Consumer Product Safety Act was signed into law. As I understand it, the intent of the law, simply put, was/is to protect children ages 12 and under from children’s products containing unsafe levels of lead and phthalates. The law goes into effect February 10th 2009.

So how can this new law affect your ability to buy or sell your homeschool books and curriculum? Children’s products, as defined by the new law include anything targeting kids 12 and under including:

Clothes, new or used
Furniture, new or used
Afghans (even those made by grandma’s to sell at church bazaars!)
Books, new or used
CD’s & DVD’s, new or used

In the CPSC’s FAQ section they reply to the question “Does the new requirement for total lead on children’s products apply to children’s books, cassettes and CD’s, printed game boards, posters and other printed goods used for children’s education? :

In general, yes. CPSIA defines children’s products as those products intended primarily for use by children 12 and under. …

You name it, if the target market is kids 12 or under, the product is subject to the requirements of the new law, which includes expensive testing to certify that the product meets the new safety standards. Anyone found in non-compliance faces stiff fines and/or jail time.

While protecting children from unsafe lead levels is a good thing, the implications of the law are far reaching and will impact many small business owners, selling new or used merchandise, be they individuals, brick & mortar stores or home-based businesses. Bottom line, many will be forced to close their doors because they can’t afford the cost of compliance.

Many homeschool families rely on used books and curriculum for their home education program but the new law will make them hard to find.

How many people selling their used homeschool supplies on eBay will be able to meet the law’s requirements?
Libraries – How many of you visit libraries or library sales to find good and affordable living history books? Libraries will now have to certify that all their children’s products, whether for loan or sale, meet the new standards.
Ever scout yard sales, thrift shops, or homeschool curriculum fairs looking for the homeschool resources you need at a price that won’t break the budget? Resellers must also comply or face the consequences.
Companies selling new home education materials, many of them being small home-based businesses, will also have to comply. How many of them will be forced to close their doors because they literally can’t afford the price tag of compliance.

As word has spread, there has been a growing outcry from thrift & consignment shops and resellers of children’s books. In response, the (CPSC) Consumer Product Safety Commission, the government agency overseeing the new law requirements, issued a “statement of clarification” on January 8, 2009. It reads in part:

The new safety law does not require resellers to test children’s products in inventory for compliance with the lead limit before they are sold. However, resellers cannot sell children’s products that exceed the lead limit and therefore should avoid products that are likely to have lead content, unless they have testing or other information to indicate the products being sold have less than the new limit. Those resellers that do sell products in violation of the new limits could face civil and/or criminal penalties. [Emphasis mine]

That sure clears it up doesn’t it. Ahem…

As blogger, Joel McDurmon comments:

In other words, thrift stores don’t have to test existing inventory, but they are still held liable if that inventory does not comply. So, while they are spared the costs of testing, they sell at great risk. It will only take one instance of a thrift store getting caught and prosecuted, and many will decide the risk is too great.

Guess I have some decisions to make regarding what to do with the (tons) homeschool books and curriculum I was planning on selling Do I want to take the risk? I’m not sure.

But….I definitely think Big Brother is getting too big for his britches! Check out some interesting and enlightening questions and answers at GovTrack. Find a list of things you can do here.

Are you concerned? I think you should be! Let me know what you think in the comments section below.

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 16th, 2009 at 11:05 am and is filed under In the News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.