What does the state need to be able to do to "their" kids?

I read an article today about homeschooling in VA where apparently there are some rather onerous requirements for assessment. Fortunately, there's also an out: a religious exemption clause which allows parents who are homeschooling for religious reasons to do so without interference from the state. Now some people are wondering if the law should be revisited due to the large number of homeschoolers claiming this exemption. Any how, what woke me up was this quote from former State delegate Jim Dillard who wrote VA's homeschool law:
"It goes back to the idea of an enlightened electorate," he said. "In order to have society function as a democracy, the state needs to be able to inculcate certain values in its children, in order to prepare them for citizenship and to have a meaningful role in society."
Hello!?! The state's function is to protect rights, maintain law and order, create a climate for commerce to function, not to "inculcate certain values in its children"! And this certainly isn't the role of a democracy - only in fascist regimes like Hitler, Soviet Russia and our current batch of Islamofascists is indoctrination of children seen as a proper role of the state. Our founding fathers would be appalled.