Arizona
Bad legislation hangs on in overtime
In Arizona, home schoolers are exempt from state-mandated testing. House Bill 2440, sponsored by Representative Linda Lopez, would replace that exemption with a requirement that home schoolers must be tested. On January 29, 2002, the bill was assigned to the House Committees on Education, Retirement and Government Operations, Appropriations, and Rules. Home School Legal Defense Association and Arizonans for Home Education (AFHE) braced themselves to stop this bill at any cost.
We knew that it was not very likely that the House leadership would allow this bill to pass, but, as Mark Twain once said, "No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session." For 80 days HSLDA and AFHE watched as the legislative clock slowly ran down. The House rules specify that the legislature "shall be adjourned . . . no later than the Saturday of the week in which the 100th day (April 23) of the Session falls."
Home schoolers were ready to breathe a great sigh of relief when the legislature shut down-but, as this article goes to press, that still has not happened. House rules allow the speaker of the House to extend the session for seven additional days, and then, if a majority of the House agrees, can extend the session for another seven days, and another, and another, as long as they can muster the votes. The House is currently in its fourth special session and going strong.
Unfortunately, that means that H.B. 2440 still poses a potential threat to home schoolers. Until the legislature (finally) closes down, we urge all Arizona home schoolers to remember that eternal vigilance is still the price of liberty.
- Scott W. Somerville
