Freedom Watch

On June 25, 2007, nearly 50 homeschooling parents and children from four states joined staff from Home School Legal Defense Association’s Federal Relations Department for the Congressional Action Program’s (CAP) Lobbying Day on the Hill in Washington, D.C. Homeschooling families from Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, were briefed on current homeschool issues by HSLDA President Mike Smith, Federal Relations Director Will Estrada, veteran CAP lobbyist Elizabeth Smith, and staffers from the offices of Representative Buck McKeon (CA), Representative Pete Hoekstra (MI), and House Minority Leader John Boehner (OH).

Courtesy of the Family The Toms family met with Representative Frank Wolf of Virginia during the June 2007 CAP Lobbying Day in Washington, D.C.

... HSLDA APPLAUDS THE WORK OF OUR CAP FAMILIES— THEY CONTINUE TO ACHIEVE SUCCESS AS THEY LOBBY CONGRESS TO PROTECT HOMESCHOOL LIBERTY. ...

After the briefing, the families headed out for their previously scheduled visits with staffers and congressmen on the House and Senate Education committees.

“When we were walking to the buildings, I was kind of nervous,” recalled Andrew Toms, 12. “But, then, once we sat down with the staff people, I was kind of excited.” His parents, Lewis and Sandy Toms, enthusiastically added, “God opens doors!” The Toms family and their four children were able to meet with Representative Frank Wolf (VA) and Senator Orrin Hatch (UT).

Homeschooling mom Julie Randall, homeschool graduate Rachel Estrada, and a friend’s homeschooled daughter, Johannah McWilliams, also saw doors opened to them in unexpected ways. As they stopped by the office of Representative Danny Davis (IL), the congressman saw them talking to the receptionist and came out to meet them. He asked them to come into his office and put another meeting on hold as he looked over their materials and talked to them about homeschooling. “Representative Danny Davis was a very kind man,” said Julie Randall. “It was an awesome experience for Johannah, my friend’s 11-year-old daughter, to actually get to meet Representative Davis on her first CAP lobbying day, to sit and talk with him in his office, and to hear him say that he wants to be a ‘champion’ of homeschoolers.”

One of the powerful benefits of CAP is that homeschooling families are able to share with their elected leaders how laws and policies directly affect their families. For example, Don and Kim Kincell of West Virginia and their three daughters met with a staffer from Senator Robert Byrd’s (WV) office to discuss amending federal law to open up the Robert C. Byrd National Honors Scholarship to homeschoolers. Since the Kincell daughters are college-age, the staffer could see firsthand how the current law discriminates against them. This is an issue that HSLDA has been working on for several years, so we were delighted to see the Senate, soon after the CAP lobbying day, pass the Higher Education Act reauthorization, including language that would make homeschooled students eligible for the Byrd scholarship. HSLDA applauds the work of our CAP families—they continue to achieve success as they lobby Congress to protect homeschooling liberty.

For more information on the Congressional Action Program, please visit www.hslda.org/FederalRelations.