Compulsory Attendance Experiment
    A bill which concerns home educators, H.B. 751, contains Governor Jeb Bush’s comprehensive education reform provisions. Part of this legislation creates a pilot project authorizing at least three district school boards to raise the compulsory age of attendance for children from the age of 16 to 18, except for students who graduate before age 18. After reviewing the results of the pilot project each year, the legislature will consider whether to make this a permanent change. Home educators have long opposed an increase in the compulsory attendance age, because it requires them to fulfill all of the legal requirements for a home education program for an additional two years. Studies have shown that home school families do not require expanded government oversight in order to be successful in teaching their children at home. As this newsletter goes to press, H.B. 751 has passed the Florida legislature and is awaiting Governor Bush’s signature.