WASHINGTON—The Home School Legal Defense Association is proud to honor Senator John Ashcroft (R-MO) and Congressman William Goodling (R-PA) for their efforts to ban national testing.

     On Thursday, April 30, 1998, Senator Ashcroft and Congressman Goodling are being awarded the Home School Freedom Award, “in recognition and appreciation for outstanding leadership in protecting the rights of home schoolers.” The event will be at 3 p.m. in the Dirksen Senate Building, Room 106.

     Rep. Goodling sponsored H.R. 2846, which prohibits national testing without congressional approval. His bill passed the House in February, 242-174. Senator Ashcroft sponsored an amendment to Senator Paul Coverdell’s (R-GA) A+ Accounts bill, approved by the Senate last week. The vote on Coverdell’s bill was 56-43, while the Ashcroft amendment to ban national testing passed 52-47.

     These votes were good news for home schoolers, explained Michael Farris, president of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). “National testing will eventually require a national curriculum. What is tested will have to be taught. The content of this national curriculum would be defined by Washington bureaucrats,” Farris said.

     “People who care about individual children need to resist this ‘one-size-fits-none’ approach, as Senator Ashcroft has called it. HSLDA is pleased to recognize the heroic efforts of Congressman Goodling and Senator Ashcroft in our struggle against national testing,” Farris said.