| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 2/4/2002 5:11:40 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Maine--URGENT: Your Attendance Needed on Friday |
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- February 4, 2002 Dear Maine Members and Friends, On Friday, February 8, there will be a public hearing at the Maine Department of Education (DOE) concerning regulations granting the department broad, new powers that will hurt the home school movement. Your attendance can make the difference in preserving home school freedom! ACTION REQUESTED: Please plan to attend this important meeting to show that you oppose the Department of Education's proposed changes to Chapter 130 of the home school regulations. It is imperative that we have as many home schoolers show up as possible. This change must be stopped and our rights protected. Please forward this e-mail to all your home schooling friends and urge them to come to the hearing. The hearing will be held this Friday, February 8, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. and will take place in Jewett Hall Auditorium, Room 156, at the University of Maine, on University Drive, Augusta. ANALYSIS: Currently, the DOE must approve a home school application within 60 days. The department now seeks the right to delay decisions on home school applications beyond the 60-day period if they are not "complete." The new regulations do not define the word "complete," so the interpretation is left totally within agency discretion. This subjects families to the threat of criminal prosecution and child neglect proceedings for an indefinite period of time. The proposed revision also inserts a new qualification before an application is considered. It states, "In order to be considered for approval, an application must include a copy of the annual assessment . . ." The word "considered" is not defined. Assuming that an application that does not include an assessment will not be considered, the commissioner may take the position that the family cannot begin the equivalent instruction program even after the expiration of 60 days of silence. The DOE's revision also states that "failure to submit annual assessments for a prior school year may result in the denial of an application for a subsequent school year." The phrase "a prior school year" could easily be construed to mean "any prior school year." If this were to happen, a family might have their application denied in the present year on account of failure to submit an assessment five years ago. HSLDA strongly opposes the revisions to Chapter 130 of the home school regulations. Your attendance at this meeting to show your opposition and stand for home school freedom is needed! I hope to see you there! Sincerely, Scott A. Woodruff, Esq. {{JoinAd}} ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. Box 3000 Purcellville, Virginia 20134 Phone: (540) 338-5600 Fax: (540) 338-2733 E-mail: info@hslda.org Web: http://www.hslda.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- How To Subscribe: - Subscribe to the HSLDA E-lert Service at our website: https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/elert/account.asp?Process=Subscribe - Or send an e-mail with name and complete mailing address to: subscribe@hslda.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscription Information: - You subscribed to the HSLDA E-lert Service as: {{Email}} - To unsubscribe from the HSLDA E-lert Service send an e-mail from the e-mail address you want to unsubscribe to: unsubscribe@hslda.org - To change your e-mail address or make other changes to your subscription, visit the HSLDA E-lert Service account web page at: https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/elert/account.asp ---------------------------------------------------------------------- POSTMASTERS: This message is being sent to the most recent address we have for our subscribers. If this is an invalid e-mail address or you have other problems, please reply to webmaster@hslda.org. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER: This is considered a private and confidential message from HSLDA to its bonafide HSLDA E-lert Service subscribers. HSLDA cannot attest to the authenticity of copies posted, forwarded, or sent by any party other than HSLDA. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: Please do not reply or otherwise use this e-mail address; hslda@hslda.org is for broadcast purposes only and is not intended to receive incoming messages. We cannot reply to any e-mail sent to this address. If you have comments or questions, please send e-mail to info@hslda.org or call HSLDA at 540-338-5600. HSLDA members can also e-mail staff directly through the Members website at http://members.hslda.org/contact.asp. Thank you for your cooperation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | |
