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| Date: From: Subject: | 2/27/2002 4:41:07 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Kentucky--House Bill 725 would mandate testing for home schoolers on welfare |
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- February 27, 2002 Dear Kentucky Members and Friends, House Bill 725 is new Kentucky legislation which would force every home schooler on welfare to take annual standardized tests. The bill's sponsors are identified as Republicans Barbara Ann Colter and Howard Cornett, but the bill was actually written by House Education Committee Chairman, Frank Rasche. Since the committee chairman controls which bills get a hearing, and this is Chairman Rasche's bill, it is a serious threat that cannot be ignored. We must protest any bill that singles out home school families on welfare for discriminatory treatment and H.B. 725 does just that. This injustice is especially evident in light of another bill also in front of the House Education Committee. S.F. 168, which addresses the "achievement gap" between rich and poor children in public schools, does not require any special testing or identification of children on welfare. Instead, it only distinguishes between children who qualify for free lunches and those who do not. It would generally be perceived as "politically incorrect" to amend S.F. 168 to single out public school children on welfare for special testing. This gives us an opportunity to highlight the injustice of H.B. 725, which would single out home schooled children on welfare for testing. REQUESTED ACTION: We want every family to make between one and three telephone calls: 1. The most important action you can take is to help generate telephone calls to Chairman Frank Rasche from his home district of Paducah. If you live in or near Paducah, please call him! If you know any supporters of home education in or around Paducah, please contact them and ask them to call Rep. Rasche. His district office phone number is 270-443-5167, and his Frankfort number is 502-564-8100, ext. 634. Here are points callers should emphasize: - It is unfair to single out home schooled children on welfare for mandatory testing. - Kentucky should deal with the "achievement gap" between rich and poor children in the public schools before making it harder for parents to pull children out of a failing program. - If the committee votes to single out home schoolers on welfare for testing, they should amend S.F. 168 to require testing for public school students on welfare, too. 2. Please call Howard Cornett (the more open-minded sponsor of the bill), and ask him to withdraw his support for H.B. 725. His district office number is 606-832-4827, and his Frankfort number is 502-564- 8100, ext. 669. 3. If your representative is a member of the House Education Committee, please call your representative to POLITELY tell him that you oppose H.B. 725 because it discriminates against home schoolers and families on welfare. Tell your legislator H.B. 725 sets up an expensive new testing program for poor families all over the Commonwealth, and ask whether he can tell you how much it would cost to implement this program. If he cannot tell you the cost, ask him if he have seen a fiscal impact statement on the bill. HOUSE EDUCATION COMMITTEE You can leave a message for your representative by calling 800-372- 7181 and asking for him by name. Joe Barrows (56) 152 Stout Avenue Versailles, KY 40383 Larry Belcher (49) 4804 Hickory Hollow Lane Shepherdsville, KY 40165 Robert "Buddy" Buckingham (5) 1717 Magnolia Dr. Murray, KY 42071 Mike Cherry (4) 803 S. Jefferson St. Princeton, KY 42445 Jack L. Coleman, Jr. (55) P. O. Box 600 Burgin, KY 40310 Hubert Collins (97) 72 Collins Drive Wittensville, KY 41274 Barbara Ann Colter (90) 200 Langdon Avenue Manchester, KY 40962 Jon Draud (63) 109 Vernon Dr. Crestview Hills, KY 41017 Tim Feeley (59) P.O. Box 64 Crestwood, KY 40014 H. "Gippy" Graham (57) Room 432B, Capitol Annex Frankfort, KY 40601 Jodie Haydon (50) 106 Hillcrest Bardstown, KY 40004 Mary Lou Marzian (34) 2007 Tyler Lane Louisville, KY 40205 Reginald K. Meeks (42) P.O. Box 757 Louisville, KY 40210 Charles Miller (28) 3608 Gateview Circle Louisville, KY 40272 Harry Moberly, Jr. (81) P.O. Box 721 Richmond, KY 40475 Russ Mobley (51) 900 Holly Street Campbellsville, KY 42718 Rick Nelson (87) Rt. 3, Box 686 Middlesboro, KY 40965 Frank Rasche (3) 2929 Jefferson St. Paducah, KY 42001 Tom Riner (41) 1143 E. Broadway Louisville, KY 40204 Charles L. Siler (82) 3570 Tackett Creek Road Williamsburg, KY 40769 Arnold Simpson (65) Shutt Mansion 28 West Fifth Street Covington, KY 41011 Dottie J. Sims (19) 459 Violet Ave. Horse Cave, KY 42749 John Will Stacy (71) P.O. Box 135 West Liberty, KY 41472 Kathy W. Stein (75) 364 Transylvania Park Lexington, KY 40508 Gary Tapp (58) 2600 Mt. Eden Rd. Shelbyville, KY 40065 Jim Thompson (27) 50 Crosier Bottom Rd. Battletown, KY 40104 Mark A. Treesh (14) 5735 Grady Court Philpot, KY 42366 Charlie Walton (66) 1663 Brierwood Court Florence, KY 41042 BACKGROUND: You can read the full text of H.B. 725 online at: http://www.lrc.state.ky.us/record/02rs/HB725.htm The most objectionable feature of H.B. 725 is the requirement that every home school family on welfare has to take a standardized test every year. Research indicates that home school families who earn $15,000 or less in a year do as well as families that make $100,000 or more. This is not the case, however, for poor families who put their children in public schools. Family income is one of the strongest predictors of success or failure in the public schools, where the rich seem to succeed while the poor tend to fall through the cracks. Any bill that requires testing for home schoolers on welfare should be amended to require testing for every welfare child. Anything else creates a serious injustice, because it punishes poor families who pull their children out of failing public schools. If a child scores below average on a standardized test, it could be because the parents aren't really teaching him ... or it could be because he fell so far behind in public school. If every child on welfare had to take tests every year, it would be easy to tell whether a home school program is an improvement over the public school program. But if only home schoolers have to take tests, the family of a student who fell way behind in public school may be blamed for the public school's failure. The public school has the power to drag these families into court in truancy battles, and families on welfare usually have the fewest resources to defend their rights in court. Yours in the fight for freedom, Scott W. Somerville, Esq. {{JoinAd}} ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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