| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
< BACK TO ARCHIVE |
| Date: From: Subject: | 2/28/2002 5:58:58 PM Christopher J. Klicka, Esq., Senior Counsel of HSLDA Florida--"Government Nanny" Resurrected in the Florida Senate |
|
---------------------------------------------------------------------- From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- February 28, 2002 Dear Florida HSLDA Members and Friends, Thanks to an outpouring of opposition from home schoolers and other concerned parents, the House of Representatives' Council for Lifelong Learning voted to table H.B. 1435, the "Government Nanny" bill. However, the battle is not over. Florida Senate Majority Leader John McKay, is upset about the defeat in the Florida House and is trying to rush the bill through the Senate. You must immediately call your senator and ask him to vote against the Senate version of the "Government Nanny" bill, S.B. 88. Echoing objections expressed by grassroots as well as HSLDA, the House Council for Lifelong Learning published on the Florida House website an analysis of why H.B. 1435 was voted down: "This bill is intrusive, weakens private parental decision-making, and is the antithesis of the principles of individual freedom, personal responsibility, and family empowerment." "While [H.B. 1435] adds language relating to parental consent, it also adds the authorization to obtain numerous educational and other confidential records without parental consent. "The bill provides for duplication of services already available. This bill may have constitutional problems. This bill conflicts with and duplicates recent legislative policy decisions and laws. This bill could lead to lawsuits against the state." Your help had a tremendous impact in persuading the House to kill H.B. 1435. Thank you for your willingness to sacrifice the time to make a call. Now we need your help to stop its sister bill, S.B. 88. REQUESTED ACTION: Please call your state senator IMMEDIATELY and deliver this message: "Please vote against S.B. 88. This bill creates a government program that will invade family privacy, usurp the role of parents, and waste taxpayer money. This bill is unnecessary at this time of budget shortfalls." You do not need to identify yourself as a home schooler. Calls need to be made from today, February 28, through March 6th. You can call your senator directly. If you do not know who your senator is, call your county clerk's office or use HSLDA's Legislative Toolbox at: http://www.hslda.org/toolbox. BACKGROUND: S.B. 88, the Senate version of H.B. 1435, creates a new big government program called "Learning Gateway" and will involve "developing strategies for offering hospital visits or home visits by trained staff to new mothers." Upset by the defeat of H.B. 1435, Senate Majority Leader John McKayhas pushed S.B. 88 into a fast track. He has pulled it from committee and sent it directly to the floor by "special order." It could be voted on anytime. The purpose of S.B. 88 is to "screen" children from birth to age 9 for "biological, environmental, and behavioral risks," and "learning problems." Furthermore, Learning Gateway providers will conduct "intake with families," conduct "needs/strength-based assessments of families," and "make referrals for needed services" and "developmental monitoring." This will all be done in "collaboration" with the Florida Department of Children and Family Services and numerous other big government agencies and programs. Some additional reasons Home School Legal Defense Association opposes the S.B. 88: 1) S.B. 88 mandates automatic referrals of high-risk newborns to the local Learning Gateway through the Office of Vital Statistics. Who determines what is considered "high risk"? There is no parental consent required for this referral. What happens if the parent chooses not to follow up on this referral? 2) S.B. 88 directs that screening processes be developed and tested to address social/emotional/behavioral indicators which could be a sign of future problems. Will the Florida Department of Children and Families take the child away if the parent chooses to follow his own doctor's advice instead of the government's? 3) S.B. 88 requires that an electronic data system be developed to track children who are screened, assessed, and referred for services. Will parents be able to remove the child from the government programs once the initial screening is done without their consent? 4) S.B. 88 creates a huge, expensive bureaucracy, with the intent of expanding the program statewide. The pilot project is $6 million the first year for only three counties---what will it cost taxpayers to fund this program for the whole state? Please urge your state senator to vote against this bill. Thank you for standing with us for liberty. Sincerely, Christopher Klicka Senior Counsel {{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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | |
