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5/3/2002 4:28:54 PM Dewitt T. Black III, Esq., Senior Counsel of HSLDA South Carolina--Please Attend Hearing on HB 3364

---------------------------------------------------------------------- From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- May 3, 2002 Dear HSLDA Members and Friends, Your presence at a hearing in Columbia this Wednesday is needed to stop House Bill 3364, which could deny home school graduates equal opportunity in higher education, employment, and other critical areas. It is also important that you call the senators on the Senate Education Committee and voice your opposition to H.B. 3364. Unfortunately, H.B. 3364 has already passed the House of Representatives and is now in the Senate Education Committee. A subcommittee of the Senate Education Committee will meet at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, May 8, 2002, in Room 407 of the Gressette Building in Columbia to conduct a hearing on this bill. Attendance at this hearing on Wednesday will make the difference in defeating this measure! REQUESTED ACTION (1) Please attend the subcommittee hearing in Columbia on Wednesday. It is crucial to the defeat of this bill that the subcommittee members see a vibrant and strong home school community opposed to this legislation. A strong showing will also deter lawmakers from introducing unfavorable bills in the future. (2) Immediately contact Senator Warren Giese, Chairman of the Senate Education Committee, as well as members of the subcommittee, to express your opposition to H.B. 3364 with this message: "Please vote against House Bill 3364. The language of this bill could be interpreted to deny home school graduates equal opportunity for college admission, employment, and any license requiring a high school diploma." Following are the names and contact information for Senator Giese and members of the subcommittee. You can find the name and telephone number of your state senator by using Home School Legal Defense Association's Legislative Toolbox at http://www.hslda.org/toolbox. Sen. Warren Giese (Chairman) 803-212-6250 WKG@scsenate.org Sen. Bob Waldrep, Jr. (subcommittee Chairman) 803-212 6230 SAG@scsenate.org Sen. Robert Hayes, Jr. 803-212-6410 set@scsenate.org Sen. Lawrence Grooms 803-212-6024 LKG@scsenate.org Sen. Nikki Setzler 803-212-6140 NGS@scsenate.org Sen. Kay Patterson 803-212-6048 KAY@scsenate.org BACKGROUND Under House Bill 3364, for the state to recognize a high school diploma, the diploma would have to be awarded by a school or program that meets certain requirements. According to H.B. 3364, the diploma or its equivalent must be received from either (1) a correspondence program approved by the state board or department of education in the state where the school is located, (2) a school accredited by certain accrediting associations named in the bill, or (3) a school approved by a local school board in South Carolina. These requirements would apply "[i]f any state licensing, appointment, election, admission, employment, or other procedure or process requires the applicant, candidate, official or individual to possess a high school diploma or its equivalent...." Passage of House Bill 3364 would directly affect home school graduates. Unless their high school diploma met one of the three requirements described above, they could not be admitted to a state college or other state school requiring a high school diploma, could not be hired to work for a state agency, and could not receive any state license requiring a high school diploma. Given the broad language of the bill, which mandates that these requirements be applied to any "other procedure or process," the potential for discrimination against home school graduates by the state is virtually unlimited. In discussions with state legislators, we have been told that the intent of this bill is to address problems with correspondence diplomas. However, in our opinion, the language of the bill is unclear and ambiguous to the point that it is subject to various interpretations. Even if the bill affected only correspondence diplomas, many home schooling families are enrolled in academically- sound correspondence programs which would not meet the requirements of this bill. There has been some discussion about amending this bill to exempt home schooling programs from its requirements, but we are not convinced that this will remedy the problem. For example, if a student is complying with one of the three statutory options for home schooling in South Carolina but is enrolled in a correspondence program from which a diploma is earned, it appears that the correspondence diploma would have to meet the requirements of House Bill 3364 before it is recognized. In summary, this is a bad bill which cannot be fixed. It must be defeated altogether. Please check HSLDA's website for the current status of this legislation, http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?ID=418 or contact us if you have any questions. To view the text of House Bill 3364, go to the South Carolina General Assembly's website at http://www.leginfo.state.sc.us/sessions/114/text/1143364t.html. Very truly yours, Dewitt T. Black, III HSLDA Senior Counsel {{JoinAd}} ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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