| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 5/8/2002 5:08:37 PM Scott A. Woodruff, Esq., Staff Attorney of HSLDA Missouri--URGENT: Final Hearing Tomorrow on Bill to Increase Compulsory Attendance Age |
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- May 8, 2002 Dear HSLDA Members and Friends, The Missouri Senate just announced there will be a hearing tomorrow morning at 8:30 AM on a bill that would take away a parent's right to decide whether or not to continue a child's formal education after reaching age sixteen years of age. The bill, House Bill 1460, has already passed the House. Our last chance to defeat this bill is in the Senate. The bill would allow metropolitan school districts (i.e., St. Louis) to raise the age of compulsory attendance from sixteen to seventeen years of age. In an apparent effort to influence home schoolers who might oppose this bill, the sponsors included a provision that removes some of the requirements when home schooling a sixteen-year-old. By eliminating all standards for how a sixteen year old should be academically instructed, enrolled in, and attend a home school, the bill introduces such an ambiguity into the home school statute that it could be struck down as unconstitutional. Taxpayers in every county would help pay the bill for this additional year of mandatory education in St. Louis. ACTION REQUESTED We have three requests. 1. Please call every member of the Senate education committee. Your message may be as simple as, "Please vote against HB 1460. It takes away a parent's freedom to decide what is best for their sixteen-year- old. It undermines the home school law and will force disruptive young adults back into a classroom where they do not want to be, making it harder for students who truly want to learn." Their names are listed below. 2. Whether or not your senator is on the education committee, please call him or her immediately with the same message to oppose HB 1460. All senators, including those not on the committee, need to be educated about this bill. If it passes the committee, it could rapidly advance to the Senate floor. There will be a rush to pass bills since the session will end on May 17. 3. If possible, please come to the hearing tomorrow to show your opposition to the bill. Lawmakers take note when people come to a hearing. A large turnout could swing senators to vote against the bill. It will be in Jefferson City in the capitol in the senate lounge at 8:30. CONTACT INFORMATION Call the capital switchboard at 573-751-3824 and ask to be connected to your senator. If you do not know who that is, use our legislative toolbox at http://www.hslda.org/toolbox Senate Education Committee - Roseann Bentley, Chair, 30th 573-751-4145 - Bill Kenney, Vice-Chair, 8th 573-751-7050 - David Klindt, 12th 573-751-1415 - Sarah Steelman, 16th 573-751-4068 - Morris Westfall, 28th 573-751-3645 - Anita Yeckel, 1st 573-751-2887 - Harold Caskey, 31st 573-751-4116 - Ted House, 2nd 573-751-8437 or 800-526-8437 - Ken Jacob, 19th 573-751-2131 - Sidney Johnson, 34th 573-751-3750 - Steve Stoll, 22nd 573-751-1492 BACKGROUND HB 1460 passed the House Education Committee in the House itself with large margins. Only the Senate Education Committee and the Senate itself can prevent this bill from going to the governor's desk. This bill leaves unchanged the parts of the home school law that require a student to enroll in and attend a home school and receive academic instruction, but it removes all standards for determining what instruction is acceptable--what subjects must be taught, the number of hours of instruction that must be provided--and what constitutes acceptable enrollment and attendance. With no standards left, a judge would be free to create his own. This could result in a child being found "in need of services" and the judge taking jurisdiction over the child even though the parents believed they were complying with the law. On the other hand, a judge could strike down the home school statute as unconstitutional since it has no standards for sixteen-year-olds. This could lead to a wholesale legislative re-write of the home school statute. Visit our website for additional information and reasons to oppose this bill. Thank you for standing with us to support the freedom of parents. Sincerely yours, Scott A. Woodruff, Esq {{JoinAd}} ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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