| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 5/10/2002 3:10:17 PM Scott A. Woodruff, Esq., Staff Attorney of HSLDA Missouri--Urgent: HB 1460 Passes Senate Committee-Calls Needed Monday To All Senators |
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- May 10, 2002 Dear HSLDA Members and Friends, Your right to decide what is best for your 16-year-old is in imminent peril in the Missouri legislature. The source of the peril is House Bill 1460. It would permit metropolitan school districts (i.e., the City of St. Louis) to raise the age of compulsory attendance from 16 years of age to 17. Home schoolers, too, would be subject to the increased age requirement, but all objective standards would be removed. It has passed through the House, and today it passed the Senate committee. The full Senate will probably vote on it between May 13 and May 17, the last day of the session. Our final opportunity to defeat this bill is for thousands of Missouri home schoolers and other concerned citizens to inundate the Senate with phone calls. Timing is crucial. The legislative session ends Friday, May 17. We do not know which day the full senate will vote on the bill. It is vitally important that calls be made EARLY in the week so they have an impact before the vote. If possible, we would like to prevent the bill from even coming up for a vote. ACTION REQUESTED Please call your Missouri state senator beginning Monday, May 13. Your message may be as simple as, "Please oppose House Bill 1460. It allows the City of St. Louis to take away a parent's right to decide what is best for their 16-year-old. It will force young, disruptive adults back into a classroom where they do not want to be, making it harder for other students to learn. Studies show that raising compulsory attendance ages does not reduce the drop out rate." You may call 573-751-3824, the senate switchboard, and ask to be connected to your senator, go to our legislative toolbox http://www.hslda.org/toolbox . Please show this email to others and ask them to call, as well. BACKGROUND 1) Parents know best whether a 16-year-old should continue with a high school program or move on to something else, such as college, apprenticeship, or a full-time job. If House Bill 1460 passes, parents who choose any of these options could be found guilty of a class C misdemeanor under Missouri statutes sec.167.061. 2) Taxpayers in every county will help foot the bill for this additional year of mandatory attendance in St. Louis. Although some of the money for education comes from local revenues, a significant amount comes from the state and state taxpayers. Doubtlessly the St. Louis school system will ask for more state money for special programs for the many disruptive 16-year-olds that will be forced back into the system. 3) It will create headaches for employers. McDonnell Douglas, for example, could hire a 16-year-old full time if his family lived in St. Louis County, but if the company hired a 16-year-old living in the city, the employer could be violating labor laws. Many companies will avoid the risks by simply never hiring any 16-year-olds, even if he is a promising, motivated youngster well prepared to enter the workforce. 4) 16-year-olds are young adults. Some are violent and dangerous. A young adult who does not want to be in the classroom will create tremendous discipline problems making it much more difficult for students who truly want to receive an education. 5) Proponents of higher compulsory attendance ages argue that a higher age will reduce juvenile crime and reduce dropout rates. Studies demonstrate that this is a false hope. Higher compulsory attendance ages do not reduce juvenile crime and do not reduce dropout rates. 6) If this bill passes, it will add to pressure to raise the compulsory attendance age across the state. 7) Violence, drugs, and gangs have risen to shocking levels in public school systems, especially urban systems. Compelling 16-year-olds to remain in harm's way one more year against their wishes and the wishes of their parents is unconscionable. 8) Having different compulsory attendance ages in different parts of the state would create chaos. A 16-year-old in St. Charles might finish his high school program and begin working full-time as an apprentice, but if his family then moved a short distance to St. Louis, the parents could be held guilty of a class C misdemeanor. People expect the age of compulsory attendance to be the same across an entire state. Creating a patchwork of compulsory attendance ages sets a trap for the unwary. 9) 16-year-olds who are home schooled would still be under legal obligation to enroll in and attend a home school. Parents would still be under legal obligation to provide academic instruction. House Bill 1460, however, removes for 16-year-olds the clear and objective standards as to what constitutes satisfactory enrollment, attendance, and instruction. Under current law, a family that maintains certain records and offers 1,000 hours of instruction in the required subjects automatically satisfies the requirements of enrollment, attendance, and academic instruction. House Bill 1460 removes the requirements for keeping records and offering 1,000 hours for 16-year- olds. With these clear, objective standards removed, a judge would be free to create his own. Parents who thought they were "exempt" because their home schooler turned 16 could be shocked when a judge creates his own standards and finds the parents guilty of a class C misdemeanor, or takes jurisdiction of their child. The right of a parent to decide what is best for his child is priceless. Please join us in working to protect this precious right. 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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