| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 7/22/2002 2:55:46 PM Scott W. Somerville, Esq., Staff Attorney of HSLDA Ohio--Statewide Student Identifier System to Be Implemented |
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear HSLDA Members and Friends, The Ohio Department of Education has announced a "Statewide Student Identifier System" to be implemented this coming school year. The new system is intended to help track test results based on the race and gender of children. School districts will collect specific data about each child, including the child's name, birth date, place of birth, gender, native language, and race. The new system is intended to strip all personally identifiable information from students, allowing policy makers to track them only by a number. When a similar system was implemented in Massachusetts several years ago, home schoolers were surprised to find districts asking them for information not required by law, such as the child's middle name. We anticipate that many Ohio home schoolers will find their districts requesting new information this year as well. While some home school families may wish to participate in a statewide database of this sort, many families wish to preserve their privacy, especially in light of the troubling "Big Brother" aspects of such a system. It is essential that school districts understand that home schoolers are not public school students, and that home school records are not collected as part of a statewide public school system. Each district that demands a child's middle name or place of birth as part of the home school notification process may be presumed to include home schoolers in the Statewide Student Identifier System. If home schoolers submit to the school district's demand for this information, they encourage the inclusion of all their district's home schoolers in this database. Edmund Burke said, long ago, "The price of liberty is eternal vigilance." For Ohio home schoolers this fall, the price of liberty means not providing a child's middle name and place of birth. Our resolve in the face of this request will preserve our independence in an ever more computerized age. Very truly yours, Scott W. Somerville HSLDA Staff Attorney {{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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | |
