| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 1/21/2003 3:51:03 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Nebraska--Unattended Children in Motor Vehicles Law Proposed |
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear HSLDA Members and Friends, The Nebraska legislature has introduced a bill which would make it a crime to leave a child six years of age or younger unattended in a motor vehicle. Legislative Bill 129 specifies that if the child is supervised by a person over the age of twelve, however, it is not a crime. HSLDA has received many calls from parents who are being investigated by Child Protective Services for leaving a child alone in a car for a brief time. This statute would clarify the law regarding this issue. Even if this law does not pass, each homeschool family should be aware of the risk of being investigated for child neglect for leaving a child alone in a car. HSLDA does not take any position on this particular bill, but we encourage our member families to contact their legislators to discuss the issue. You need not identify yourself as a homeschooler, since this bill affects all parents equally. ACTION REQUESTED 1. If you have children six years of age or younger, please make sure that you are not reported to Child Protective Services for leaving them unattended. 2. Please forward this message to other parents of young children, so that they can contact their legislators if this is a matter that concerns them. 3. Contact Senator DiAnna Schimek (District 27, Lincoln) at 402-471- 2632. Her address is Room 1114, State Capitol, Lincoln, NE 68509 to let her know your position on this issue. BACKGROUND Few states have laws that prohibit a parent from leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle, but more and more citizens are reporting such children to Child Protective Services. HSLDA has received hundreds of calls from families who are being investigated on this matter. A typical scenario might be a mother has just been to the doctor with a sick child, who is prescribed medicine. She drives straight to the pharmacy, and her child falls asleep in his or her car seat. The mother parks the car right outside the pharmacy window (or even in the fire lane) and runs in to get the prescription filled without waking her baby. When she returns, her car is surrounded by police cars with blue lights flashing. Social workers then demand entry into her home and interviews with each of her children. In Virginia, one mother was charged with three felony counts for leaving three young children for mere moments. Illinois is one of the few states that have adopted a statute governing this issue. While HSLDA does not believe the government should punish parents for leaving their responsible children alone in a safe place for a short time, there is some advantage to having a clear statute that spells out what one may or may not do. Since Nebraska already treats this situation as a possible form of child neglect, parents may be better off with clearer rules to govern their behavior. This issue affects all parents in Nebraska, not just homeschoolers. Please pass this message on to other families so that they can share their comments to elected officials. 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. 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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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | |
