| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 1/24/2003 4:06:03 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Wyoming--Three New Bills Threaten Homeschool Freedom |
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- January 24, 2003 Dear HSLDA Members and Friends, Each year, Senator Kathryn Sessions, a Democrat from Cheyenne, files a bill that would reduce homeschool liberties. This year, she has filed three bills, each negatively affects homeschoolers. One bill flagrantly violates federal law, but all of them must be stopped. Senate File 110 would force homeschoolers to participate in the new statewide assessment system (achievement testing) and comply with Wyoming's Student Performance Standards. In addition, homeschoolers would be required file a portfolio for each child at the end of his first semester. If a homeschool child fails to achieve the "proficiency levels" established by the statewide assessment, the parent would be required to file a "remediation plan." House Bill 201 would make kindergarten compulsory in Wyoming. Although homeschoolers do not have to file any paperwork before their child turns seven, HB 201 would add roughly two more years of compelled attendance. Senate File 109 would change the penalties for truancy. It would raise the maximum fine for truancy from twenty-five dollars to one thousand dollars. While this does not specifically target homeschoolers, it appears to be part of Senator Sessions' overall plan to regulate home education. ACTION REQUESTED 1. Please read SF 110 for yourself and determine its impact on your family. http://www.hslda.org/Legislation/State/wy/2003/wysf110/default.asp 2. Call Senator Sessions at 307-634-8314 or e-mail her at ksessions@senate.wyoming.com. Tell her that SF 110 violates federal law. Ask her to withdraw the bill. 3. Call the voter hotline at 866-996-8683 and tell the operator that you oppose Senate File 110, Senate File 109, and House Bill 201. The operator will ask you what county you are calling from. 4. Please write a polite e-mail to Senator Hank Coe, at hcoe@myavista.com. Senator Coe is chairman of the Senate Education Committee, and is familiar with Senator Session's history of opposing home education. A large number of polite, intelligent e-mails that oppose SF 110 would be helpful. (We do not want to do anything that would add unnecessary work to Senator Coe's busy schedule, so unless you live in Cody, please limit your communications to e-mail and letters addressed to P.O. Box 1088, Cody, WY 82414.) 5. Forward this e-mail to as many supporters of home education as you can. Feel free to print it out, copy it, and distribute it to people without access to the Internet. Each person who helps us get the word out helps us to preserve freedom. BACKGROUND Senate File 110, if passed, would make Wyoming one of the most restrictive states in the country. Homeschoolers should be able to kill this bill if they work hard, fast, and continually. Unfortunately, Wyoming's legislative session is short and unpredictable. The only way to stop this bill is to make every effort now. SF 110 directly violates federal law. 20 USC sec.7886(b) says, "No student schooled at home shall be required to participate in any assessment referenced in the No Child Left Behind Act." Wyoming's statewide assessment program is an assessment program that is referenced in the No Child Left Behind Act. Whether Senator Sessions knows it or not, her bill breaks federal law. Wyoming now requires each bill to include a fiscal impact statement. HB 201's compulsory kindergarten would have a huge fiscal impact, but the statement that is filed with the bill simply says that the fiscal impact "cannot be determined." Likewise, SF 110, which mandates homeschool testing, additional paperwork, and new enforcement provisions, has a fiscal note that states there is "no significant fiscal or personnel impact at the state level." This means the State Department of Education will not have to spend any more money or take any more time. The financial and administrative burden will fall on local school districts and homeschoolers. An astute judge of the nineteenth century said, "No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session." Senator Sessions has made that true for Wyoming homeschoolers this year. Please join us by fighting these threats to homeschool freedom. 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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