| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 2/12/2003 3:26:09 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Utah--Help Us Oppose Mandatory "Cooperation" Bill |
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- February 12, 2003 Dear HSLDA Member and Friends, On January 28, 2003, the Utah House of Representatives voted to pass House Bill 76, which would make it unlawful to not "cooperate" with school officials in a truancy matter. Any homeschooled child who has not received a written "approval" notice from their local school district might be considered "truant" for purposes of this legislation. This means that a family that has not received an "approval" letter might be required to "cooperate" with school authorities or face criminal charges. This bill is now moving to the Senate Education Committee, where it can still be killed. We are calling on all Utah homeschoolers and their friends to contact members of the Senate Education Committee to urge them to vote "No" on HB 76. ACTION REQUESTED 1. Immediately contact the five senators listed below at (801) 538- 1035. Call each senator separately to deliver the following message: "Please vote 'No' on HB 76." D. Chris Buttars - Office (801) 280-2697 Bill Wright Home - Home (801) 667-3333 David Gladwell - Office (801) 927-1110 John L. Valentine - Office (801) 373-6345 Howard A. Stephenson - Office (801) 972-8814 2. Please forward this message to as many homeschoolers and their friends as you can. This bill was defeated last year because of an outpouring of homeschool protest. It can be defeated again this year. BACKGROUND Under existing law, a parent must "respond to" school officials after the parent receives a written notice of a child's failure to attend school. The parents can explain that they are homeschooling, and assert their constitutional right to do so. If House Bill 76 is passed, however, this situation will change. The new law would make it a crime to fail to "cooperate" with school authorities. In such a case, a parent could be criminally prosecuted for insisting upon his or her constitutional right to direct the education of a child. Simply insisting upon the right to homeschool would not count as "cooperation" for purposes of HB 76. If every Utah school district routinely "approved" every homeschool family, this would have little effect on homeschoolers. Unfortunately, many school districts provide no "approval" letter to homeschool families. In some districts, homeschoolers do not "request" permission to homeschool. Thus, whether the family chooses not to "apply" for permission to homeschool, or the school district refuses to "grant" permission to do so, homeschoolers could be considered "truant" under current law. This change in the law would subject a significant number of Utah homeschoolers to criminal penalties. Senator Boudreaux has submitted essentially the same language for several years in a row. The only way to stop this effort is to mobilize homeschoolers and their friends to make their voices heard at the Senate Education Committee. A significant number of senators on that committee understand the issues and are ready to protect homeschool freedom. Your help in contacting these legislators and spreading the word is essential. We urge every Utah homeschooler to do their part to preserve our liberties today. 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | |
