| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 3/26/2003 1:10:26 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Florida--More Calls Needed to Stop Bill to Raise Compulsory Attendance Age |
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---------------------------------------------------------------------- From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- March 26, 2003 Dear HSLDA Members and Friends, The Florida House Appropriations Subcommittee on Education voted to pass the House Bill 9 despite your phone calls and the large price tag. Maybe they have not yet gotten enough calls. Please take a few minutes to make a difference. H.B. 9 raises the age of compulsory school attendance from 16 years of age to 17, which applies to all children in the state, including homeschoolers. H.B. 9 is a very costly expansion of the government's control over school age children. According to the House of Representatives Staff Analysis, H.B. 9 will cost taxpayers approximately $176,998,610 annually! We now need your calls to flood the House Education K-20 Subcommittee on Pre-K Through 12. In nearly every other state, homeschoolers have defeated similar attempts to raise or lower the compulsory attendance ages. Let's not have Florida be an exception! ACTION REQUESTED Call as many of the subcommittee members as possible from March 26 until April 4 and express your opposition to H.B. 9 saying: "We urge you to vote against H.B. 9 as it would waste taxpayer's money to the tune of 177 million dollars. Statistics demonstrate that compelling 17 year olds to attend school does not improve graduation rates. We also oppose this bill because it will limit parental rights and disrupt the classroom by compelling disinterested children to attend school." You do not need to identify yourself as a homeschooler, just as a concerned taxpayer and parent. Subcommittee on Pre-K Through 12: Bev Kilmer (R) Chair, (850) 488-2873 Rafael Arza (R) Vice Chair, (850) 488-1683 Ray Sansom (R), (850) 488-1170 Larry Cretul (R), (850) 488-0887 Pat Patterson (R), (850) 488-9873 Faye B. Culp (R), (850) 488-2770 John K. Stargel (R), (850) 488-2270 Bill Galvano (R), (850) 488-4086 Shelley Vana (D), (850) 488-4791 Mary Brandenburg (D), (850) 488-0260 Curtis B. Richardson (D), (850) 488-1798 Loranne Ausley (D), (850) 488-0965 Stan Jordan (R), (850) 488-4388 Joe H. Pickens (R), (850) 488-0665 Edward L. Jennings (D), (850) 488-5794 Dennis K. Baxley (R), (850) 488-0335 David J. Mealor (R), (850) 488-5843 Gayle B. Harrell (R), (850) 488-8749 Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall (D), (850) 488-0260 Frank Attkisson (R), (850) 488-8992 Kenneth Allan Gottlieb (D), (850) 488-0145 Eleanor Sobel (D), (850) 488-0465 Frederick C. Brummer (R), (850) 488-2023 Gustavo A. Barreiro (R), (850) 488-9930 Frank Farkas (R), (850) 488-5719 Heather Fiorentino (R), (850) 488-5522 BACKGROUND 1) This bill would require homeschool families to submit to another year of governmental red tape and threat of legal action in the event of an alleged violation. 2) It would restrict parents' freedom to decide if their homeschooled 16 year old is ready for college or the workforce. Some 16 year olds who are not academically inclined benefit more from valuable work experience than from being forced to sit in a classroom. 3) Raising the compulsory attendance age will not reduce the dropout rate. In fact, the two states with the highest high school completion rates (Maryland, 94.5% and North Dakota, 94.7%) compel attendance only to age 16, but the state with the lowest completion rate (Oregon, 75.4%) compels attendance to age 18. (Figures are three-year averages, 1996 through 1998.) 4) Most states (29) only require attendance to age 16. Older children unwilling to learn can cause classroom disruptions and even violence, making learning harder for their classmates who truly want to learn. 5) When California raised the age of compulsory attendance, unwilling students were so disruptive that new schools had to be built just to handle them and their behavior problems, all at the expense of the taxpayer. Check the HSLDA website for the latest information on H.B. 9 at: http://www.hslda.org/Legislation/State/fl/2003/FLHB9 Thank you for your efforts for freedom! Sincerely, Christopher Klicka HSLDA Senior Counsel {{JoinAd}} ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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