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From the HSLDA E-lert Service...
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April 23, 2003
Dear HSLDA Members and Friends,
House Bill 2584 is on the move after passing the Elementary &
Secondary Education Committee on March 6, 2003. It will now go to the
House Rules Committee for a vote. Homeschoolers stopped this bill in
previous years but with the recent shift in the legislature, it will
be much more difficult to defeat.
We need your calls!
H.B. 2584 would raise the age of compulsory school attendance from 16
years of age to 18. This would apply to all children in the state,
including homeschoolers. We oppose all attempts to expand the
compulsory attendance age since it increases the amount of time the
state will have jurisdiction over our children.
ACTION REQUESTED
1) Call as many of the Rules Committee representatives listed as you
can and express your opposition to H.B. 2584. In particular, be
certain call the representative on the committee who represents your
legislative district. Give them this message:
"We urge you to vote against H.B. 2584 as it would waste taxpayer's
money. Statistics demonstrate that compelling 17 year olds to attend
school does not improve graduation rates."
You do not need to identify yourself as a homeschooler.
House Rules Committee
Chairperson : Barbara Flynn Currie, 217-782 8121
William B. Black, 217-782 4811
Gary Hannig, 217-782 8071
Brent Hassert, 217-782 4179
Arthur L. Turner, 217-782 8116
2) Call your own representative and give them the same message.
To get the name and telephone number of your House representative,
use HSLDA's Legislative Toolbox at http://www.hslda.org/toolbox. If
you do not have Internet access, you can call Illinois Directory
Assistance for information about your representative at 217-782 2000.
BACKGROUND
H.B. 2584 would require homeschool families to submit to two more
years of governmental oversight and threat of legal action in the
event of an alleged violation. Here are some reasons HSLDA opposes
measures to raise the compulsory attendance age:
Raising the compulsory attendance age results in a negative financial
impact on taxpayers by requiring the state to hire more teachers and
build larger education facilities to accommodate the increased number
of students.
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.)
Some people argue that raising the compulsory attendance age is good
because having children in school for one or two more years will
prevent juvenile crime. However, a comparison of the fifty states
shows that the graduation age has little to no impact on a state's
juvenile crime rate.
29 states 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.
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.
House Bill 2584 would restrict parents' freedom to decide if their 16
or 17 year old is ready for 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.
Thank you for your efforts for freedom!
Sincerely,
Christopher Klicka
HSLDA Senior Counsel
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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
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