| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 1/9/2004 9:41:34 AM Home School Legal Defense Association New Jersey--Highly Urgent, Calls and Visits Needed TODAY to stop AB 4033 |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== January 9, 2004 Dear HSLDA members and friends: Despite hundreds of concerned phone calls to the sponsors of AB 4033-- a bill that would force New Jersey homeschoolers to submit to the same statewide assessment tests as public school children and provide proof of annual medical examinations--Assemblywoman Weinberg intends to push ahead. She could use a parliamentary maneuver to force the bill to a vote on Monday without any opportunity for a hearing--thus avoiding public scrutiny of this reckless bill. She is highly motivated. She believes the bill is needed to solve a social evil. She is willing to rob thousands of homeschoolers of freedom to accomplish it. This is the gravest threat to homeschool liberty in recent memory, a threat that could overnight turn New Jersey into one of the most restrictive homeschool states in the nation. This is our hour of need. This is a call to action to every freedom-loving New Jersey homeschool family. Action Requested 1. TODAY, FRIDAY, call the local district office (not the Trenton office) of your senator and both of your assemblymen. (See our legislative toolbox [http://www.hslda.org/toolbox] for the phone number.) After you briefly explain what the bill is about (remember that your senator and assemblymen probably know absolutely NOTHING about the bill), your message can be as simple as: "Please vote against AB 4033, or any maneuver to bring it to a vote without the public scrutiny of a hearing. State law already requires homeschoolers to provide an education equivalent to that provided in public schools. That is sufficient. State law already requires parents to provide adequate medical care for their children. Don't punish thousands of parents for the failure of DYFS to do its job protecting the Jackson children in Collingswood." 2. If possible, it is even more effective to visit your senator and both assemblymen personally in their local district office TODAY, FRIDAY (not in their Trenton office). Today is the last day you will be able to visit them personally before the possible vote Monday. 3. If you can't visit or call Friday, please visit each local district office personally on Monday, as early as possible. If you can't visit on Monday, call. 4. Pass this on to EVERY homeschooler you know. Many do NOT have email. Ask your neighbors and relatives to visit and call, too. If a family you call has already gotten this email, encourage them to take action. It is extremely important for each lawmaker to know this bill is STRONGLY opposed by his constituents. Reasons to Oppose AB 4033 1. Federal law prohibits states from requiring that homeschoolers take the state assessment designed for public school students. New Jersey would lose federal funds if AB 4033 is enacted, since it violates this requirement. (Note: Weinberg may change the bill to solve this problem.) 2. State assessment tests are designed to test material taught in the public school curriculum. Homeschool children do not use the public school curriculum. It would be unfair to test them on material not covered in their individual homeschool programs. (Note: if Weinberg changes her bill to solve 1, above, it will probably solve this problem, also.) 3. Studies show that higher regulation--such as mandatory testing-- does not improve the performance of homeschool students. 4. The statute does not say what score is needed to "pass." The Board of Education may arbitrarily decide what a passing score is, without taking into account the individual learning characteristics and abilities of each unique child. 5. The bill would give the Board of Education power to define--and thus control--home schooling. Giving the State Board of Education power to regulate homeschooling gives it a blank check to pile rules and red tape on innocent homeschool families. Regulatory agencies are notorious bureaucracies. Unlike lawmakers, they frequently disregard voters' wishes when adopting regulations. 6. Forcing families to prove their children have received a medical examination is an invitation for the state to interfere in family medical issues. 7. No other state in the nation requires an annual medical examination for homeschoolers. 8. This bill is a knee-jerk, reckless reaction to the emotional and highly publicized case in Collingswood where the Jackson family is alleged to have starved their children. If true, the blame lies with DYFS, since they were in the home over 30 times. DYFS should be punished, not innocent homeschoolers. Adopting a law based on one extreme case is absurd. There is absolutely no evidence that homeschool parents are more likely to neglect their children than anyone else. 9. Multiple studies show that homeschoolers score 20 to 30 percentile points higher than others students. Forcing them to take annual tests when their performance has already been proven is senseless. Thank you for being part of a generation that is willing to stand up for freedom! Sincerely, Scott Woodruff HSLDA Staff Attorney {{JoinAd}} ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
