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| Date: From: Subject: | 3/1/2004 4:29:21 PM Home School Legal Defense Association Kentucky--"Voluntary" Certification of Homeschoolers in Kentucky |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== February 26, 2004 Kentucky--"Voluntary" Certification of Homeschoolers in Kentucky Dear HSLDA members and friends: HSLDA has monitored many efforts to regulate or prohibit homeschooling over the last 20 years, but Representative Kathy Stein has come up with a whole new twist. House Bill 610 would require the Kentucky Board of Education to draft regulations to "establish a voluntary in-state certification process for home schools." It is not clear whether any homeschoolers have requested a "voluntary" certification process, so this proposal is causing homeschool leaders to wonder about the real agenda behind this bill. We need your help to get to the bottom of this. Action Requested: Please call Representative Kathy Stein, at 502-564-8100, and ask why she has filed HB 610. Please feel free to explain why your family sees no need for "voluntary" certification at this time. Background: House Bill 610 would require the Board of Education to establish "organizational and instruction standards" for "certified home schools," including standards for the application review process, the minimum teacher qualification, the minimum curriculum offerings, the minimum testing requirements, which may include nationally norm- referenced standardized tests. Many states have a "certification" or "approval" option for private schools. They allow some private schools to seek state recognition for their programs. This makes a lot of sense, since private schools must compete with other private schools for tuition paying students. A school that receives state approval or accreditation is in a better position to compete in the private school marketplace. Homeschoolers do not compete for students in the same way, so the "certification" proposal is essentially null and void for homeschoolers. This proposed bill would introduce the term "homeschooling" into Kentucky law for the first time. For many years, homeschoolers have operated simply as a private school. While HSLDA would not oppose legislation that helps some families, we will actively resist any efforts to "divide and conquer" homeschoolers. We will be monitoring this bill very closely. Sincerely, Scott Somerville HSLDA Staff Attorney {{JoinAd}} ====================================================================== 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 Email: info@hslda.org Web: http://www.hslda.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- How To Subscribe: - Subscribe to the HSLDA E-lert Service at our website: https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/elert/account.asp?Process=Subscribe - Or send an email with name and complete mailing address to: subscribe@hslda.org ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscription Information: - You subscribed to the HSLDA E-lert Service as: {{Email}} - To unsubscribe from the HSLDA E-lert Service send an email from the email address you want to unsubscribe to: unsubscribe@hslda.org - To change your email address or make other changes to your subscription, visit the HSLDA E-lert Service account web page at: https://secure.hslda.org/hslda/elert/account.asp ---------------------------------------------------------------------- POSTMASTERS: This message is being sent to the most recent address we have for our subscribers. If this is an invalid email 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 email address; hslda@hslda.org is for broadcast purposes only and is not intended to receive incoming messages. We cannot reply to any email sent to this address. If you have comments or questions, please send email to info@hslda.org or call HSLDA at 540-338-5600. HSLDA members can also email staff directly through the Members website at http://members.hslda.org/contact.asp. Thank you for your cooperation. ====================================================================== | |
