| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 3/15/2004 10:55:50 AM Home School Legal Defense Association Utah--End of Legislative Session - Some Progress Made |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== March 12, 2004 Utah--End of Legislative Session - Some Progress Made Dear HSLDA members and friends: Thank you for your efforts to improve Utah law this legislative session. Families have gained some significant ground this season, and there is hope to see even more improvements in Utah law next year. I write to thank you for any calls you may have made, and to encourage you to help us prepare for next year. House Bill 90 has been passed by both houses of the Utah Legislature, and should soon be signed by the governor. This bill permits parents to invite friends and family to a juvenile court hearing on child abuse or neglect. Before this bill was enacted, any person other than the child, immediate family members, and government agents would be excluded from court. Now, the court "shall admit any person to a hearing...unless the court makes a finding upon the record that the person's presence at the hearing would be detrimental to the best interest of a child who is a party to the proceeding, impair the fact finding process, or be otherwise contrary to the interest of justice." For the first time ever, this means that the entire homeschool community can show their support for a family in trouble. I have been in juvenile court hearings where homeschoolers were allowed in, and hearings where homeschoolers were excluded. I can assure you that judges take our concerns much more seriously when 30, 60, or 100 pairs of eyes are watching the process. Not every good bill made it through, however. Senate Bill 90, which would have expressly recognized the presumption in favor of competent parents to make medical decisions for their own children, was gutted by the House of Representatives on March 3. The legislature wrapped up all activity last week, leaving many pro-family bills unfinished. The Legislature is remarkably open to improving state law to protect parental rights, but Utah homeschoolers have yet to achieve many of their pro-family goals. If you and your family would like to be more involved in the legislative process next year, please contact HSLDA to see how you can become more involved. If Utah homeschoolers work together, Utah can have the best laws in the country! 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. ====================================================================== | |
