| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
< BACK TO ARCHIVE |
| Date: From: Subject: | 6/10/2004 5:41:57 PM Home School Legal Defense Association New York--Only a Few Weeks Left--Call Now to Pass Homeschool Freedom Bill! |
|
====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== June 10, 2004 New York--Only a Few Weeks Left--Call Now to Pass Homeschool Freedom Bill! Dear HSLDA members and friends: We are entering the final weeks of legislative activity in New York State and still have a chance to pass the Homeschool Freedom bill. We need your calls now and throughout the rest of this month to pass the Assembly version of the Homeschool Freedom bill. The Senate version, Senate Bill 2060 has already passed the Senate unanimously and is waiting for Assembly Bill 4598 to pass the Assembly. The bill would then move to the governor's office for his signature. Over a thousand homeschoolers attended the LEAH rally in Albany and lobbied the Assembly. Calls and letters have been steadily trickling into the Assembly. Now we need to build on this momentum by generating a "landslide" of calls during the last few weeks of the session. The Assembly Education Committee Chairman Steven Sanders and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver are the two legislators who are holding up this bill. They need to hear from you! With your calls, and the combined calls of thousands of other homeschooling families across the state, AB 4598 can be passed with God's help. Please call now and as often as you can over the next several weeks. The Homeschool Freedom bill is needed to provide homeschooling families in New York the freedom to devote more time to teaching their children at home rather than spending it filling out unnecessary paperwork. If passed, this legislation would eliminate over 75% of the present restrictions governing home instruction programs in New York and bring it more into line with the homeschool freedom experienced in other states. REQUESTED ACTION (1) Please contact both Assemblyman Steven Sanders, the Chairman of the Assembly Education Committee, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and strongly urge them to support this bill. You can use the following message: "Please vote for Assembly Bill 4598 which will relieve public school officials and homeschooling parents from burdensome and costly administrative tasks. Home educators have earned the right to regulatory relief after demonstrating their overwhelming success under the current law for the past 15 years. This bill must be passed. We need relief." Steven Sanders - Assembly Education Committee Chairman (518) 455-5506 Sheldon Silver - Assembly Speaker (518) 455-3791 (2) Please call or write your own Assemblyman and give him or her the same message: You can find your Assemblyman's phone number either by calling the Assembly Public Information Department: 518-455-4218 or by using HSLDA's legislative toolbox at http://www.hslda.org/toolbox (3) Please pray for the Legislature and for the Homeschool Freedom bill. Pray that God would give us favor and grant homeschooling families greater freedom in New York. BACKGROUND Assembly Bill 4598 would make the following changes in the current law: - eliminate the requirement of an Individualized Home Instruction Plan (IHIP); - eliminate the requirement of quarterly reports; - eliminate required subjects at all grade levels; - permit the alternative method of evaluation (instead of standardized testing) every year; - permit parents who wish to test their children to choose any nationally-normed standardized achievement test, in addition to a State Education Department test or another approved test; - eliminate the requirement that the local superintendent consent to the person who administers a standardized achievement test or who conducts the alternative method of evaluation; - lower the minimum standardized test score from above the 33rd percentile to above the 23rd percentile; and - eliminate the provision for home visits while a home instruction program is on probation. If this legislation is enacted into law, it will not only relieve parents and public school officials of time-consuming administrative tasks, it will significantly increase the freedom of home educators in New York to direct the education of their children. To see more information on these and other bills HSLDA is monitoring in New York, visit our website at: http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/NY/default.asp Sincerely, Christopher J. Klicka Senior Counsel Home School Legal Defense Association ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> Paid an attorney lately? Legal consultation can easily cost you upwards of $100 an hour. For the same fee, why not have a lawyer on call for you 24/7? More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1098 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== 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. ====================================================================== | |
