| From the HSLDA E-lert Service: |
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| Date: From: Subject: | 8/24/2004 12:31:01 PM Home School Legal Defense Association California--Urgent: Your Help is Needed to Protect Our Freedoms! |
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====================================================================== From the HSLDA E-lert Service... ====================================================================== August 24, 2004 California--Urgent: Your Help is Needed to Protect Our Freedoms! Dear HSLDA members and friends: There is a critical situation which is putting our freedoms at risk. Your help is needed now! Let me give some background. As the President of Home School Legal Defense Association and the attorney who represents HSLDA members in California, and a veteran homeschooler from California, I understand how critical the state is to our whole nation. HSLDA is doing all we can to preserve the freedoms that now exist to homeschool in California. We can not do it alone. For this reason, we work very closely with Roy Hanson and Jim Davis of Family Protection Ministries. I am thankful that eighteen years ago, myself and the homeschool leadership in California, spearheaded by CHEA, asked Roy Hanson to serve as special consultant for legislative affairs. Roy established Family Protection Ministries to serve in this capacity. Family Protection Ministries is the only full-time ministry in Sacramento defending both private homeschooling freedoms and parental rights in our state Legislature (which passes more bills each year than Congress). Roy Hanson, with the capable help of Jim Davis, as legislative liaison, monitors thousands of pieces of legislation in California. Against incredible odds and massive opposition, their hard work and dedication has been used mightily by God to ensure your freedoms have remained 100% intact. For example, during this current two year session ('03-'04), God has blessed Roy and Jim in leading our team efforts to victories in defeating many dangerous bills such as: SB 950 (Alarcon) was defeated! It would have added truancy as a category of child abuse & neglect and could have been used to threaten homeschoolers with the loss of custody of their children. AB 424 (Richman) was defeated! It would have repealed the Education Code and added a commission to rewrite it. AB 424 would have repealed every law protecting private homeschools and all other private schools, and rolled back every victory we have won over the past 18 years. AB 206 (Richman) "Emergency Health Powers Act" was defeated! It would have given health officials police powers over all citizens, doctors, and hospitals. AB 206 would have unnecessarily endangered the health and freedoms of family members, especially helpless innocent children. AB 2855 (Laird) was amended to protect two provisions of law which require public school officials to follow due process steps of notifying and then attempting to meet with the parents of any alleged truant before pursuing criminal penalties against the parents -- a provision important to us at HSLDA in keeping homeschoolers out of court. Additionally, God has used FPM to intercept and stop all proposals to draft legislation to criminalize and control homeschooling. These attempts were escalated dramatically in August of '02 by former Supt. of Public Instruction - Delaine Eastin. FPM worked hard to coordinate contacts and visits to the offices of all 120 legislators, and left them with positive homeschool materials explaining why legislation to regulate private homeschooling was not needed. FPM made contacts and worked with HSLDA to help reverse the attitudes and policies of the Department of Education in regard to previous misleading statements on the legality of home education and the filing of private school affidavits. Thanks in large part to our joint efforts, we now enjoy a much improved professional relationship with the new Superintendent of Public Instruction and the new head of their legal division. This has been critical in turning what was a bad situation into probably the best relationship with the Department we have had since the modern homeschool movement began in the early 1980s. The critical situation which is putting our freedoms and FPM's continuing survival at risk is that the number and complexity of attacks on our freedoms in the Legislature has continued to grow each year. This is due in part to the shift in the makeup of the Legislature over the past ten years. Because it is now overwhelmingly controlled by statist liberals, Roy and Jim's work has become more intense and difficult. They must work long hours, doing the work of four people. This has been wearing them down physically. To continue, they need at least one more full-time staff member now. They have recently seen a glimmer of hope in this situation. There has been enough support for the last two years to pay a young intern on a part-time basis. However, they need a full-time person! Their intern, who was homeschooled, is graduating from college, getting married in October and is ready to come on full-time with Family Protection Ministries if there is an increase in contributions. Roy and Jim's God-given vision is not only the defense of our freedoms now; but also to give specialized on-the-job training to new younger workers so that down the road the next generation can take over the leadership in defending our freedoms. Roy and Jim need your help now! If we want Family Protection Ministries to continue working to protect our freedoms now and many years to come, it is absolutely critical that we increase the support to this ministry! They already have over half of what is needed to support the new staff position. Will you please help now by providing the remainder of what they need? FPM needs an immediate gift or gifts totaling $7,000 and an increase in monthly giving of $900 per month. There is no other state organization like FPM in our nation. No other persons I have met are as uniquely qualified and have the successful track record Roy and Jim have for the job they do. They must be able to pay attention to detail in reviewing legislation, proposed regulations, and administrative actions. And they must have the background, training, experience, and wisdom to be able to determine what legislation and proposals will be damaging to homeschooling and parental freedoms. There must be a dedication to this mission and knowledge of how to work quietly and strategically behind the scenes. And together they must have the skills to strategize and organize opposition to each threat. I know Roy and Jim personally and work with them closely on a regular basis. They have demonstrated these skills consistently and with excellence. They are committed to God and the ministry He has given them. They are well respected as competent professionals among those with whom they work. We must ensure that Family Protection Ministries has the proper resources to be able to continue to monitor all of the legislation and to be able to mount an effective opposition to dangerous legislation. Roy and Jim are 100% dependent upon contributions from homeschoolers for salary and expenses. I urge you to help now. Contributions (tax-deductible) should be made payable to Family Protection Ministries (PO Box 730; Lincoln, CA 95648-0730). Both monthly and annual contributions are needed. Also, please pass this along to your homeschooling friends and encourage them to support Family Protection Ministries. Thank you for your part in the fight to preserve the level of home education freedoms we enjoy in California. This is also an important investment in your children's and your grandchildren's future freedoms. Sincerely, J. Michael Smith President HSLDA ---------------------------------------------------------------------- -> How many of your friends would pay your legal fees? As a member of HSLDA, you have 75,000 families standing with you to protect and advance homeschool freedoms in the United States and foreign countries. More reasons to join HSLDA... http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=1106 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ====================================================================== The HSLDA E-lert Service is a service of: Home School Legal Defense Association P.O. 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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. ====================================================================== | |
